The first book you write because of the way it makes you feel. The second one you can't help but wonder how it's going to make the reader feel.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
The writing is really important in books that affect me. I read for the writing. The story is usually of less interest to me. It's the words that break your heart.
Whenever I start a new book, I think, 'This is the most interesting subject of all time. It's sad, I'll never enjoy writing another book as much as I enjoy this one.' Every time, I'm convinced. And then I change my mind when I start the next book.
My greatest fear is disappointing the reader, so each book has to be better than the one before.
If one book's done this well, you want to write another one that does just as well. There's that horror of the second novel that doesn't match up.
I will write another book if I feel like it.
Each book has been different and has been challenging in its own way to write.
While I'm writing, I'm also the first reader, and I want to write a book where I'm excited about what happens next.
My most successful books, the ones that I feel the strongest about, are the ones that started with a premise that for me was deeply emotional.
After each book, I get panicky. I don't love the reviews. I don't like going through all that, and you would think that, after almost 40 years of writing, I'd have got the hang of it.
Your first book is kind of a labor of ignorance. You don't realize the difficulty of it. Your second book is sort of a labor of fear. Then you sort of either hit a stride, or you don't.