I signed the contract for my second book this week. Very happy with my lovely publisher Allen & Unwin. It was quite funny because I was at a tweetup for Charlotte Wood and her new novel Animal People (which is great and you should read it – I am enjoying it very much) and I was given contract to sign and I did on spot without having time to read it.
Signing without reading would not normally be recommended but my wonderful agent is more on top of contracts than I could ever be so if it’s good enough for her it’s good enough for me.
Time was, getting published once meant that was it, you were through the door, you were a writer and could expect that pretty much whatever you wrote would be published – very likely by the same publisher. No more. The second novel is not a given. So yes, I should pause and be glad.