How Long Are You Willing to Wait Between Book Releases in a Series?

I’m having something of a dilemma, and I would like your help figuring out the best course of action.

Warning: this post contains spoilers.

The Wyoming Series has an overall plot that covers the entire series.

So far, this is what I’ve done in this series. I’ve finished The Outlaw’s Bride, and I started The Rancher’s Bride.

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I typically make the series plot low key when I write them. In this case, the series plot is more center stage.

Here is the series plot:

The villain is currently in possession of Wade’s ranch. The villain also has Wade’s two-year-old son as a hostage. This is where we are at when we begin Book 1. From Book 1 to Book 3, the plan is to rescue the boy and get the ranch back.

Without trying to give too much away, this is the series format:

Book 1: The goal is to get the boy away from the villain. Mic and Lillian (hero and heroine of this book) help in this pursuit, but I don’t go into what happens with the boy because that is a big part of Book 2. I also leave a couple of other minor things up in the air because these come into play in the rest of the series.

Book 2: Abby (heroine of this book) has the boy, and her main goal is to reunite the boy with his father (Wade). She is injured, however, and needs to stay for a while with the hero of this book (Thayne). This ends up happening by the end of this book.

Book 3: Wade (hero of this book) has his son back, and now it’s time for him to take back his ranch. This is accomplished by the end of this book with the help of the heroine of this book.

I’m thinking a Book 4 would be necessary to successfully wrap up this series. It depends on how the series plot is flowing. I may or may not get the villain behind bars or send him to the cemetery. It’s too early to tell what will happen. But the villain will be brought to justice by the end of the series plot.

As an aside, let me make it clear that each book features a specific romance plot.

Book 1: Lillian is on her way to her mail-order husband when Mic intervenes. He says he’s there to save her from marrying the wrong man, and part of this will require her to marry him. Does she agree and go with him, and if so, will he give her the happy ending she longs for?

Book 2: Abby is injured and has lost her way to get the boy to his father. She ends up at Thayne’s ranch, and she’s forced to stay there while her injuries heal. Unfortunately, he has a ranch hand and a couple of other men coming by who knows she has the boy. She’s fallen in love with Thayne, but it might be too dangerous for her to give into her feelings, so she has to make the decision between bringing him into the dangerous situation she’s in or letting him go.

Book 3: I haven’t started this book yet, so I’m not clear on the actual plot of this one, but there will be a plot where Wade finds love with the heroine of this book. I won’t know the details of this until I’m writing it.

Book 4: If I wrote this, it would involve another hero and another heroine and how they fall in love.

So in a nutshell: The books are independent as far as the romance is concerned, but they are intimately connected in relation to the boy, the ranch, and bringing the villain to justice. This would be one series best read in order because you’ll miss something if you jump ahead.

Now for my dilemma:

I can’t afford to sit and wait to write each of these books and then publish all of the books at once. I need to publish enough books every year to supplement my husband’s income. My five-year goal is to be free from the burden of needing my writing income in order to make ends meet around my house.

I have two choices at this juncture.

1. Publish Book 1 in January, Book 2 this summer, Book 3 this fall/winter, and maybe Book 4 in early 2021.

2. Drop the series completely. I can’t guarantee I’ll come back to this series. I don’t know what will happen in the future.

My question to you:

Are you okay with waiting months between each book’s release?

OR

Will you be upset if you can’t get all of the books at once?

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I’m going to tally up the responses I get. If it’s 50/50, I’ll drop the series. There has to be a significant percentage of people who are fine with waiting for me to continue with this series in order for me to go through with it. I already did something where half the people were upset with a decision I made, and I vowed to never go through that again. So that’s why I’m coming to you today asking for your input.