Three Lessons from Writing My Second Novel

I’m excited to share my new release, Fountains and Secrets, with my Almost an Author family, along with a few things I’ve learned along the way.

The Book

Introducing a new mystery set in the world of the early church. Fountains and Secrets is the second book in the Livia Aemilia Mystery series. Like the first book in the series, Fountains and Secrets features a spunky female sleuth and her sassy sidekick, who aren’t afraid to be a little unconventional in pursuit of the truth. They are aided in their investigative endeavors by a motley collection of friends, servants, and a couple of strays (human and feline).  

For readers who enjoy mysteries and historical fiction with a touch of humor, Fountains and Secrets is quirky, clever, and engaging tale of identity, purpose, and hope.

And what have I learned about writing and promoting as I’ve worked through bringing two books to print? There are too many lessons to share in one post, but here are three I hope will encourage you as you continue on your author journey.

Writing a series isn’t as easy as I thought

In the mystery genre, series are normal, so I had planned from the beginning on writing a series of Livia Aemilia books. I was expecting the second book to be easier, since I already knew the main characters and had a feel for the tone and setting.

It didn’t turn out that way.

Working on the first book, my heroine’s voice seemed to come naturally, so I assumed it would come as naturally in the next one. Nope. It took me several false starts before I dialed in the right tone for Fountains and Secrets.

I thought that after having written one mystery, plotting the second one would be easier. Maybe. I think I had a better idea of what would make a good mystery story, but actually plotting the book proved just as challenging as my first attempt. Apparently, I still have a lot to learn about creating a plot from scratch, which means I must do a lot of rewriting along the way to until I get a plot into shape.

Despite these challenges, I persevered. With the help of good feedback, my characters came to life again and the plot eventually fell into place.  

I hope my experience will encourage any of you who are struggling with your next writing project. Book two wasn’t as easy to write as I’d hoped, but early feedback says it’s a better story than the first book.

And that tells me the work was worth it.  

Generosity and networking are important.

As in most of life, you reap what you sow. At some point you will need to have kindhearted authors who are willing to support you in a promoting your book in some way. How do you find these magical people?

First of all, you need to meet them and interact with them. This could be a face-to-face conversation at a writers conference, or it could be a relationship built over time while corresponding online through a writer’s group or through writing for blogs like Almost an Author.

Next, you have to be generous in promoting and supporting other writers. When you do willingly promote others with no strings attached, you are advancing God’s kingdom by helping get truth out into the world.

And you are also sowing goodwill, which you can reap late when you need help. For more thoughts on how you can be a generous writer, read this post.

Writing contests can be a good investment

Opinions differ on the value of entering your work in writing contests. Some experts say that it’s a waste of time to enter your book in any but the most prestigious contests.

I disagree.

I admit that becoming a finalist in a writing contest hasn’t made a significant impact in book sales, BUT (and this is a big but) it has made a significant impact on my author journey. Among other things, placing in writing contests boosts your resume, may snag the attention of an agent or publisher, and is noteworthy news that can be used in press releases and social media.

In addition to the practical reasons, being named a finalist in a contest, no matter how small, can make a difference in the tender heart of a writer. Winning an award in a small writers’ conference is worth something to our creative souls, regardless of whether it ever shows up on a resume or in ad copy.

Now for my experience with contests. I entered several manuscripts over the years in the ACFW First Impressions and Genesis contests. Each gave me valuable feedback on the manuscripts. On my third attempt, I was thrilled to become a finalist in the Genesis contest (mystery category). Shortly after that, I was offered a publishing contract for the manuscript, which became my first novel, Death and a Crocodile.

At my publisher’s suggestion, I entered the book in several contests, and was named a finalist in several of them. I cannot tell you how much it means to a beginning, completely unknown author, to be able to say that my book won an award. It was a validation of both the book and of me, and if gave me a much-needed boost of confidence to promote my book to bookstore owners and others.

Finally, it feels really good to be able to write “award-winning author” and “award-winning book”!

For advice on choosing and winning writing contests, I suggest you check out this Serious Writer Academy class.

An engineer-turned-mystery-writer, Lisa E. Betz infuses her novels with authentic characters who thrive on solving tricky problems. Her debut novel, Death and a Crocodile, won several awards, including Golden Scroll Novel of the Year (2021). Her second novel, Fountains and Secrets released January 2022, from Redemption Press.

Lisa combines her love of research with her quirky imagination to bring the world of the early church to life. She and her husband reside outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Scallywag, their rambunctious cat—the inspiration for Nemesis, resident mischief maker in the Livia Aemilia Mysteries. Lisa sorts book donations at the library, directs church dramas, eats too much chocolate, and experiments with ancient Roman recipes.

In addition to writing novels, Lisa blogs about living with authenticity and purpose. Visit her website: Quietly Unconventional. Or visit her social media: Facebook , Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Goodreads.