Why write fiction? There are so many quotes about the “misery” of being a writer. My favorite is my own which goes something like this:

Writing a first novel is a great achievement. Writing a second novel is insanity.

The insanity is that you (I) suffered through the first one and then did it again. Reminds me of a woman who has a baby and then wants to go through all of that again a few years later. To give you a sense of the misery of writing The Redemption, here’s a few highlights:

• In 2001, I stood by a radio station in West Texas and pondered a story about a stranger walking down the lonely highway.
• A year later (or so, my memory ain’t so good), I started on The Connection. My goal was to write a full-blown novel. I had no experience, no training, and no idea how to do that.
• In 2007, I finished the novel. My daughter had a single copy printed, and I thought I’d write that off my bucket list. My readers were mainly my parents, my mother-in-law (who was my very first reader), and my wife.
•  Meanwhile, the idea for another novel (The Redemption) would not go away. The question: What would happen if a mother found out 33 years later that her husband switched their daughter with another at birth? She would find this out from a letter her husband wrote her on his deathbed and the other parents were uber-rich.
• I put together outlines, character descriptions, other background, and chapter one in 2007/2008. I spent 2008-2011 writing various versions of the book, educating myself about the writing process (plot, scene structure, description, conflict, setting, character, viewpoint, etc.), but also stopping for months at a time.
• In 2012-2015, I put the published version together. The very first draft looked nothing like the end result. I had a few family members read it, but mostly I was the writer, editor, book cover designer, etc. I spent another six months understanding grammar, so the book could be as professional as I could make it.
• In the fall of 2015, I self-published it after editing eleven “final draft” versions (I can’t count how many versions I played around with before that). I was proud of my final product.
• Even with all of that preparation and work, I didn’t expect many people to read it. There were so many things going against me which can be summarized in these three statements:
  • People don’t seem to read anymore,
  • People have so much competition for their eyeballs and dwindling free-time, and
  • Everybody seems to be writing books and self-publishing
• By winter, I had sold 50 copies which was about 40 more than I thought I would sell. Then a weird thing happened in the late spring (for which I still don’t understand). My book spiked a bit and sold another 150 copies. As of today I’m closing in on 400 copies. That’s not exactly a million seller, but it surprised me.
• To date, the book has received 21 reviews and that’s with cajoling several people to leave a review. Most of the feedback has been positive (through these reviews and personal feedback). A few people didn’t care for it and that’s to be expected.
• With one published book in my pocket, I spent the last two years finishing The Switch. I think its a better book from a “page-turner” aspect. Even had a local artist volunteer to do the cover, which looks great and gives the book some uniqueness from that standpoint. The entire process was also much easier after writing one book.

Bottom line: It took me fifteen years to publish my first novel (though I didn’t really work on it the whole time). Now I have a second book out, sales are slow, interest seems lukewarm, but I’m still ahead of my pace with The Redemption. It’s during THIS time that writing has some “misery” to me. Writing the book now is more natural; marketing it is really, really tough. Will I sell 100, 200, 300, 400, or more? If I don’t top The Redemption’s success, should I continue? I already have The Connection (my first book that went unpublished) nearly rewritten, another book in my head, and a request from a friend to co-write a GREAT story with him.

Many successful self-published writers say you need to write 5-10 books before you build a following.

Time will tell…