THREE THINGS I LEARNED FROM MY DEBUT TO MY SOPHOMORE NOVEL 

BY SAMANTHA M. BAILEY

It took almost two decades for me to see one of the many books I’ve written on a shelf for readers to buy and borrow. I’d been so focused on the goal of getting published that I had no clue what the traditional publishing process was actually like, until my debut, Woman on the Edge, released in Canada in November 2019 and in the US in March 2020. Yes, March 2020, one week before the pandemic shut down the world, isolating us all.

I’m so grateful I experienced the launch of my dreams in Canada, unlike many of my fellow authors, so I know what an astonishing, exhilarating, and stunning moment it is. I had the chance to show my children my novel at bookstores; met my wonderful readers and signed books for them; attended events in-person, relishing the joy of finally achieving what for so long was out of reach for me.

To my utter shock, Woman on the Edge became a #1 national bestseller in Canada and hit the USA Today bestseller list. I’ve received so many beautiful messages and comments from readers all over the world. It filled (and still fills) me with ecstasy and gratitude and more than a little fear, because of course, I had to write my next novel. How could I possibly do it again, especially during a pandemic with two kids at home? 

Now that Watch Out for Her, my second thriller, has been released, I realize how much I’ve learned from the first book to the second.

• Once it’s out there, my book no longer belongs to me.

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” -Ernest Hemingway

This quote is so accurate. Writing a book means putting our heart and soul on the page then handing it to other people to consume. Our main goal, if we want to sustain a career as writers, is to get our souls into as many hands as possible. We have to open ourselves to criticism because reading is such a subjective experience—something one person loves, another might hate. I had to learn that once my book is on shelves, it’s not mine anymore. I’ve given it to readers with the hope of entertaining them, making them think, feel, be scared, have an escape. My books belong to them.

• Expect the unexpected

I could never have foreseen the pandemic, never could have imagined a virus so deadly and contagious that the entire world would go into lockdown. I could never have foreseen becoming an international bestseller, that I would have so many incredible people wanting to read my words. I dreamed of it, but the reality of it is surreal and wonderful. There is so little we can control in publishing, in life, and the most unexpected things have happened to me, both good and bad. Teddi Mellencamp and Kyle Richards read Woman on the Edge and posted about it in their Instagram stories; Teddi also listed Watch Out for Her as one of her favorite spring break reads. We never know what’s around the corner, what tomorrow will bring, so I buckle up, breathe, and try to enjoy the ride.

• There’s magic in community

I’ve always relied on my author friends because only another writer understands the experience of spending years working toward a singular goal, getting rejected, trying again, being crushed and elated sometimes in the same day. I’m very lucky to have a warm, supportive, genuine, absolutely phenomenal author community. Years before Woman on the Edge was even a kernel of an idea, I had six women—Meredith Schorr; Francine LaSala; Julie Valerie; Josie Brown; Eileen Goudge; Jen Tucker—who’ve always had my back and want the best for me.

We call ourselves the Beach Babes because, until the pandemic, we spent a week together every January in a beach house in Santa Cruz, California. I now have a large, generous, kind, wickedly funny, and very trusted community of thriller authors, and authors across other genres. We are there for each other, celebrate each other’s successes, help each other promote our books, and provide a safe space to vent when things are hard, because of course they can be hard. I truly could not be an author without them. 

Writing a second novel is terrifying. There is pressure, the fear of disappointing other people and ourselves, the worry that we won’t be able to write another book as strong again. I’m very proud of Watch Out for Her. I call Woman on the Edge my book baby; Watch Out for Her is the book of my heart. Written during the tumultuous pandemic, when the concept of space and time lost all meaning, I worked hard to use the lessons I learned from my debut to get me to the finish line. And so I did. All I can do now is hope that readers love my voice, the story, and want to follow my words in every book I write. I will continue to try to accept the things I cannot control and lift up my fellow writers, so we can all have the success we strive so hard to achieve.

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A tense psychological thriller about a mother who must keep watch at all times if she wants to keep her family safe—from USA TODAY and #1 national bestselling author Samantha M. Bailey.

Wherever you go…
she’ll be watching.

Sarah Goldman, mother to six-year-old Jacob, is relieved to move across the country. She has a lot she wants to leave behind, especially Holly Monroe, the pretty twenty-two-year-old babysitter she and her husband, Daniel, hired to take care of their young son last summer. It started out as a perfect arrangement—Sarah had a childminder her son adored, and Holly found the mother figure she’d always wanted. But Sarah’s never been one to trust very easily, so she kept a close eye on Holly, maybe too close at times. What she saw raised some questions, not only about who Holly really was but what she was hiding. The more Sarah watched, the more she learned—until one day, she saw something she couldn’t unsee, something so shocking that all she could do was flee.

Sarah has put it all behind her and is starting over in a different city with her husband and son. They’ve settled into a friendly suburb where the neighbors, a tight clique of good citizens, are always on the lookout for danger. But when Sarah finds hidden cameras in her new home, she has to wonder: has her past caught up to her, and worse yet, who’s watching her now?

A spine-tingling, page-turning novel from USA TODAY and #1 national bestselling author Samantha M. Bailey, Watch Out for Her is psychological suspense at its very best—a chilling look at trust, voyeurism, and obsession in the modern age, and how far we will go to watch out for those we love.