The Benefits of a Rapid Release Schedule
Most of my books release anywhere from six to nine months apart, which has worked really well in juggling the work involved in getting the books ready for publication.
However, this past fall with my new Lost Princesses series, I decided to do something a little different and release the books in quicker succession, approximately one a month.
First, since I already had all the books written, I didn’t have the pressure to write them quickly (and risk being sloppy). In addition, the books were professionally edited and proofed months ago, and my beta readers also had plenty of time to provide feedback. That means I felt confident I wasn’t compromising quality for quantity.
Second, my release schedule for my adult books for the next couple of years is pretty full (including branching off into a new genre that I’m excited to tell you about hopefully soon!). So, I decided it would be better to try to keep the releases in the Lost Princesses series closer together instead of interspersing them with my other books (and having conflicting release schedules).
Third, I wanted to be able to reach new readers who like to binge-read. Many avid readers subscribe to Kindle Unlimited (which is essentially the Netflix for books). Such readers are less likely to purchase new books and instead try to get their money’s worth out of their KU subscription. Interestingly, my KU sales for this series are higher than regular eBook and print sales combined. So obviously this series is reaching those binge readers.
Fourth, I wanted to see if the rapid release affected the visibility and ranking of the book. With books releasing in such quick succession, many new reviews coming in, and steady sales, each of the books hit #1 on one or more Amazon lists. My author and book rankings stayed consistently low (certainly not near #1 but pushing me lower than I usually go with other book releases), which I *hope* led to more people noticing the series.
Finally, I wanted to see how readers preferred the rapid-release (versus the longer wait). During release time, the response from readers was overwhelmingly positive in regards to not having to wait so long between books, especially because the stories are more intertwined than any other series I’ve written. Readers were pleased they didn’t have to wait six months to a year to find out how everything wrapped up.
All in all, the rapid release has been successful enough
that I’m hoping to do it again next fall with a new YA series.
If my favorite authors produced one book a month, I’d LOVE it! In fact, sometimes I’m really bummed that I have to wait so long between their book releases and wished they’d publish more. But I also realize not every author or reader may be quite as eager for a rapid-release schedule.
So how about you? Do you like when authors have a rapid release schedule or do you prefer the lengthier wait?
