I’m going to do you a favor.

I’m going to tell you, right now, to not do the thing you want to do. I know that you’ve always dreamed of doing this but really…just don’t.

Don’t write a mystery series.

Having said that and being so very bad at selling it, I am going to say I am having so much fun writing the Jennie Manning series. The second short-ish story is almost done and is scheduled to be out sometime next week. (Only those on the list will be able to read it. Not on it? Get on it!)

So, why the bad sell? It’s everything off the page that is overwhelming me at the moment.

With work and other obligations, I may have fallen slightly behind in the next Jennie Manning mystery story.  Not that the plot hasn’t been worked out. It’s currently in a secret vault called my brain and it’s itching to come out. However, you know, life….

But I will make my deadline for the story. That is a certainty. The stress will probably get me shortly after I finish, though. I don’t know what it’s like for other people  who write series but this is what it’s like for me to write one.

It’s a bit like starting a business, I think. There’s lots of worry. A long list of things to do and not enough time to do it. Lots of pre-selling to do, i.e. marketing and getting the word out that this awesome thing you’re working on exists. Little is really done on the actual story or product, which is really the only thing you really want to work on in this equation.

Yes, starting the mystery series you’ve always wanted is really starting a business and has, surprisingly, only 10 percent to do with writing. Actually, 10 percent is a really good day.

But this isn’t a complaint at all. I’m loving every minute of it. Working toward making your childhood dream a reality was harder work than I anticipated but, as with every thing, it’s about the journey and not the destination. At least, that’s what I tell myself at 3 in the morning while I’m working on all this.

Here’s what I also tell myself: If it was so easy then everyone would do it.  That’s when I work harder.

Now that you know the truth do you still want to start a mystery series? If the answer is still yes, I’ll make some extra coffee for you tonight.  It’s going to be a bumpy road.