Ever since the first book in my middle grade series released
in April, people have been asking me if I’m excited about writing the next two
books. When I tell them both books are already written, were in fact written
before the first one even came out, they’re surprised. So am I.
The third book hasn’t undergone editorial revisions yet, but
it’s due for completion this fall. The offer for the 3-book deal occurred in
October of 2012, and by the time the second anniversary of that happy event
comes around, the bulk of the writing for all three books will be completed.
I had no idea it would happen that fast.
Right after the contract was signed, there was the usual
wait for an editorial letter. At the time, it seemed like the pace would be no
different from my previous two book deals – that is, lots of waiting with
periodic bouts of frantic activity. It wasn’t until I completed the editorial
revisions for Book 1 and looked ahead to the submission deadline for Book 2
that it dawned on me how fast things were happening.
In September of 2013, I found myself working on all three
books at once. I had first pass pages of The Eighth Day for proof-reading, my
editorial letter for The Inquisitor’s Mark, and I was
about a third of the way into writing the first draft of (the not-yet-officially-titled)
Book 3 – all while working a full-time job as a teacher.
I felt like this:
 |
| "Jane! Get me off this crazy thing!" |
It turned out I could not
work on all three books at once. I kept getting confused about what Jax, my
main character, knew and when he knew it.
So I concentrated first on the proof-reading of Book 1, then the revisions
for Book 2. Only when those tasks were finished did I open my first draft of
Book 3 again …
… and said, “Oh my God. This is a horrible mess.” Then I started over from scratch …
Writing Book 3 was an uphill battle. Like a magpie, I kept getting
distracted by shiny new things: Eighth Day ARCs, early reviews, a
cover for The Inquisitor’s Mark, back cover copy for the paperback
version of The Eighth Day … (Did you know that was established before the
hardback even released? Me neither!) Eventually I produced something I was
proud to present to my editor, and right now I’m anxiously awaiting her
guidance in transforming it into an even better story.
But do you know what the biggest surprise about
writing a series has been? It never occurred to me that people would want to
talk to me about the newly released first book – and meanwhile I know everything that happens in the next two.
Me: “You think that was bad, wait until Jax has to … oh, I can’t
tell you. But you’re really going to love … no, wait, I shouldn’t say. But what
did you think about the part where … um, has that happened yet?”
I’m a walking, talking spoiler. Beware.
