No, it’s not a sequel. Just the next book by yours truly.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
Let Me Reintroduce Myself
Hi! It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve given you a glimpse behind the curtain to my writing workshop (or rather desk. It’s a desk.) so come on in.
I have a lot to update you on, and I’m super excited about it! (Yes, in spite of that bummer of a last article I wrote. Honesty is important, but that one was a tough admission. Read it here.)
Meet the New Baby
Okay, so it’s not quite ready yet, but I’m in the last chapters!
This one is already going to be longer than the first one. For reference, I keep my chapters between 3,000 and 5,000 words, usually on the lower end of that range. It just feels like enough to get some meaningful plot on the page without dragging it out until your mind starts to wander. (Or until mine does.) Anyway, the first book was a total of 25 chapters, and this one has surpassed 30.
I don’t think it’s going to take too much longer, but I’m excited because I really love a good, fat book, one that you have to bend your thumb to hold its impressive girth. And soon I’ll have written one of those!
Yes, yes, we’re happy to hear the length and weight of the baby. But what’s its name?
I do have a name for it, but so far it’s a secret. I’m not ready to tell you until I’ve put the finishing touches on the manuscript. For me, the title always comes last, because it has to suit the entire story, and there are so many twists and turns before the end that the name I think it will have when I begin isn’t always accurate by the end. It’s like the little hat they put on the baby before you leave the hospital.
Okay, Gina, enough with the newborn analogies.
So what’s it about?
Its working name has been my Southern Gothic, which is a genre I’ve always admired from a distance. I talked about this briefly at my first author talk at Pageturners in Indianola. Mine is a detective story, set in 1890s Georgia in a small town called Magnolia. A young detective named Ernest Cubbedge is called in to investigate the case of a missing girl. But when he arrives, it turns out it’s mostly the townspeople trying to calm an elderly patriarch who thinks a girl is missing from his house…when no one else lives there.
But as Cubbedge digs further, he learns that not only is the old man not crazy, but he’s sitting on a powder keg of family histories that’s waiting to explode. The fuse branches off all over town and is entangled in the lives of another wealthy family, and it isn’t long before several people try to snuff out the investigation. Cubbedge, however, knows there is something behind the old man’s story, and it might be more than just a missing girl. Hidden among the web of family tragedies lie crimes everyone seems to know, and evils even the law won’t touch.
My New Strategy
If you know the backstory of how I wrote my first book, you’ll know it wasn’t exactly typical. I wrote a short story that turned into a novella, followed it up with another novella, and then smooshed them together into a novel since they were about the same characters.
This time, my strategy has been a little different. I walked in knowing that I wanted to write a full-length novel and a little intimidated by the notion. All those empty pages…But you can’t dwell on that. You just have to start and put one foot in front of the other (or one word after the other…whatever).
As usual, I had to brainstorm for a couple of months before I could begin. Who would tell the story? Where would it be set? What basic framework would hold it together? Once I had that, I started writing.
The biggest change in strategy has been to introduce it to my beta readers piece by piece. I’m at a point in my career where I don’t have many fans, so that really just means my mom and my sister. But they’ve got a good eye for grammar and plot holes, so don’t knock it! Instead of what I’ve always done before, which was to finish the story before I let them read any of it, I’ve been sending them two or three chapters at a time.
This has helped me in a couple of ways. First off, someone other than me is excited. Their enthusiasm helps stave off those feelings of unimportance that can really squelch a writing session, especially for a big project like this. They also haven’t let me go to sleep at the wheel. Every week or two, I’ll get a text wanting to know when the next installment is coming. It’s nice, okay? It makes me feel like I have fans.
But more than that, it helps fight the nerves. They already like this much of it and are very absorbed, so I know I’ve got them hooked enough to read the next portion. It’s kept me going, and it’s kept me honest.
I have had to inform them of a name change or scrapped chapter here or there, but so far it’s been a good experience.
Looking Forward
Of course, my goal is publication. This one is going to be treated a little differently. For starters, I’m going to start marketing way earlier so I can get the most bang for my buck come launch date.
I’m way less nervous since the first time. I have the steps and costs all written out, and I’ve still got some ISBNs I didn’t use from the first one, so this should go a little quicker. Certainly with less stress. I know where to find good editors and what resources I still need. I just need a finished manuscript before I can begin pursuing all that.
How Does It Feel?
I’ve got to say, having a novel going so I can just sit down and write without wasting time figuring out what to work on is nice. I’ll miss that when this is finished. But you know what? Then I’ll get to start another project!
The funny thing about this story is it’s several people’s stories all knotted up in one, and the one I’ve saved till last is one of my favorites. I can’t wait to spring it on readers!
One feeling that has stuck out to me is the sense of relief I get when I finally put on paper (or rather screen, but that’s rather less poetic, isn’t it?) a scene or plot point that I’ve had in my head since fall of 2020. Yes, I’ve basically been working on this since the launch of my last novel.
Anyway, it’s really coming along, it’s bringing me a lot of joy, and I can’t wait for you to read it. My best guess is it’ll launch sometime in the latter portion of this year, but I can’t promise anything. If I hit a major brainwave, I might even be able to finish writing it this week!
Last night, I finished and sent chapter 32 to my family. I’m so close I can taste it.
