First, I’ve mentioned this a few places, but I just can’t keep my mouth shut any longer. Asrian Skies was released almost a year, and on September 17, I’ve got some exciting news for its birthday. Want a hint? Here you go:
I’m pretty excited about this, so make sure you check my Facebook page on the morning of September 17 for the details!
Second, a little bit of a rant–about myself.
I’ve always been pretty clear about my family, job, and other hobbies (ok, travel) coming before writing. Family is obvious, my job is interesting and pays way better than writing, and traveling? Well, even delayed flights are less stressful than being an indie author.
But I’ve started feeling a little guilty about that. See, without cranking out multiple books a year, you can’t be a “successful” indie author. And we can argue what success means all day long, but at the end of the day, success as an indie author means sales. It means making a living from your writing. If you’ve hung around enough online writer groups, you know that’s the case–it’s why philosophies like 20BooksTo50K exist. I’ve yet to meet an indie writer who is ok with their publishing being a side gig.
That means a few things.
One, it means it’s nearly impossible for me to find support and advice. I’ve been blown off when I look for craft advice, and for marketing advice, I’m shipped off to groups whose mantra is “write to market and write a lot.” That’s not my thing. It’ll never be my thing. It makes it frustrating for someone just trying to improve their craft and make a few additional sales.
But worse? It means I feel like I’m failing my readers. They’re not going to get a new release a month. At my rate of publishing (a book every 15-18 months), they’re probably not ever going to get a book outside of the Asrian Skies series. And I can’t help thinking that’s not fair to them. Are they going to wait forever for a third book? Of course not.
Yes, yes, I hear you say. But Harper Lee took forever to write a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird.
Sure. But I’m not Harper Lee, I don’t write literary fiction, and indie publishing is complete different. So what’s a writer to do?
I’d love to hear from you if you’re an occasional author! How do you make it work? Or if you’re patient enough to wait for an author’s next book. Or even if you’re not! Tell me about it in the comments.
I’m definitely cool with waiting for a book if I love the author’s work! I’ve waited a couple of years before for someone to release something new, and it didn’t make me any less happy to have a new book from them. Do I wish they could release a new, awesome book like, every week? Sure! But that’s not gonna happen, LOL! There’s more to life than writing, and I hate for someone to sacrifice other, important areas of their life just so I could read a new book faster. 😉
I remember back when I was a kid and it seemed like no one released the next book in a series sooner than a year after the last one, sometimes quite a bit longer than a year!
Id’s rather wait years for a good or great book than read another churned out book. Years ago I enjoyed this particular writer but her chirn one or every 6 books by,formula has turned me of her completely. I’m really enjoying new writers with fresh ideas, even if they only,write one or two books ever. Writers stop writing by recipes.
A book a month?! I know some writers are fast, but that’s a dizzying pace that tells me that the writer isn’t taking the time to produce a quality book. A book a year for a series (sometimes an author has more than one series or standalones, so okay maybe 2-3 books a year) still seems like something only a full-time author can produce.
I’m used to waiting a year per book in a series, and as much as I sometimes wish the next book would come out sooner, it’s okay.
There are plenty of other books to read!
It your books create loyal fans, I’d call that success!
Like I said on Twitter, you can’t rush creativity. I bet if you read a few books from authors who put out books once a month or every couple of months, you’ll notice the lack of quality starting to show in them. Plus, those people most likely don’t have other jobs, illnesses, or family…so basically no life. LOL.
Reblogged this on litaenterprise and commented:
Any advisers out there in Blogger World?
A book a month? Rubbish!
Also literally. If you write at that pace, (like some must do for making a living) you can only produce rubbish, and your love for the craft dries up within a year.
Remember that it took Robert Jordan decades to write his ‘wheel of time’ and the final three books had to be finished by a friend, as he passed away before he could do it himself.
So. Yes, i waited patiently: quality over quantity.
Myself? I have more than enough inspiration for wip, and subsequent parts, But life gets in the way…