My first novel, Akeldama, is coming out in May of next
year. That is, to me, an immutable date
that won’t change. I’ve waited too long
to put out my first book, and if it wasn’t for a yearlong diversion out of the
country, I’d be publishing it this May.
However, my original idea was to publish a new novel every six months
for the first few years(I’ve finished the edits on four, and I’ve gotten
through the first draft of another five, so the actual writing part of that is
easy since most of the work is done).
But now I question that timetable.
What I wonder is whether or not that’s an overly ambitious schedule given what has to go into this. Since I’m publishing indie, I need to get a cover designed, go through formatting and copy editing, set up an imprint, and prepare a marketing strategy. Oh, and I’ll still be managing my other novel(s) while trying all of this. It makes me wonder if I need to slow down and not try to be quite so prodigious at the start so that I can do the business aspect of this properly.
Of course, the biggest part of the uncertainty here is that I’ve never done this before. Plus, I’ll still be working my day job unless and until my work becomes self-sustaining enough to provide the revenue I need to do it full time. Maybe I’ll get into this and find out that it’s not as hard as I thought it would be. That’s possible, but I doubt it.
Writing is a business, and one I want to get right. I understand I can’t do it perfectly, and a good plan now is better than a perfect one that never happens, but that doesn’t make me wonder at the overall amount of work this will be. I know writing as a professional will be hard, but I still plan to have a life and time with my family. Does that mean I’m not ready for this to be my “thing?” I just don’t know.
I suspect I’ll have a much better idea by the time I publish next May. I should know roughly how much each step takes, and that will inform my decision on how quickly to proceed to publishing book #2(Salvation Day). I might very well be able to stay up with a book publishing every six months for the first four or five years so that I can build an inventory, but I’ve got to be smart about this too and remember I’m building a business, not just writing stories.
What I wonder is whether or not that’s an overly ambitious schedule given what has to go into this. Since I’m publishing indie, I need to get a cover designed, go through formatting and copy editing, set up an imprint, and prepare a marketing strategy. Oh, and I’ll still be managing my other novel(s) while trying all of this. It makes me wonder if I need to slow down and not try to be quite so prodigious at the start so that I can do the business aspect of this properly.
Of course, the biggest part of the uncertainty here is that I’ve never done this before. Plus, I’ll still be working my day job unless and until my work becomes self-sustaining enough to provide the revenue I need to do it full time. Maybe I’ll get into this and find out that it’s not as hard as I thought it would be. That’s possible, but I doubt it.
Writing is a business, and one I want to get right. I understand I can’t do it perfectly, and a good plan now is better than a perfect one that never happens, but that doesn’t make me wonder at the overall amount of work this will be. I know writing as a professional will be hard, but I still plan to have a life and time with my family. Does that mean I’m not ready for this to be my “thing?” I just don’t know.
I suspect I’ll have a much better idea by the time I publish next May. I should know roughly how much each step takes, and that will inform my decision on how quickly to proceed to publishing book #2(Salvation Day). I might very well be able to stay up with a book publishing every six months for the first four or five years so that I can build an inventory, but I’ve got to be smart about this too and remember I’m building a business, not just writing stories.
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