Hi all, I thought I’d give a quick update on where I’m at with The Machinery and its sequels. Book One (The Machinery) is coming out on September 10th. It will initially be available on ebook format, so can be found in all good electronic bookstores (Amazon, iBooks etc). There will then be a paperback edition six months later, in March 2016.
I sent in my last version of the book a couple of weeks ago and am just waiting on structural edits now. I’ve no idea what to expect, but I’m looking forward to the process. I don’t think I’ll be particularly precious about anything, having had my articles torn up for years and done some tearing myself. But we’ll see!
Apart from this my major focus has been drafting the second book, the imaginatively titled Book 2. (I’ve got a few proper titles in mind, but nothing set as yet. I thought I’d see how the book develops first before making my mind up). The idea at the moment is to bring out a book every six months, so the second book would be released on ebook next March, around the same time as the paperback edition of The Machinery. The final book would then come out in September 2016.
This obviously creates a fairly hectic writing and editing routine, as the draft of the second book will need to be with my editor around October, while I’ll be editing The Machinery at the same time, writing these blog posts and getting stuck into promotion etc as best I can. It took me about two and a half years to write the original manuscript of The Machinery, so this is a much more compressed timeframe.
That being said, it’s actually easier in many ways. When you write your first novel you are essentially writing into a void. Unless you’re a celebrity or something, you have no way of knowing whether anyone will want to read your book, either in the publishing industry or just among your friends. You have no idea whether it will be successful, and are constantly told online of all the struggles and pitfalls a wannabe writer faces. So actually having a solid deadline and an awareness of the path ahead makes things much easier.
Also, you will have developed your own writing routine by the time of the second novel, so it’s easier in that respect. And in my case, Book 2 is a direct sequel, so the story is already mapped out in my head pretty clearly, though I’m sure it will take certain detours as I go along.
Anyway, sorry for the rambling post – I’ll let you know how I get on with my edits!
GerrardCowan.com 