Things I Wish I Knew BEFORE Writing the Second Book, a WOW-Wednesday Post by Seth Fishman
The Dark Water, the sequel to The Well's End, came out a few weeks ago and I have to say, things went much differently for that book. And I don't mean publication. Wow, I wish I knew some things before starting book two, some hints and rules and even a measure of expectations that really would have guided me differently.
I'm not sure most people think on it, but your first book can take two weeks or ten years to write. You can rewrite it fifty times, you can throw it away twice. But book two, especially in a series, you have to realize that there's a deadline. The book pubs ONE year after The Well's End and suddenly there's no wiggle room.
The first draft of The Dark Water was very rough and I had to rewrite most of it and found myself rewriting up until the moment my publisher pushed the magic 'publish' button. This scramble meant that my natural writing process no longer fit the schedule I worked in. Can you imagine working one way for fifteen years and then, suddenly, you have to change your style?
Before you work on book two, before you make a deal for a series, get your future life lined up in order. Keep it in mind, it matters!
Other tips: don't just throw Easter eggs into book one if you've no solid place for them in the outline of the future. They'll dangle like appendages. Can you find the one I left in The Well's End?
Finally, my son, Wes, was born three days before my book was due. DON'T do that. Just don't.
ABOUT THE BOOK

Hardcover Putnam Juvenile
Released 3/3/2015
To escape Blake Sutton’s army at the end of the enthralling The Well’s End, Mia and her friends jump into the newly gurgling fountain of youth and swim to its very bottom. When they resurface, an astounding world awaits them—an entire underground civilization of humans, the Keepers of the Well.
But instead of finding a safe haven, Mia and her gang are quickly embroiled in a dangerous, high-stakes battle royale. If Mia wants to save everyone she loves and make it back home alive, she’s got to get to the water’s Source before Sutton and his troops, who are still hot on her trail.
With new characters and new threats, Seth Fishman has upped the ante fantastically and delivers another tense, fast-paced adventure in a richly imagined world just below our feet.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Website | Twitter | Goodreads
-- posted by Susan Sipal, @HP4Writers
Some good advice here! I'm about to start book two for a contracted trilogy. Gulp.
ReplyDeleteThree days before your son was born? Goodness! I self-pubbed my first book while in labor. I don't recommend that, either.
ReplyDeleteAlso, nice wings. :-D
Haaa, wow. Fun reading, good advice. I think my take-away from this article is...never write a series. LOL
ReplyDelete