The lack of pressure before becoming a bestselling author

There’s an interesting interview with the British, bestselling women’s fiction author Jojo Moyes in this month’s Writer’s Digest.

In her interview, Moyes speaks about the lack of pressure before writing her most successful book, You Before Me. Before that best-seller, Moyes had written numerous books and had a large and loyal following, but her breakthrough novel placed her under much greater scrutiny.

In the article, she speaks about the ‘writing freedom’ she felt as an author compared to the pressure she felt after her break-out novel, particularly when she decided to write a sequel to You Before Me, since many readers had certain expectations about what such a sequel should be.

What do you think, readers and writers? Do you have expectations for the novels of your favorite writers? And writers, do you feel the weight of expectation from your readers when working on a novel?