Melissa Landers on Post-Pandemic Career Hiccups

We all like to hear about the journey to publication, and hopefully other people's success stories help bolster the confidence of those still slogging through the query trenches. But what happens after that first book deal? When the honeymoon is over, you end up back where you were - sitting in front of a blank Word document with shaky hands. Except this time, there are expectations hanging over you. With this in mind, I’ve created the SNOB (Second Novel Omnipresent Blues) interview.

Today’s guest for the SNOB is Melissa Landers, author of Lumara which releases December 6, 2022

Whether you’re under contract or trying to snag another deal, you’re a professional now, with the pressures of a published novelist compounded with the still-present nagging self-doubt of the noobie. How to deal?

It’s weird, because even though I’ve published a dozen novels, I feel like I’m starting from scratch. A few years ago, my career had a “hiccup” that resulted in a gap in my release schedule. Then Covid shutdowns and editorial furloughs widened that gap even more. Now that I’m finally releasing a new YA novel (Lumara, coming Dec. 6 from Disney-Hyperion), I’ve found that the teenage readership I cultivated years ago is all grown up. I still have fans of my Alienated and Starflight series, but most of them have graduated from reading YA to reading adult novels. Which is totally understandable…but puts me on a brand-new course to connect with a brand-new set of readers. So you can probably see how that feels like starting over.

Is it hard to leave behind the first novel and focus on the second?

Instead of leaving behind a first novel, I’m leaving behind the first leg of my career. And yes, it’s a total mind freak. The years since Covid have FLOWN for me—seriously, it’s like my internal clock stopped ticking in 2020—and it’s hard to believe that so much time has passed since my last book launch. But here I am with a five year gap between YA releases. That’s hard to wrap my head around. 

At what point do you start diverting your energies from promoting your debut and writing / polishing / editing your second?

Well, I guess that’s a silver lining. My previous books came out so long ago that I can focus on my new releases instead of  worrying about promoting the old ones. ☺ 

Your first book landed an agent and an editor, and hopefully some fans. Who are you writing the second one for? Them, or yourself?

Myself. Always myself. I’m a very selfish writer, and I make no apologies for that. I began my career writing the books that I wanted to read, and all these years later, my goal remains the same. If I can’t entertain myself, I can’t entertain my readers. So it all starts with me. 

What did you do differently the second time around, with the perspective of a published author?

This time around, I’m doing a lot more living in the real world and less living in the virtual world. The old me used to spend hours and hours staging the *perfect* book pic for Instagram. I loved the validation and the exposure that came with each post. But even though my pictures and videos racked up a metric ton of likes, the attention rarely translated into sales. Eventually, the experience started to feel empty. That was when I knew my free time was better spent doing the things I love with the people I love. 

Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn't afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public...just ask her three embarrassed kids. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she writes fantasy and space adventures for the young at heart.

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Kelly Sokol on Starting Over With Her Second Novel

We all like to hear about the journey to publication, and hopefully other people's success stories help bolster the confidence of those still slogging through the query trenches. But what happens after that first book deal? When the honeymoon is over, you end up back where you were - sitting in front of a blank Word document with shaky hands. Except this time, there are expectations hanging over you. With this in mind, I’ve created the SNOB (Second Novel Omnipresent Blues) interview.

Today’s guest for the SNOB is Kelly Sokol, the author of Breach which is a story about the blurring of the boundary between the battlefield and home front.

Whether you’re under contract or trying to snag another deal, you’re a professional now, with the pressures of a published novelist compounded with the still-present nagging self-doubt of the noobie. How to deal?

When I signed with an agent who then sold my debut novel, The Unprotected, to an editor at a sizable, respectable New York publishing house, I naively thought I'd accessed the keys to the publishing kingdom. I'd done those two, nearly impossible things, and surely everything in my writing and publishing life would be easier from then on. On top of that, The Unprotected had earned back in its first month and I was already accruing royalty payments. My debut novel was out in the world and it was a small success.

So much for the keys to the kingdom. Within a couple of months after publication day, I was left reeling. It started with an email from my editor: "I'm moving on to another house." Then the marketing and PR folks said the same. I didn't know that a third of the publisher's staff left or were let go that summer. It continued with an unanswered email and a second unanswered follow-up email to my agent. She had suddenly stopped agenting completely, and her clients found this out from one another.

I was completely on my own now to market and promote my novel. Impostor syndrome roared between my ears. The two professionals who'd championed my novel left it back in my lap. What did that say about my work? About me as a writer?

