SECOND BOOK SYNDROME: PART 3

Dr Camilla Pang on second book syndrome and crafting the mindset of 'there will be more books'

I’ve known Dr Camillia Pang since I was about twelve… she’s a close family friend (my best friend’s little sister in fact) and I’ve always been blown away by her mind and her unique approach to the world – especially the world of writing.

She is also the author of the award-winning book Explaining Humans, a memoir that uses scientific principles to understand human behaviour through the lens of someone who has autism and ADHD. And her second book, Perfectly Weird, Perfectly You: A Scientific Guide to Growing Up is a book for younger audiences serving as an eye-opening and scientific guide to understanding human emotions.

Alongside being an author, she is also a professional scientist and holds a PhD in Biochemistry, specialising in translational bioinformatics. Camilla is a passionate volunteer in equalising opportunities for those from marginalised demographics, in STEM. She also carries out voluntary research for structural biology labs at the Francis Crick Institute, which studies diseases like SARS-CoV-2, and the evolution of cancer.

With a strong voice that advocates for the enablement of neurodiversity, her writing consistently highlights that neurodiversity forms the hidden treasures of society that naturally challenges social norms and thereby forms the basis of human evolution.

I knew Camilla would have a different approach and experience to second book syndrome and I couldn’t wait to talk to her about it. She says that it’s natural and necessary to have an existential crises when writing book two and offers her advice on writing contrasting drafts to get to the core of the idea.

Over to Camilla…

1. What does ‘second book syndrome’ mean to you?