September 2016: For the first time, I sit down and actually start typing the story that is now The Pride of Central. An entirely new novel exists in my mind, and I'm excited to finally put it in written form. I have no thoughts of a sequel or second book of any kind. I'm just hoping to get this first book out to the public in some form. I have no expectations of it ever happening again.
June 2017: The first draft of The Pride of Central is finished, ready for several types of editing: from having my mother read through it to having various programs analyze it. The thought of a sequel actually does drift through my mind once or twice. But I dismiss any further ideas involving the Central baseball team. Their story ends with this novel. And with that decision, I'm sure this book is my debut and finale. It won't happen again.
November 2018: Though I am very deep into the overall publishing process, I am at an emotional low as a writer. The book has been edited several times, my writing buddy has produced a beautiful cover for me and I am nearly ready to submit my book for self-publishing. But I want to quit. This would be the first time I put my own story out where anyone in the public might read it, and I'm nervous beyond words. It takes some encouragement from my family and writing buddy to take that next step, but my anxieties convince me that I could never go through this again.
December 2018: Submitting my manuscript agonizes me. I have to deal with a process I don't entirely understand. The publisher accepts it, and my first author copies arrive soon afterward. I am happy once the printed book is in my hand, and I soak it all in, because I know this could never happen again.
March 2019: The Pride of Central goes on sale. Neither Stephen King nor J.K. Rowling tremble in fear of losing their readership, but the story is received much better than I ever expected. In the months that follow, friends and co-workers buy the book. Many ask me, “are you working on a sequel?” I usually tell them that I am almost certain that I won't write another one, but in my heart I am certain. It cannot happen again.
June 2019: During a lull between events to promote The Pride of Central, I start to wonder why I'm not coming up with a second story. I had not noticed this before, but I become acutely aware that everyone else in my writing groups either has written multiple books, or are entering their writing careers with the intent of writing more than one novel. No one else seems to intend on being a one-book wonder. I start to question why another story has not developed in my imagination. Even though I am a published author – and I have even sold more copies than I anticipated – I wonder whether or not I am a “real author”. But with no new story in my mind, I realize it could never happen again.
August 2019: I did not try to create it. Much how The Pride of Central started to appear in my mind almost subconsciously, a new story has started to form. The plot is not connected to my first book, and no more than one or two secondary characters might cross over, if any at all. But there is a story again. I know I am physically able to write it. What I have to decide is if it is worth the time, energy and emotion of an entirely new round of editing, submitting and promoting. Could it happen again?
September 2019: The working title is The Jewelry of Grace. There will be doubts, fears and roadblocks along the way, but it will happen again.
Next week: We are all differently the same
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