When will the next book be published?
There are two answers to this question that come to my mind whenever I am asked, and I'd like readers to try encompassing the span of time I've been working on this series. Try to understand how much work it really entails too. It's a lot.
The two answers.
First: this series is huge. My main concern at this point is matching up details, making sure all of them fit together between books in the series. This takes time. It takes multiple read-throughs and re-checks. It means lists, which I hate, and it means re-reading every section for how concisely I conveyed a hint for a new plot detail or how I wrapped up an old one. Honestly, I can't give a set publication date without screwing my series over. I'd rather make sure the volumes are as correct for detail as I can get them than publish later books in a rush, even if this means delaying a publication for a year or more.
I started writing the series a little more than ten years ago. Twelve books are out. That's not bad really. Getting a novel written and perfected to the best of ones skill is hard work. But this isn't a single book. It's a series.That's even harder. If the next novel doesn't feel right to me, if it feels like a rush job, I'll never be happy with it. So no set publishing date. Sorry. I tried setting one, and it just doesn't work for me. I'd rather withhold a novel than put it on the market too soon as a total piece of crap.
Second answer: Motivation. I'm a fragile human like you, not a machine. Encouragement keeps me going. Lack of it bludgeons me down. When that happens, I go do other stuff that doesn't hurt. That's what I'm doing now. Other stuff. Stuff off line. Stuff that has very little to do with writing.
If you go look at my author page on Nook, you'll see some random reivews that look like someone posted anonymously to troll me. I don't think this person read the series. Three one star reviews by a troll who demands how to get a hold of the author. Well, the answer to that is he doesn't. This author doesn't want to talk to him.
And if you visit my Amazon book pages, you will see some very lovely reviews, but you will also see some nasty ones by people who equate the horror elements in my novels with some sort of moral lapse on my part. These reviewers take two paras or so of a huge novel and destroy the credibility of an entire series over twelve novels long. You think that doesn't hurt? It not only hurts, it boggles my mind that anyone could read the horror fiction sections and take them for anything other than horror (whether supernatural, physical or psychological). That they could equate the horror elements with approval of physical and emotional abuse sickens me.
As much as many authors--a lot of them new on the Indie publishing scene compared to me and acting like they know more than I do, but they don't--as much as they like to say authors should develop a thick skin, that's a lot of bull. No one every develops a thick skin about their art. They just hide it when they get hurt. They go whine privately to someone at home. They try to lick their mental wounds and then just sort of bleed for days or months.
Most blog posts will say not to respond to the bad reviews. Fine. Tried that. But hiding how I feel hasn't help me the least damned bit, really. I acknowledge before you all that I am feeling hurt and I don't have any motivation to work on my stories just now. Eventually I will, but until then, I'm doing stuff that has nothing to do with writing. I have wounds and need to heal. I also have another massive headache right now, so I'm being fairly blunt about how I feel too.
So let's talk about bandages. For artists, bandages are positive reviews. And there's even a sort of liniment called artist support, things like telling other people about the author's books. And yes, I've politely asked readers to leave reviews for my series. I've done it almost every time someone asks for the next book in the series. After twelve books, no review? Someone asks for the 13th, and no review for the series?
Some readers have left wonderful reviews, and I thank them. These readers are gold. They're the absolute best. They've saved my mental butt, some of them. I am grateful for all the positive reviews. But I am an independent author. I have no publisher support because I am the publisher. I'm the editor, the author, the everything. I get tired. I get sick. I get run down. I lose my motivation. Honestly, every time someone asks me when the next book is coming out, I gotta ask, "Why didn't this person leave a positive review of the series on Bound in Stone 1 to help me keep going?"
Now some people reading this post will get all bitchy and say, "Well, she got paid for all the books that person read. The reader owes her nothing further."
Yeah. True. This independent author is owed nothing further. She doesn't need anything but money, yeah, because that's the only reason why she writes. (Sarcasm.)
If that was true, I'd have published as much crap as I could as quickly as possibly since 2005. I wouldn't have free novels, and I wouldn't have kept my prices as low as they are for the size of the novels I publish.
Yes, money helps. But I don't get much. Not enough to pay a professional cover artist yet, which is what I'd like to put some money on if I ever get enough to spare.
What money I do get helps my family. I paid for car repairs this summer. Yeah, the book income covered that. That was a new event for me, enough money to pay for an important family expense. Being Amazon published sure helped this year. Wish I'd figured out how to make an e-book a few years earlier.
