4 things from writing my second book

I finally did the thing. I typed the words "THE END" on my next book and shipped it off in an email to officially make the novel someone else's problem for a while.

Wheeeee!

I can't possibly explain the relief. Writing this draft has legitimately been one of the hardest things I've ever done. I love the book and the idea and the characters but it has been a major, major struggle to get to a draft I felt even remotely comfortable showing anyone.

Right now I can't say too much about this book, which is to say, I can say nothing. I wouldn't want to put my foot in my mouth if the title or even the plot were to change down the road. One day I'm looking forward to talking about my early attempts that didn't work, starting over, and figuring out the right way into this story. But that's for later.

For right now, though, what I can talk about is the dreaded process of writing a follow up book to your debut, which all authors almost universally agree is a fucking nightmare.

One. Getting off the mat.

2024 was a really hard year on a personal level and that, unsurprisingly, did not help.

Let's unpack!

Professionally, 2024 was a shitshow. In early 2021, I had a thriving business running my own blogs, working for myself, and making solid money. It was a little boring and repetitive at times, but it gave me insane freedom and flexibility. So much so that I was lucky enough to have the time and money to invest in myself and my dream of writing fiction, so I carved out the time to write a novel and next thing you know, there was the early makings of DAD CAMP.

A year and a half later, I miraculously have a book deal. My other career is still going pretty well so getting published is just a massive bonus. I still have the time and flexibility to work on editing and launching the book. Things are great.

Two years later the book comes out — yay! But at almost the exact same time, my business completely dies. Like, dead as a doornail.

It was really, really bizarre this past summer, when Dad Camp hit shelves, to be celebrated by so many people in my life for this massive achievement, something people view as a huge success, while being borderline unemployed and feeling like a complete failure.

(Hmm... wonder if this theme will show up in the book I was working on at the time?)

I've since found gainful employment again, which is an amazing relief. But to say it was an easy transition this year would definitely be a lie. That stress and the hit to my self-confidence definitely made it hard to write this year.

We also found out a few months back that my youngest daughter, 4, has ADHD.

I can't tell you how much time we've spent at occupational therapy, psychologist's offices, working with a therapist, practicing new techniques at home. My God. Every single thing has been a struggle, from getting up and out in the morning to going to bed to sleeping through the night to endless tantrums and nonstop motion and activity. I knew almost nothing about ADHD before this, other than what's in the name. I thought it was just hyperactivity + trouble focusing. I had no idea about the severe mood dysregulation and defiance and impulsivity and sleep troubles and all the other things that come along with it. The good news is that the therapy has really been working for us. Everything is still really hard, but getting better. If you have a kid with ADHD, look into PCIT — it's a life-changer.

In part because of that, my world has gotten very small lately. I am pretty much 100% focused on showing up for my kids right now, and writing this book. I've looked around at other authors who are attending book signings and conferences and networking with other writers and doing meetups, and I've felt a lot of things, like I'm missing out, or that I'm not as dedicated to this career as others, or even grief. I've felt like I'm doing something wrong this whole time.

Not overly helpful feelings when you're trying to write a comedy!

Two. Self Doubt.

My debut novel, Dad Camp, has been out in the world for about six months now.

I would say that sales have been a little disappointing to this point. It's not over — far from it! The book continues to sell new copies every week — and I think the book will continue to find more and more readers for years (already seeing an uptick for the holidays, and hopefully will see another one around Father's Day again), but it's hard not to start asking questions like:

Is there really a place for me and my voice and the kinds of stories I want to write in the literary world? Am I cut out for this? Should I be doing something else with my time?

From other writers I talk to, these are very common questions to have post-debut, and again, they're not very helpful when you're trying to write your follow up book.

Three. Messiness.

Here's a little secret about Dad Camp. When I wrote it, I actually had no idea how to write a book.

I've talked about it before in interviews and such but I really stumbled my way through the first draft of Dad Camp by shooting from the hip with a loose outline. Later, I overhauled the structure and "storytelling 101" of the draft and got it into better shape, but I still think Dad Camp really excels in voice and heart and energy and not as much with craft.

So with this book I really felt like I was starting from scratch as a total beginner in some ways, while also wanting to improve my craft and just... write an even better book.

That's a tough ask! I had a lot of fits and starts with this novel, and I had to scrap it all and start again several times just to get to this "first" draft.

I would say one of the resources that proved to be most helpful for me was Michael Hauge's story framework which really helped me learn how to tie characters and character development into the external plot points — which is the foundation of any good story. It doesn't reinvent the wheel or anything but this particular approach really landed with me.

I hope that if and when I write a third book, I'll start to feel at least a little bit like I know what I'm doing and how to start! (You never know, though...)

Four. Time.

Now that I'm working full-time again, I have no idea how people regularly do this: Write books and hold down a job.

I was so, so, so lucky to have pretty much unlimited flexibility the first time around. Now I'm trying to do a lot more all at once and I have a newfound appreciation for the people who have done this successfully.

Add on parenting young kids, plus dealing with our ADHD diagnosis, and it's truly a miracle I was able to write a single word. I did a lot at night, which is hard, because you're fighting against a ticking clock of your own brain starting to shut down for the day. But sometimes it was the only time I had.

Dirty secret: I haven't read a book in months. Sorry, literary Gods. I'll be a good author in 2025, I promise.

What's next?

I'm just so proud to have gotten to this point. I don't know if the book is any good yet, honestly. But I think there's a lot of good in it and it has the potential to be really special. My editor will know how to get it there.

For now I have to celebrate. Just getting to The End is a huge accomplishment, even if we have to scrap it all and start over once again.

In the meantime, I'm excited to have a break for the holidays. And if I know me, I won't be able to help but tinker with some ideas for my next writing project, which might be another novel, or it might not. We'll see. That's a problem for 2025 me to figure out.