The In-Between Year (Anna Staniszewski)

In November 2011, I was the proud parent of a bouncing baby book!

Not only was I thrilled to have my debut novel out in the world, but I was excited that it would be the first in a trilogy. The second book, however, was scheduled for early 2013, which meant that 2012 was going to be a big, fat in-between year.

So what does an author do during her in-between year?

She writes.

And revises.

And writes some more.

And tries not to overdose on chocolate.

I must say that this year has flown by, mostly because I've been busy with revising Book 2, drafting Book 3, and working on other projects. (And I was lucky enough to sell a new series to my awesome publisher.)

One tricky thing about this year has been momentum. Having a year-and-a-half lag between the first and second books in a trilogy means that now I have to work to rebuild momentum for the second book. I've tried to do that by releasing a free short e-prequel for the trilogy (if you're interested, you can download it here) and by giving readers glimpses of the second book, including a sneak peek of the first chapter. I suppose I could jump around and wave "UnFairy Tale" flags, but I'll try to restrain myself. :-)

Another tricky thing has been keeping myself in "author shape." Sitting at home in front of my laptop in my pajamas doesn't exactly make me feel like a real-life author. So I've tried to continue doing events so that I don't totally get out of the habit of being in front of audiences. 

But honestly, as in-between years go, this has been a pretty good one. I've been able to keep writing--which I love--all with the knowledge that soon I'll be welcoming another bouncing baby book into the world. In fact, 2012 hasn't felt very "in-between" at all.