by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I’ve read a lot from writers who liken releasing a book to birthing a child. I totally get where they’re coming from; there are plenty of similarities.
But the difference, in my opinion, is that when you birth a child it’s just the start of the real labor. The real labor is raising that child for the next couple of decades.What you don’t want to do with a book is spend the next couple of decades with it.
It’s usually the time when you need to walk away from it and start your next book. For one thing, it keeps you from being so hyper-focused on your book that you’re devoted to promo and not to creating again. If you love your book, the best thing you can do is hang out with those characters more by writing another adventure for them.
I gave a talk in August last year. The organizers asked if I would be promoting my latest book. I said that I usually gave my book talks more general (I talk about mysteries, the writing life, etc.) and that if I mentioned a book, it would probably be my first in the series.
The talk went well and everyone laughed at the right places. The tech worked without a glitch for my slideshow. Then it was time for the Q&A. One of the questions was for me to give a quick overview of my latest book. I froze. The book had come out two months before, but in the meantime I’d written a whole other book and an outline for another.
I smiled at them, apologized, walked over to the book table and glanced at the back cover copy. Then I walked back to the microphone on the lectern (everyone was howling with laughter by this point, realizing I had absolutely no idea what the book was about). I grinned and gave them a quick rundown on the story. Then I explained how I leave books behind. It’s not that I’m not invested in the books; I spent roughly three months in their creation. But there’s always another story waiting in the wings for me to write it.
I’ll admit that’s a little extreme, ha. But, for me at least, I just don’t have the headspace for more than one book at a time.
Is it tough to leave your most recent release behind? How do you move forward with your writing?
Leaving the Latest Release Behind: Share on X
No more than one story occupies my mind at a time.
I can mostly remember my books, but I don't have as many as you do. It would still be safer if I read the back cover to people though!
If I know I’m talking with a book club, I’ll read my outline for the book before I do, ha! It’s just too hard to remember.
That's a really interesting perspective, Elizabeth! I hadn't thought about it, but you're right that you move on to the next story. I think if someone asked me about a minor character in my first book, I'd have to think for a moment, that's for sure. I know series authors often keep character bibles for exactly that reason: so that when they write the tenth book in the series, it's consistent with the fifth…
With so many details, story bibles are also very important to maintain!
Beautiful!! That's exactly what happens to me when someone asks me about my latest book. Thank you for sharing another piece of your writing journey.
Mike Martin
It’s not just you! And thank you!
LOL! I can see you doing that. The rapid-fire release of my In Darkness series meant I had to move on quickly to the next story.
I can only imagine how confused I’d be with rapid-fire releases!