Farewell, Book Two… and Hello Africa!
May 15, 2012 
Today I head to Africa for two and a half weeks. There’s not much I can coherently say about this, because if I try to describe how excited I am I end up just running around in circles until I collide with the wall. Suffice it to say: I’m psyched.
A lot has been going on lately—so much so that I haven’t even had time to pay attention to the Africa trip. Prepping for BEA in June, where SKYLARK is one of five YA Buzz Books, has been awesome. I’ve been getting my first few out and out fan email for SKYLARK, which is even MORE nuts. Trying to set up guest posts and interviews and giveaways for the months leading up to SKYLARK’s release is entirely new territory for me. My spectacularly awesome writing partner, Amie Kaufman, and I, have finished our second round of revisions on THESE BROKEN STARS.
And sitting pretty at the top of the list, one of the hardest things I’ve ever done: finishing the sequel to SKYLARK.
A lot of writers talk about how hard writing the second book is, and… spoiler alert, it’s true. It’s all true. Upcoming debuts, aspiring writers, anyone who’s ever wanted to do this—brace yourselves now. I think there are a lot of factors that feed into it.
For one, there’s living up to the precedent you’ve set yourself. Who’s to say you can actually work that magic twice? Maybe you only had one book in you. Maybe you can’t do it again.
There’s also the fact that you’ve got the finished, super-revised and polished version of your first book in your mind while you’re banging out this awful, scratchy, rough-hewn beast of a first draft. Comparing them isn’t fair, but your mind does it anyway.
And there’s the fact that you’re no longer writing in a vacuum. It’s no longer just you, your friends and family, your critique partners—it’s no longer even just limited to your agent and publisher. You’ve got bloggers and reviewers reading your book… and telling you what they think. Even if the reviews are good, it’s still hard to sit there and focus on the sequel when everyone’s inspecting the first one through a magnifying glass.
(Of course, this can be a good thing, too. In the very same hour that I finished SKYLARK #2, an eighth-grader emailed me to tell me how much she loved SKYLARK. It was perfect. It was exactly what I needed.)
There’s also fatigue, ennui. This one might just be me, but as much as I love my story and my characters and my world, there are other stories and characters and worlds clamoring in my head to be let out. You’re always drawn to the new and shiny—sometimes focusing on the story you’re contracted to write is the last thing your muse wants you to do.
I think it probably says something about my life that writing this book ranks pretty highly on the list of Things That Were Hard. But it also says something about how hard it was.
Still, it’s DONE. Words I often thought, throughout the process, I might never actually write. I know that somewhere out there is another writer sitting exactly where I was, banging his or her head on the keyboard and hoping legible words come out.
To this writer, I say: Yes. This sucks. IT SUCKS. But it’ll end. One way or another, you’ll get through it. And when you do, it’ll be like coming up for air after a long, LONG time underwater.
With that, I’m out! See you in June, guys. I’ll miss you!
5 comments ; ?>/i/tag@2x.png)
Africa, Amie Kaufman, books, daily goal, inspiration, publishing, revision, skylark, tbs, these broken stars, travel, update
Bring me home a lion, please.
Make that two lions, please. 😉
I’m so proud of you, Meagan, YOU DID IT!!! Now go refresh yourself and have a fantastic trip!
xo,
Kimberley
Woohoo! Book 2 is in da bag!
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…
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until edits.
Yay you! Have the best time in Africa, Meg!
Congrats on pwning book 2! May the afterglow of finishing a book never fade, at least until the next book is finished.
WOW, congratulations!! And I am SO looking forward to both of your books–>I’ve told all my friends about SKYLARK this weekend at DFWCon.
Have an amazing time in Africa!