So, I’m writing again. Which is good. I think.
After almost three months of fretting and strategizing I actually sat down today and bashed out some words. It wasn’t exactly flowing freely – it was more like trying to pull out a rusty nail – but it’s done.
My drive and ambition to write took a complete nosedive during the Spring thanks to a catastrophic loss of confidence caused by a variety of factors. Not getting any agents to represent me last year was hard, and then the flatlining sales once friends and family all got their copies was also very discouraging. It all just built up to the point where I needed to stop, take a breath, and really think about what I wanted.
Because I love writing. It’s my thing. I love getting words down and crafting and refining sentences. I loved building the world of the first book, and creating these characters that I really cared about. But the first book was fuelled by the (somewhat naïve) belief that I had a good chance of getting it published. Now that’s gone, it’s been hard to find the motivation to sit down and put in the hours for anything new.
It’s not all bad: I have a good idea for the second book, and a really good title, and over the last few weeks I’ve managed to put together a plot and structure that really works and makes sense and should have a decent pace.
But I still have to write the thing, and that’s where the issue lies. I just can’t face the thought of writing and editing another 90,000 word book. It’s too much work. I can’t face it.
So, instead, I’ve decided to break it down into manageable chunks. Book 2 is going to be written in six instalments (of around 15,000 words each) and it’s going to be released for free via various free book sharing lists, sites and services.
I reckon I can handle the thought of publishing six small books rather than one massive one and I’m hoping that the new publishing model will get me some new readers who might be keen to read more and give me encouragement to keep going and get all the instalments done.
We’ll see. It’s an experiment. Could go great. Could be terrible.
Watch this space.