There is something exciting about finishing…and about starting something new…and about not knowing what comes next.
Such times of transition in the Bible always draw my attention. When Moses dies and Joshua takes over and leads God’s people across the Jordan and into the promised land. God promises His presence. The wandering is over. And it is time for something new.
When Jacob learns that Joseph is not dead, and Jacob travels down toward Egypt and stops at Beersheba, the ancient southern border of Israel, and has a vision of God promising His presence, as Jacob leaves the land. It’s time for something new…even though eventually that something new will bring much hardship.
When Jesus ascends and the 120 wait for the Holy Spirit to arrive on Pentecost. Jesus presence is promised…but it’s not the same. It’s time for something new.
Upon finishing a marathon, many people will tell you, “I’m never doing that again!” Then two weeks later, they are scouring the internet for races that are pretty or nearby or cheap (preferably all three). It’s time for something new.
I suppose I am going through the writing equivalent of that. I turned in my second book, Ten Lies Satan Loves to Tell, two weeks ago. And I couldn’t help but start in on my third book this past week.
This did not happen in the transition from book 1 to book 2. Though I knew what my second and third books would likely be before my first was published, I made the deliberate choice not to start writing Ten Lies until a few months after Ten Questions was published. I wanted to be fully present for the experience of publication and publicity the first time through the process.
Now, Ten Lies is in the hands of my editor. Publication is tentatively scheduled for January 2025.
What I am experiencing now though is that book 3 of the 3-book series beckons. It wants to be written. And even though I’ve got months of edits and re-writes ahead of me with Ten Lies, I started writing book 3.
I cannot be sure why this is. Part of it is perhaps that I have established a better rhythm of writing frequency and book 3 is what I want to work on most…so I do. Part of it is perhaps knowing that book 3 will be the final installment of the series. And the gift of being done is something I prize. (Especially in a role like mine where the church year just keeps going and the sermons keep on needing to be written with no end in sight.)
But part of wanting this trilogy to be finished is to see what’s next. While I have jotted down hundreds of ideas for what might become book 4, the horizon past book 3 is incredibly unknown. It might be time to look for an agent, endeavor into other publishers, other genres, shorter or longer forms—who knows?
Up until now, my experience with publishing has been, dare I say, easy (especially compared with others I know). I have not gone through years of rejection letters. But maybe that’s what’s in store in the next chapter. And though that does not sound fun…perhaps it is time for something new.
Thanks for reading.
Stay Curious. Ask Questions.
Andy