Fortunately, I'd formed partnerships with communities like Postpartum Support Virginia who were interested in The Unprotected and its subject matter--a driven woman who overcomes infertility to have the daughter she's sacrificed everything for and who is driven to the brink of insanity by the life she created for herself. I connected with book clubs who enjoyed arguing over protagonist Lara James's complicated decisions. I learned that, ultimately, no one cares about a novel like its author. No one will support my work if I don't.

But it still royally messed with my head.

Is it hard to leave behind the first novel and focus on the second?

Yes! In the months leading up to publication day for The Unprotected I wrote personal essays. I couldn't find the energy for fiction while swirling in the outward facing parts of an author's job (that part that I thought I wanted so badly--interviews, questions, early reader reactions).

At what point do you start diverting your energies from promoting your debut and writing / polishing / editing your second?

I am always writing, whether it's a novel draft or in the form of personal essays for publication, race reports to share with fellow trail and ultra runners, or morning pages to mine what my o'dark-thirty mind has for me. I'd written for years prior to publishing any of my writing, and I've always known that writing is how I make sense of the world.

The moment I decided to let go of my first novel and devote myself to Breach is fresh in my memory. It was the summer of 2017 (The Unprotected debuted in April 2017), and I was sitting with a group of writers all scribbling to the same prompts. As I made a prose list from one of the prompts, I met Marleigh, the protagonist of Breach. I knew she wouldn't let me go until I got her story down onto the page as truthfully and faithfully as I could. For me, stories always begin with a character, and when I meet a character that keeps me up at night worrying and wondering, I can't help but devote myself to her.

Your first book landed an agent and an editor, and hopefully some fans. Who are you writing the second one for? Them, or yourself?

I write my early drafts for me, and then revise and rewrite for readers. First drafts are compulsive. I'm tugging a knotted thread to see how far it will go before it breaks. I'm writing for the moment that my main character takes control of the plot and shows me her full humanity, power and truth. That experience is like nothing else. When reworking the later drafts, it's imperative to keep the reader in mind. How do I pace the book to keep them from putting it down? How vivid can I make setting and atmosphere? I tell my creative writing students this frequently, too. The joy of creating doesn't necessarily translate into a joyful read. An enjoyable read takes work!

Is there a new balance of time management to address once you’re a professional author?

It's incredible when a reader of my first novel asks when or where they can find Breach. I knew I had multiple novels inside me, but I wasn't sure I had the stamina or discipline or thick skin to write and publish more.

I'm incredibly thankful that I had dedicated students who motivated me to keep at it. Who wants to learn from someone who has stopped writing and publishing? And my family took my writing more seriously after I had one book in the world, so I could be more protective of my writing time and schedule when I worked on Breach. It still took nearly five years from that first night of writing until publication! Nonetheless, my third novel is now finished and in the late draft revision stage. I'm much better at structuring and adhering to the writing schedule and process that work for me.

The months immediately surrounding publication are a heady whirlwind of promotion and touring, and they require serious time management. I'm definitely better at that this time around.

What did you do differently the second time around, with the perspective of a published author?

I didn't spend more than nine months looking for agency representation for Breach. That was a major change. I researched independent publishers, and quickly found two that took a serious interest. The experience with koehlerbooks has been terrific so far. I've had transparent insight into every step of the process, as well as much more input than I expected. I think it's important to know that there are different roadmaps to traditional publication.

I learned after The Unprotected that even if I sign with an agent and even if that agent sells my book to a large publisher that no one will care for my novel more than I do. I knew that ultimately I was on my own not only in writing the best book I could, but also in marketing, promoting and selling my work. No one is going to do that for me. Like Marleigh in Breach, I realized I am in charge of keeping my book and myself well afloat.

Kelly Sokol is the author of Breach and The Unprotected, which was featured on NPR and named one of Book Riot's 100 Must-Read Books of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Motherhood. She is a Pushcart Prize-nominated author and MFA creative writing graduate. Her work has appeared in Alpinist, UltraRunning Magazine, The Manifest-Station, Connotation Press, and more. She teaches creative writing at The Muse Writers Center. When she is not reading, writing or parenting, Kelly dreams, in color, of the mountains. She can often be found running in the backcountry. She resides in Virginia with her family.

Lauren Ho On The Pressures of the Sophomore Novel

We all like to hear about the journey to publication, and hopefully other people's success stories help bolster the confidence of those still slogging through the query trenches. But what happens after that first book deal? When the honeymoon is over, you end up back where you were - sitting in front of a blank Word document with shaky hands. Except this time, there are expectations hanging over you. With this in mind, I’ve created the SNOB (Second Novel Omnipresent Blues) interview.

