The Second Novel

When I was in grueling process of drafting my first novel, I'd always think: I can't wait to be writing my second book.

College me, around the time I began working on my first book.

You're probably thinking, what's the difference?

In my head, I was 100% sure that by the time I wrote my second novel I'd be a pro. That the path would be glowing gold and straight, I'd see the end from the starting the line, the words would flow out of me like a glorious, sparkling fountain.

Turns out, in reality, that each book is something entirely new, and nothing is ever going to be straightforward when it comes to this bear of a process.

I recently announced my second novel Love Is for the Birds, but the thing is, it isn't actually my second novel at all. It's only the second one that I've decided to publish.

I began writing Ocean of Sun in 2018, the summer I met my now husband and had just finished my first year of working on my bachelor's degree. I started a blog that year, detailing my experiences working on my "first novel" (I had previously started on two other attempts at a novel, neither of which stuck around for long). That blog is since deleted, but a few of those articles still live on Medium, where they were backed up at the time.

Much like my first two attempts--which never made it past the first couple thousand words--I wrote the first 20k words, took a good long look at it, and decided I hated it. It would never see the light of day.

The next year, I wrote and self published a poetry collection that ignited a new love inside of me--making a physical book come to life all on my own.

Then, I spent the next two years writing a 130k word dystopian novel that is...well, a total mess. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of material there that I'm really proud of, but there are also a lot of plot holes and big mistakes that will take a whole lot of effort to iron out. So, I finished that first draft, took a good long look, and decided I hated it, and that it would never see the light of day.

Then, I wrote a handful of short stories, even published a few. Wrote 20k words of a speculative fiction novel. Wrote 19k in a different speculative fiction novel. Started on a handful of poetry collections. And then I thought, about three years later: "Hey, I wonder if that first book idea was any good?"

So I went back to it, and I read it with fresh eyes.

Turns out, it wasn't half bad.

It was still a bit messy, totally unfinished, and pieces felt a bit dated. But, hey, it was charming. The characters felt real and compelling. Suddenly, with years more experience under my belt, Ocean of Sun finally felt like something I could make work. So I dedicated a year to finishing that draft, then molding and reshaping, until it was finally something I was proud of.

I created a cover with my own art and text design. I formatted the inside and even added my own little chapter headers. I created front and back matter. I put my heart into making this paperback feel as professional and polished as one person possibly could.

The finished Ocean of Sun Paperback (available on Amazon and KU)

For my "second" book, the process has certainly been a bit more streamlined than all of that, but that's not to say I didn't consider any one of my other drafts becoming book number two.

The most difficult part is the patience it takes to write a good novel, a novel worth publishing, a novel with something to say.

I am not a patient person.

That's why my laptop is positively bursting with half written novels and drafted ideas; It takes really settling into a story to see it through to the end, and it takes me a while to really settle in.

Turns out, patience is the secret ingredient to writing a novel. Not free time. Not a long list of stellar ideas. Not even a really great smelling candle and a comfy chair.

No, the novelist must be long-suffering.

That, and sufficiently obsessed.

This applies to the post-publishing process as well, but that's a story for another time.