When my first book was published in 2007, the first (and immediate!) worry was whether my next book would be published and on it goes!
First time authors have one luxury over published and that is the pure enjoyment of living every moment they are writing in the creation of the story they want to tell - more often than not, a first book is one that has been with you for a while. A story or character who keeps giving you a more and more insistent nudge to put pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard.
Once that book is accepted it is likely you will have the writing bug and the belief that you can write another story and another...
Unfortunately once you start on the path to multi-published success, new pressures start to emerge - making the next book better than the one before, deadlines, edits and promotion. All these things are part of a published author's day...every day!
Thirteen years and twenty-five books later, I still have struggles with every book I write - and each time it is the same main two things:
1) Getting the plot right during the planning stage
2) Structural edits from my publisher
Plotting is my biggest struggle and I fear it always will be - I am a plotter by nature rather than a pantser (a 'fly by the seat of his/her pants writer) and like to have such a good idea of where the story will go that I even whittle it down to a chapter plan, complete with a planned paragraph of notes for each.
Yet, something ALWAYS goes flying off in a different direction - often led by a revelation from one of the characters or an action that means it needs explaining through backstory of which I have no idea!
Then the book is complete, I'm happy it is the best it can be - finished, yay!
Until the structural edits arrive from my editor... and once again I am thrown through a loop, wide-eyed, close to tears and reaching for the wine!
Alas, this is the life of a writer - but the one thing that never fails to kick these struggles into prospective... the joy of writing, the thrill of seeing your next book cover, the immense, heartfelt satisfaction of a good review or reader email.
Will I ever stop writing?? Absolutely NOT!
Rachel x
The entire Shop Girl series is available on Amazon as a complete set - all the summer reading you need!
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