Today’s guest for the SNOB is Lauren Ho , author of Lucie Yi Is Not a Romantic, which released June 21st.

Whether you’re under contract or trying to snag another deal, you’re a professional now, with the pressures of a published novelist compounded with the still-present nagging self-doubt of the noobie. How to deal?

It’s true that most second-time novelists like myself are still new to the publishing industry, especially those of us living outside of the US/UK who’d never gone through the MFA route and lack the built-in support networks that such authors have. Publishing is an opaque industry, and what’s been helpful for me at least is Book Twitter, which demystifies parts of it and tells you what is within your control (write a fine book) and what is without (marketing, publicity) as an author. I just work on bettering my craft and let others handle the other aspects of publishing, and that’s been immensely freeing.

Whenever I feel burnt out, or need support, I turn to my 2020 debut authors peer group. We’ve been through a lot as the worst of the pandemic debuts, and we support each other as much as we can. I’ve also made friends with more experienced authors who’ve passed on some very important tips to me. All this to say that it takes a village to survive being a published author!

Is it hard to leave behind the first novel and focus on the second?

In a sense, yes, because my debut novel, Last Tang Standing (LTS), was published during the bleakest months of early pandemic, and having not had the “classic” trad-pub debut experience (events at bookstores and meeting readers) that most authors dream of, I do sometimes find myself wondering what could have been if I’d debuted in 2019!

For my second novel, Lucie Yi Is Not a Romantic., because I didn’t have a two-book deal and I sold it well into the year after LTS was published, I feel like in terms of the writing I was able to really focus on it without being distracted by promotional stuff for LTS. Also, I’m more of a plotter than a pantser now, and I’ve improved my craft, which makes writing much speedier with less detours.

At what point do you start diverting your energies from promoting your debut and writing / polishing / editing your second? 

I started writing Lucie Yi almost half a year after I debuted, sold it on option with a few chapters, before proceeding to frantically complete it my manuscript in six months including revisions. In that time I had some emotional distance and head space to work on Lucie Yi without being encumbered by promotional work for LTS. That really helped!

Your first book landed an agent and an editor, and hopefully some fans. Who are you writing the second one for? Them, or yourself?

For my second book, I wrote in a different style from my second book, even though it’s still in the general adult/women’s fiction/romcom category crossover genre. You could say stylistically and tonally, Lucie Yi is a more “serious” read because of some of its themes (pregnancy loss, fertility, infidelity). I wanted to tell a story about a South-East Asian woman in her late thirties who wanted a child, and gets pregnant during the course of the novel, which isn’t something you see in a lot of romances.

I did however want to satisfy those readers who fell in love with the voicey, funny writing in LTS (which landed 3 starred reviews and was on several ‘best of’ lists), so Lucie Yi is still very much a voicey, funny book, in spite of its themes. And for those who liked the cultural setting and familial clashes in LTS, Lucie Yi retains both elements.

Is there a new balance of time management to address once you’re a professional author?

Well I now have two kids since LTS published, and a day job again, so I guess I have even less time than I did before to write, but I’m taking it one step at a time. I believe in writing when you can, and not fussing too much with the first draft. Just keep writing until you have a manuscript, then you can start editing/polishing the crap out of your first draft.

What did you do differently the second time around, with the perspective of a published author?

I tried to get my sensitivity readers involved more extensively than I did for LTS, because I think as a South-East Asian writer writing in English, I bear a heavier burden of representation and I do want to live up to it as much as I can without letting it overwhelm the creative process and the story I want to tell.

I have also learned how to create healthier boundaries on how I use social media as an author. I am a private individual by nature and I’ve learned how to negotiate the space better since LTS was published. I have also made peace with the fact that some people are just malicious/negative online personas, and since I can’t change how they act, I need to preserve my sanity and protect my mental health and decide on how I want to engage with personal attacks.

Still, in general I’m really happy with the amount of love that my books have gotten, not just at home (Malaysia and Singapore), but with a global audience, and I continue to be grateful for the opportunity to share my stories with readers from around the world.

Lauren Ho is a reformed legal counsel who now prefers to write for pleasure. Hailing from Malaysia, she is currently based in Singapore, where she’s ostensibly working on her next novel while attempting to parent. She is also the author of the international bestseller, Last Tang Standing. Her mother still wishes Lauren had gone to medical school, though. Find her on Instagram and Twitter at @HelloLaurenHo.