Riley Sager: On Perseverance and Trusting in the Process
Bestselling author Riley Sager explains why he needs to trust in the process more, how writing a book is a team sport, and why perseverance is important to a successful writing career.
Riley Sager is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels, most recently Survive the Night and The House Across the Lake. A native of Pennsylvania, he now lives in Princeton, New Jersey. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
In this post, Riley explains why he needs to trust in the process more, how writing a book is a team sport, and why perseverance is important to a successful writing career.
Name: Riley Sager
Literary agent: Michelle Brower, Trellis Literary Management
Book title: The Only One Left
Publisher: Dutton
Release date: June 20, 2023
Genre/category: Thriller
Previous titles: Final Girls, The Last Time I Lied, Lock Every Door, Home Before Dark, Survive the Night, The House Across the Lake
Elevator pitch for the book: A live-in health aide is assigned to care for Lenora Hope, a mute 71-year-old woman suspected of murdering her family decades earlier. Using an old typewriter, she makes her new nurse a tantalizing offer: I want to tell you everything.
What prompted you to write this book?
For reasons completely unknown to me, I started thinking a lot about Lizzie Borden. Not the things she was accused of doing, necessarily, but decades later. Basically, I was struck by one of those “What if …” ideas that often prompt a book. This one was: “What if Lizzie Borden, in her old age, needed a nurse to care for her?”
It got me thinking about this hypothetical nurse. What events led her to this situation? Is she scared of her patient? Suspicious? Curious? And what if this allegedly murderous patient offered to tell her the whole story? I knew right away there was a book there.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
I’m on a book-a-year schedule, so things need to happen pretty quickly. This one took about 10 months since I first pitched it to my editor to when I handed in the first draft.
Things changed, as they always do, during the writing process. The deeper into a book I get, the more nuances I discover that need to be explored. But the key elements—nurse, patient, creepy old mansion on a cliff overlooking the sea—were in place from the very beginning.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
I learned—once again—that publishing a book is a team sport, and that the other people on my team really know what they’re doing!
The Only One Left wasn’t the book’s original title. The title I wanted wasn’t deemed marketable enough, which is a reality in the world of publishing today. I know that all these forward-facing aspects—the title, the cover, the jacket copy—can make or break a book. Yet I was hesitant.
I wrote the book! Shouldn’t I be allowed to use my title? So a slight battle of wills ensued until I waved the white flag and agreed to call it The Only One Left, a title that was kind of created by committee.
Now, after getting so many compliments on the title alone, I fully admit that I was wrong, my publishing team was right, and that I should trust them more. They’re the professionals. They know what they’re talking about. I’m certain that, had we gone with my original title, the book wouldn’t have received half the attention it’s now getting.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
The surprise was that, seven books in, I still doubt myself. Despite having all the core elements in place from the start, there were moments in the writing of The Only One Left where I got completely lost. One major, very spoiler-y plot point that ends the first third of the book could have gone two different ways, and I couldn’t decide which one to use. So I waffled, which is the worst thing for me.
I’m not good at winging it. I can’t write if I don’t know where I’m going. I should have simply made a decision, stuck with it, and let the writing and revision process carry me through. It all worked out in the end, but the stress and indecision wasted a lot of time. It was a potent reminder to put more faith in myself and my abilities and just trust the process.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I just want readers to have a chilling, good time. I love getting sucked into a book, sitting on the edge of my seat, turning the pages faster, being shocked by what I discover. That’s my wish for anyone who picks up one of my books.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
The world of publishing is weird—and writing success never follows a straight path. I’ve been writing for 25 years, been a published author for 13, and an “overnight” success for seven. It’s been a long, strange journey with many detours, obstacles, and setbacks.
Along the way, I’ve had to make some tough choices, including using a pen name because my sales were so dismal that my real name had become a liability. But each struggle also taught me a valuable lesson in perseverance.
So that’s my advice: Persevere. Things might look bleak now, but if you work hard, believe in yourself, and learn along the way, amazing things could be in your future.
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
