I am on top of the world today. Not only is it my birthday, but I just turned in my manuscript a month early. Let me just explain the inconceivable sense of relief and accomplishment inherent in that sentence. When you start a book, knowing you have a deadline to meet, the pressure, both creatively and professionally, can be intense. I usually like to estimate more time than I really need to write a book, in case I run into plot problems, or someone in my family gets sick. It also allows time to revise at the end, so that I can give my editor a more polished product. But with this current book, I had the opportunity to move up in the 2009 schedule if I could deliver early, so of course, I said, “No problem.”

What followed was pandemonium, a necessary flood of creativity, and a very messy house. I wrote the book faster than usual, which meant working evenings and weekends and missing some movies I really wanted to see in the theatre. (Thank goodness for DVDs.)

When I finished on the day I said I would, I was drunk with euphoria (and oh, how I loved the smell of the ink as my printer spit out 400 pages!). Now that I’ve taken it to the courier, I can emerge from under my rock. I can read the paper, go see movies, do laundry, and generally rediscover the world.

The thing that gives me mixed feelings, however, is that this book was the last in a multi-book deal, which means I am now officially unemployed. I’ll be submitting a new proposal to Avon, and if the fates are kind, I’ll continue to be a working writer. But right now, I have no deadline in sight, and that is both liberating and unsettling. How an author feels about this uncertain period between contracts can be a blessing or a curse. I think it depends on whether you’re a pessimist or an optimist.

Generally I’m an optimist, which mostly makes me feel good right now, because suddenly the possibilities are endless. I’m free to write something different if I so desire, just to see what might come of it. I get to dream up the concept for the next book, which will be the final book in my latest series. This is when creativity can really explode – when you have no commitment to any particular story idea (or contractual deadline), and you can imagine whatever you want.

Then of course, there are the financial ramifications. My experience in the past with signing a new contract has always been positive, because that’s when you get the “signing check” – usually the biggest portion of your advance, which is paid out in chunks as you deliver proposals and completed manuscripts in a multi-book deal. I love the signing check! All I need to do now is send out a new story idea…

In the interim, I’m happily attacking the massive laundry pile, and will be content to tackle seemingly mundane tasks over the coming weeks… even my taxes. I wonder if this is normal.