This weekend, I finished Murdoch and Isabella’s book, THE RENEGADE’S HEART, and sent it off to my editor. I’m hoping that she’s not too backed up, and that she finds the ms pretty clean, and that we can still get it published this month. Fingers crossed!

But finishing a book means rituals for me. There are things I do when I finish a book manuscript and they’re not all celebratory. Here’s a partial list:

1. Drink prosecco. That’s first and foremost. There has to be some celebration of a milestone achieved!

2. Do my filing. There’s always a stack of paperwork in my office, incoming statements and correspondence. It just goes in a pile when I’m writing a book, so today, I’ll deal with it.

3. Back-up digital files. Despite the Pam’s reminders, I don’t do this as often as I should.

4. Put research books away – after removing the sticky notes. Quite frequently, this devolves into reorganizing the bookshelves, discovering forgotten books, and reading on the floor.

5. Get a haircut.

6. Clean house. This starts in my office and radiates outward. Dustbunnies bite it when books get delivered – and they get complacent in between.

7. Cook something from scratch. I think it might be muffins today.

8. Buy flowers. I bought tulips on Saturday at the market, so got a bit ahead of schedule on this one this time.

9. Catch up with friends. All those coffee dates that got pushed off will get caught up now.

10. Buy yarn. (It’s ongoing and inevitable.)

11. Take an adventure. Hmm. I’m debating between various road trips.

12. Make a list of admin jobs to be done before I dive into fictional realms again.

13. Read fiction. Yippee! I have so many books to choose from in my TBR. How many can I read this week?

How do you celebrate milestones? If you’re a writer, what do you do to commemorate the completion of a book?