After attending LTUE for the second year in a row, my conviction that I'm doing the right thing in taking my time with this story was confirmed.

Having now finished the rewrite of book 1, it is now in the hands of a good friend. One of the best things about having this person read it is that he's going to be able to give me feedback from a reader's perspective. He's is not a writer, but he is an avid fantasy reader. And after speaking with him about the specific fantasy stories he's enjoyed, I think mine is going to be a good fit for him.

While I'm waiting, I've been planning the specifics for the next installment. I already know the overarching story goals for both books, but that isn't enough for me anymore. Now that I have a better idea of the direction of the story, of the motivation and personalities of my characters, I can work out the main subplots and storylines for book 2.

And that's what I've been doing for the past few weeks.

The problem is that my original thought for the main conflict in book 2 isn't holding water. I thought one thing, but when I looked deeper into my characters, I realized that my original concept wasn't staying true to my characters.

I believe that people can do things that are out of character. It can even be a plot point. But I wanted each of their actions to be for a reason, even if it's out of character. If someone does something out of character, there's a reason behind it. Something occurs to push them into that reactive nature.

And I think, after weeks of detailing, setting it aside and thinking it through, discussing it with other people (in hypotheticals), I've finally come to a conclusion that works for all of my characters involved. My antagonist gets to be antagonizing. My protagonist is tarnished. My other protagonists seek to save him. All is working now.

But this isn't how I had planned it before and is the reason I'm glad I'm taking my time.

At LTUE this year, one of the panels spoke specifically about sequels. They were targeting the topic of getting published and that a series is more likely to get purchased from a new author because it'll be more worth it to all involved to invest in you. It's not something new and from a business angle I can completely understand this mentality. If your books aren't going to sell, it doesn't matter how much time you've put into your manuscript, they can't take the risk when there are so many options out there.

What I took away from the panel, besides the great insights into the publishing industry, was the idea that having all of your books either written or well-planned makes for less regrets later. And I can see that in what just transpired with my planning for book 2. What if something unexpected comes up in the planning and I have to add a line, a character, an event to book 1 to create a foundation for something that happens later? Perhaps in book 3?

I need to be patient. If I wait through the whole thing and finish then my series will be better for it.

Not that it all has to be written and done by then, but it should be all planned out.

One of my favorite things about Harry Potter was how J. K. Rowling used events in book 2 to hint at and shape events in the following books. It showed an attention to detail and gave the series a cohesiveness that I want to emulate in mine.

So I'll continue to plan as I wait and perfect my query letter (thanks LTUE for ideas on how to make it not suck) and perhaps one day this series will be shelved in Barnes & Noble. :-)