What’s it like when your first book is a NY Times Bestseller? Is there an added pressure for book two?
It’s cool. I don’t mean to sound too detached from it, but at this point I am a little bit. When I found out about it, it was everything. It was so exciting. But it’s like seasons two and three of BoJack Horseman, where he’s chasing after everything outside of himself that he thinks will make him feel less empty, only to realize that having those things doesn’t produce the desired effect. Having a NYTimes Bestseller simply means the book got into a lot of hands. I’m grateful for that. I’d like to get the next book in a lot of hands as well. It’s not a remark on the quality of my writing, though, or a reflection of my ideas shifting consciousness. So, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about the list while working on my next book.
I want to sell a lot of books. I also want to write a better book. Focusing on the list won’t do that. I’m not sure how that will factor into the pressure I feel for this next one, since I haven’t gotten started on it yet, but I know it’ll be there. The question is can I put that aside enough to focus on the quality of the ideas and writing? Guess we’ll find out.
