For novelists: How was writing your second novel different from writing your first novel?
I’ve written pleny of short stories and articles, and been published a number of times. I’ve also written many longer manuscripts, but none of them felt as exciting as the one I finished this past year. It’s the first that I really got involved in and loved, and the first that has attracted the attention of an agency. So, I consider it to be my first real book. While I edited it, I had wonderful ideas for a second book, but now that I’m writing it, all I can do is compare it to the first and worry that it won’t be as good. I’ve heard that writers have a hard time with second books, and I’d like some advice. What were your experiences, and what kept you going?
Please don’t answer this like the first person. It says “for novelists.” If you aren’t one, go somewhere else.
- Roald Ellsworth
Tags: Advice, Experiences, First Person, Hard Time, Manuscripts, Novel Writing, Novelists, Second Books, Short Stories, Writing Your First Novel
January 20th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
I have no novel-writing experience, but I suspect that for me, by the second novel, the novelty of noveling would have worn off.
January 24th, 2009 at 5:08 am
My first novel took me ten years to complete. The second used up another five years. It went faster only because I learned to use my time a little more effectively during the writing of the first. Now that I’ve completed several the time needed is much less, but the effort is the same or, perhaps, a little tougher.
We all (as far as I know) look back at the first one and wish we had taken the time to do more editing, cutting, hacking, and slicing — but, hey, what’s done is done, right? Wrong. Every one of them provides the same dilemma. Was it any better? Could I have chosen different words here and there to make it better? What would I do if I could do it over from scratch? Will the next one be any better than the first five?
No, it never gets any easier from that perspective. The writing and the discipline, yes — the worries, no. I know that, when I go back and look at number six, I will say, “My gawd…did I really write that?”
J.
“The speed of the brain is inversely proportional to the speed of the mouth squared.”
January 26th, 2009 at 8:29 am
The Starchild took me 13 years to finish. But during the last couple of drafts, I wanted to go to stage 2 of the process–which was writing the sequel: Starchild Duel.
I didn’t have any problems with it because it was a natural progression of what took place prior.
And I’m not worried if it doesn’t stack up the first book. Sequels rarely do. I just write and see what happens next.
Same with my first Stories of the Dead Earth novel: It was written the way it was supposed to be. And when I started on the second book, I just continued on with the story.
You shouldn’t worry too much. But you should heed some words of caution: Due to the volitility of the market, many first-time authors don’t get called back for a sequel.
I should know.
I asked the author of Maximum Ice why they didn’t do a sequel to the book. And she said: “The first book didn’t generate enough sales to warrant a second book.”
January 28th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
I have found exactly the opposite experience. While I enjoyed writing my first I loved writing my second. I found the way I approached it to be completely different and the book showed the difference. The second one practically wrote itself. I don’t remember hitting a single snag in it. It was as though I knew from the moment I started writing exactly how the last page would look. Oddly, the third was problematic and took a ton of rewriting, but the 4th was like the second. I knew the day I started it exactly how it ended. I couldn’t wait to write the last page. Now with #5, I am trying a completely different thing – and it is going well but I am still adjusting to the different style I chose for this one. Maybe there is something about me and even numbers. Hmm. Oddly enough of the two books I ghostwrote, the publisher likes the second one a lot more. Kind of proves my point I guess. I am an even numbered author. Pax-C