We are pleased to welcome Seth Fishman back to the blog today. Writers get lots of advice on writing and publishing our first book, but Seth’s here to share with us some inside perspective on points on writing the second book.
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
The Dark Water
by Seth Fishman
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.
Purchase The Dark Water at Amazon
Purchase The Dark Water at IndieBound
View The Dark Water on Goodreads
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Seth Fishman is a native of Midland, Texas (think Friday Night Lights), and a graduate of Princeton University and the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. He spends his days as a literary agent at The Gernert Company and his nights (and mornings) writing. He lives in Jersey City, New Jersey.
— posted by Susan Sipal, @HP4Writers
