Featherstone 
Dear Author: Why It’s Worth Writing Second and Subsequent Books
Seeing authors grow in skill and confidence as they tackle the writing and publishing of their second and subsequent books makes me so happy!
Case in point: Sarah Martin’s latest book Dear Carer: For Those Supporting Someone with Complex Mental Health Concerns. The book is a follow-up to her 2023 title, Dear Psychosis, which I wrote about here.
Just some of the benefits I’ve seen for myself, Sarah, Maggie Walters (who I’ll be in-conversation with at Byron Writers Festival on Friday 14th August/ and Better Read Than Dead in Sydney with Cynthia Banham on Monday 17th August) and other authors who have written multiple books include:
- When you think about the potential for multiple books, you don’t need to try and shoehorn everything into your first one
- Your craft improves, and therefore your subsequent books are better
- You can build on the relationships the first one put in motion, including readers, podcasters, media, librarians, event organisers, booksellers and expert commentators
- You understand the process of writing and publishing so can achieve things quicker and more cost effectively
- Your production team (if you’re self-publishing, that means your editor, cover designer and formatter, or the tools you use to do these) are already in place…or you’ve had time to observe and contract others you’d like to work with
- You have a backlist! That means every new book sends curious readers back to the first one for a potential sale
- Anyone coming across your work might now invest in BOTH books, rather than just one, so the average price of your transactions can rise
- You know what kind of marketing worked and what marketing didn’t get results for your first book, which allows you to focus on channels that were worth the effort (and that you enjoyed!)
- You have a warm audience already of people who have already heard about you and will be more receptive
- A growing credibility that comes with being an author who shows up more than once, because showing up again says you mean it
Sarah Martin’s journey with Dear Carer is a good example of all of these in action.
She’s written perfectly for her audience who are likely already feeling overwhelmed. From the short, well-organised chapters to easy-to-follow checklists and easy-to-read descriptions, she doesn’t add to the confusion but simply shares what she’s learned, asked and researched along the way. There’s also a great index, a must-have resource in a non-fiction book of this type…and which can also lead to librarians taking it more seriously.
The cover of Dear Carer is also fabulous! It feels like a personal hug. And indeed, this is what this book is for its readers: a hug, plenty of help, useful information, honesty, and a conversation with Sarah, emergency services workers, mental health professionals, and other carers.
What Sarah has also done brilliantly with Dear Carer is build on everything Dear Psychosis put in motion. The relationships with other carers and her local booksellers, the speaking opportunities, the SANE Australia ambassadorship, her writing community friends – none of that had to be built from scratch the second time. It was already there, waiting to be activated.
That’s the gift of the second book. You’re not starting over. You’re building up.
If you’d like to hear Sarah talk about the nuts and bolts of what she learned between book one and book two, and how she produced and distributed both books, from assembling her production team to selling 260 copies at a single keynote, tune in to the Self-Publishing with ALLi Podcast toward the end of July where we will discuss it all.
If there’s someone in your circle who is caring for someone with complex mental health concerns – let them know about Sarah’s book. Dear Carer is available now through Sarah’s website and online retailers. You can find Sarah at sarahmartinauthor.com.au and on Instagram at @sarahmartinauthor.
And if you’re sitting with a half-finished manuscript wondering whether it’s worth pushing through, or finished your first book and don’t think you have another one in you, just give it some time or book some 1:1 time with me to talk it through.