How To Write Your Next Book

An email counts, right?

Hi Y’all!

Friend of the newsletter Jaime Green (who is writing a book about the possibility of aliens and I can’t WAIT to read it) posed a good question on Twitter and thank you Jaime for giving me a newsletter topic in the depths of December.

Jaime said, basically, do I have to/why/how do I write a proposal for a second book?

I know, I know—some of you are saying I WISH I had this problem. I wish this for you, too. You can tuck this away for when you do need it.

Some writers think that once you sell one book, the door is wide open for whatever you want to write next and you just have to vaguely gesture toward your idea and your editor will throw an advance at your feet. Ehhhhhh, not quite. Even the biggest author you can think of (ok, maybe one step down from that) has to show their publisher something about their next book, so that the editorial board has something to talk about when they decide whether or not to buy it. Because they do not automatically buy it.

So what happens then?

We talked about Option Clauses waaaaaaay back in July, 2020 (shudder), but here’s a quick overview. Your book contract very likely has an option clause in it that says what your publisher has a first look at from you. Your agent, if you have one, very likely negotiated that to be narrow, so that if you sold the publisher a romance novel, you only have to show then your next romance novel, and if you want to write a middle grade mystery next, you don’t have to show them that. (They probably wouldn’t want it anyway, but still.) It will also tell you what you have to show them—an outline, sample chapters, a proposal, the whole thing. It also tells you when you can show them your next idea, which could be as soon as when your first book is delivered and accepted, or a period of time after your book is published. Sometimes there’s no time period there at all. It varies. The publisher is not obligated to buy your option book, but they get first dibs, and you can’t do anything else with that idea until they say yes or no. You, also, are not obligated to accept their offer if they make one. You can always so no, and then you’re free to do what you want with that idea.

Now that’s out of the way, what do you actually do when faced with your second (or third or fourth, etc etc) book?

If you’re writing a novel:

First, figure out what you have to show them. Sample chapters and an outline or the whole thing? (It’s usually one or the other.) Then do that. You can always write the whole thing and show them that, even if it only says chapters and an outline, but not necessarily the other way around. Have I sold option books on a few paragraphs before? I have! But we’re talking .00000000001% of all the deals I’ve done, so don’t assume you’re the exception there.

Some writers need to write the whole thing to see if it has legs. That’s great. You can absolutely do that if you need to. If you’re just writing chapters and an outline and you’re worried it’s going to change between then and when you actually write the whole thing—don’t worry. Editors know that things can change in the process of writing. Just as long as you don’t sell them a romance and then write a 500,000 word epic fantasy novel, you’re ok.

If you’re writing non-fiction:

You probably sold your first book with a book proposal, so take out that file and use it as a template. You’ll just replace your old idea with your new idea. Easy, right? LOL. I know. BUT what you can largely keep is your marketing and promotion section, and just update it with info that’s changed—your social media numbers, any new publications (besides, but including your first book), new connections to writers for blurbs or media outlets, etc. You already have the template, so it’ll be easier than doing it from scratch! (You don’t have to put sales information about your first book, if it exists. Your publisher knows.)

You still do have to do that chapter online and sample chapters part. The editor still needs to go to their team and say this specific book is good and it will do these things and readers will want to read it. Even if your first book was great and did well, you still have to show them what you are going to do in your next book. They still need to sell your next book to readers. Don’t bank on being able to do More Stuff From That Author You Like! as a book concept. Your individual situation might give you more leeway here, but you’ll always do better if you put in the work upfront. It’s possible you may be able to get away with doing less, i.e. one sample chapter rather than two, since your editor already knows you can write, but talk to your agent/editor about that. It will vary book by book, writer by writer.

This applies to graphic novels and other illustrated books sold on proposal, too, btw. You basically need to do what you did before (and maybe a little less than you did before, but not as much less as you probably want to do, lol).

If you’re writing memoir:

Because memoir can be sold by both the whole manuscript and a proposal, you can probably do what you did before to sell your second, and/or do whatever your option clause says. Your personal circumstances and book deal will dictate what you need to do, but you do still need to do something.

No Automatic Yes or No

Your option book isn’t automatically going to be picked up just because your book sold a billion copies, and it isn’t automatically going to be rejected if your book didn’t sell well at all. Your editor is going to judge your second book on its own merits in the context of how your first book sold, because that ALL matters. Few readers will automatically buy your next book regardless of what it is (some will, most won’t), and some readers will buy your second book without having even heard of your first (unless it’s a series obvs, etc). I’m sorry there’s no Yes or No you can rest on here. We all want that, after all the work it takes to even sell one book, but it’s just not there.

Writing your next book will probably be easier than your first because you learned stuff in that process. But it’s not likely to be effortless and smooth sailing because nothing is in writing and publishing. Sorry! Now you know you can survive it, though. You can do it. I know you can.

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I stayed up WAY too late last night making spreadsheets and charts about what I sold this year and how those deals paid out and how my income broken down and I CANNOT wait to share that with you soon! (This is my idea of fun.) I’ll also be breaking down what I read this year with MORE CHARTS! Here’s 2019’s. And 2020’s. But they’re for subscribers only!

Here’s a taste. The number of deals I’ve done over the last four years, including audio, books, illustration, and work for hire.

(I’m tired.)

Take care, everyone. Test, vaccinate, boost. Repeat.

OXOXOOXX,

Kate