Legal Question in Business Law in California

Unless there is some defect in the pleading of the answer itself that would subject the answer to a demurrer (I've never seen an answer so bad as to be worth filing a demurrer in 30 years of litigation practice) the plaintiff does not respond to the answer. The next steps after an answer is filed is to conduct discovery and prepare for the Case Management Conference.

I agree. Plaintiff and Defendant don't just keep hammering away at each other via filing and serving documents. Your next step is to consider which method(s) of discovery might be useful in preparation for (hopefully) settlement discussions and (if necessary) trial. Take a look at whether you can advance your case by use of Requests for Admissions, Document-Production Demands, Deposition(s), Interrogatories (form and/or specially-prepared), etc. If you are representing yourself, learning about and using discovery to your advantage is a difficult but important step in preparing your case.