Be ready to change your expectations

You've written a book. It's amazing. You edited it and maybe you even got it published somewhere. Great.

Now you're ready for the next one.

Let go of all your expectations.

Maybe you had a really easy time writing dialogue in your first book. Maybe your plot just flowed out of you. Maybe setting a time for 15-minute breaks every hour kept you focussed and your fingers typing.

That's great. And it's wise to try whatever worked the first time again.

But don't trust that it will work exactly the same way.

Maybe this story will require more research. Maybe you'll need to take more breaks. Maybe this story will come out better in the morning than the afternoon.

There is no guarantee that your second book will want to be written the same way your first one did.

Don't expect that everything will be the same when approaching a second project. Go in with hope and a plan, and then be ready to pivot as often as required.