What if you won’t love me anymore

The struggle to follow up a successful debut is so common it has a name: “second book syndrome”. It refers to the all-consuming fear of failing to live up to the first book.

If a debut becomes a huge success, an author may feel intense pressure to repeat that success. On the other hand, if a first book doesn’t do well in the market, confidence can plummet, and the second attempt may feel even trickier amid fears of another disappointment.

In short, the second book slump is a well-recognized bump in a writer’s career. While there are many issues around having the best seller, I don’t have that problem. While Humans Don’t Have Horns doesn’t stop selling (knock on wood), it is not a meteor in the romantasy world.

No, my struggle is elsewhere; it is with the awareness of an audience. Writing the first book is a private affair; nobody is waiting for it, and few are even aware it’s being written. By contrast, when writing the second, the lights are on. The author now knows that an audience will eventually read their work, and this knowledge is terrifying.

A related creative trap is feeling obligated to replicate what made the first book successful. I can’t deny the urge to cling to the same tropes and characters that worked the first time.

All of these factors, expectations, public visibility, and comparison to a previous work can breed perfectionism. An author might overanalyze every sentence of the new manuscript, judging it against the polished final version of their first book (which is an unfair comparison, since the debut went through many drafts). The author forgets that their first book, in its early drafts, was likely messy too. And if you’ve been following me, you know that perfectionism is to me the ultimate Kryptonite, the cruelest nemesis, the root of all evil. (Which is why I loved Deep End by Ali Hazelwood so much).

Coping Strategies and Advice for Second-Book Anxiety, which I searched online!

1. Start early and maintain momentum: Begin working on your second book before the first is published. This helps you stay in writing mode and lessens the shock of suddenly having to create under pressure.

   Great advice, too late for me though!!!

2. Carve out consistent writing time: Treat the second novel like a job with regular hours. The debut may have been written in stolen moments or leisurely years, but the sequel often requires more disciplined time management. Identify pockets of time in your week that you can dedicate solely to writing, and protect those hours.

   Yay!!! I’m already doing that.

3. Avoid the noise: In the digital age, authors often face immediate feedback – Goodreads reviews, tweets, Instagram tags, sales rankings, and so on. When you’re writing your next book, consider going offline during writing sessions to shield yourself from that noise.

   This makes sense, but it’s not really helpful for self-published authors like me who need to market their book.

4. Focus on the story: A helpful mindset shift is to write for yourself first. Tell the story you need to tell, and try not to guess what the readers will think. Remember that the first draft, especially, is only for you.

   Easier said than done!!!

5. Accept that doubt will come and keep writing anyway: During the second-book journey, you’ll likely have days of extreme self-doubt, and perhaps other days of false confidence. Both are distortions. Expect emotional swings and don’t let them derail your writing routine.

   Look again at tip 2. Sit down and write, even if imposter syndrome chooses to completely kick your ass today.

6. Permit yourself a “shitty first draft”: Perfectionism is the enemy of progress. Give yourself permission to write a rough, even outright bad, first draft – this frees you to actually get the story out without the crippling fear of it not being good enough. Remember that your debut, by the time readers saw it, was the product of extensive editing and polishing; its first draft was not the masterpiece people know. So allow your new book the same evolution.

   It took me months to write the first draft because EVERYTHING in it felt lame. Now that I’m working on the second draft, I realize how parallelizing working on the first draft was. So I find this to be a really good tip.

7. Adjust your mindset: growth, not comparison: It’s important to remind yourself that your second book is a new journey, not a referendum on your first. Each book teaches the writer something, and each has its own challenges. Also, keep in mind that a slightly less successful second book is not the end of your career – it’s often just a step in a long path. Many authors rebound in their third or fourth works.

   A growth mindset always makes more sense. I do try and succeed at times.

I hope you found all of this helpful.

Now, let’s dive into how this all affects the writing of the second book in The Crown of Blood and Magic Tribology:

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