But no, I do not publish in the expectation I will get a shit load of money. I know I am unlikely to become a bazillionaire. I'm happy to get what money I do get. Yes, it would be nice to get more, but money isn't why I write, obviously, or I would have given up on this series not long after publishing the first of my novels, because for the amount of work I put into it over the past ten years, I get paid a miniscule sliver of minimum wage. So anyone thinking I'm being a bitch because I want money isn't seeing the reality. I work hard for just about nothing. I've worked hard for a long time.
So what keeps me going after a few too many crappy reviews and any other negative crap that shows up on my author doorstep?
Not much keeps me going. I just stop going. I go elsewhere until I'm ready to come back. No motivation, no product. It's that simple.
What really helps me continue writing is encouragement. What helps is readers letting people know they liked my stories and why. Publicly! On Amazon. On Smashwords. On Nook. That' what helps. I am not a forum lurker who spams my stories to all and sundry at the first available opportunity. I don't like doing that. Word of mouth is still the means any book gets attention, and on line, that means good reviews.
So yeah. I'm done my little whine. I'll take my headache off to the kitchen for more painkillers that won't work, and maybe tomorrow I'll be more Zen about writing. Until then, I'll be doing stuff that isn't painful to think about.
The two answers.
First: this series is huge. My main concern at this point is matching up details, making sure all of them fit together between books in the series. This takes time. It takes multiple read-throughs and re-checks. It means lists, which I hate, and it means re-reading every section for how concisely I conveyed a hint for a new plot detail or how I wrapped up an old one. Honestly, I can't give a set publication date without screwing my series over. I'd rather make sure the volumes are as correct for detail as I can get them than publish later books in a rush, even if this means delaying a publication for a year or more.
I started writing the series a little more than ten years ago. Twelve books are out. That's not bad really. Getting a novel written and perfected to the best of ones skill is hard work. But this isn't a single book. It's a series.That's even harder. If the next novel doesn't feel right to me, if it feels like a rush job, I'll never be happy with it. So no set publishing date. Sorry. I tried setting one, and it just doesn't work for me. I'd rather withhold a novel than put it on the market too soon as a total piece of crap.
Second answer: Motivation. I'm a fragile human like you, not a machine. Encouragement keeps me going. Lack of it bludgeons me down. When that happens, I go do other stuff that doesn't hurt. That's what I'm doing now. Other stuff. Stuff off line. Stuff that has very little to do with writing.
If you go look at my author page on Nook, you'll see some random reivews that look like someone posted anonymously to troll me. I don't think this person read the series. Three one star reviews by a troll who demands how to get a hold of the author. Well, the answer to that is he doesn't. This author doesn't want to talk to him.
And if you visit my Amazon book pages, you will see some very lovely reviews, but you will also see some nasty ones by people who equate the horror elements in my novels with some sort of moral lapse on my part. These reviewers take two paras or so of a huge novel and destroy the credibility of an entire series over twelve novels long. You think that doesn't hurt? It not only hurts, it boggles my mind that anyone could read the horror fiction sections and take them for anything other than horror (whether supernatural, physical or psychological). That they could equate the horror elements with approval of physical and emotional abuse sickens me.
As much as many authors--a lot of them new on the Indie publishing scene compared to me and acting like they know more than I do, but they don't--as much as they like to say authors should develop a thick skin, that's a lot of bull. No one every develops a thick skin about their art. They just hide it when they get hurt. They go whine privately to someone at home. They try to lick their mental wounds and then just sort of bleed for days or months.
Most blog posts will say not to respond to the bad reviews. Fine. Tried that. But hiding how I feel hasn't help me the least damned bit, really. I acknowledge before you all that I am feeling hurt and I don't have any motivation to work on my stories just now. Eventually I will, but until then, I'm doing stuff that has nothing to do with writing. I have wounds and need to heal. I also have another massive headache right now, so I'm being fairly blunt about how I feel too.
So let's talk about bandages. For artists, bandages are positive reviews. And there's even a sort of liniment called artist support, things like telling other people about the author's books. And yes, I've politely asked readers to leave reviews for my series. I've done it almost every time someone asks for the next book in the series. After twelve books, no review? Someone asks for the 13th, and no review for the series?
Some readers have left wonderful reviews, and I thank them. These readers are gold. They're the absolute best. They've saved my mental butt, some of them. I am grateful for all the positive reviews. But I am an independent author. I have no publisher support because I am the publisher. I'm the editor, the author, the everything. I get tired. I get sick. I get run down. I lose my motivation. Honestly, every time someone asks me when the next book is coming out, I gotta ask, "Why didn't this person leave a positive review of the series on Bound in Stone 1 to help me keep going?"
Now some people reading this post will get all bitchy and say, "Well, she got paid for all the books that person read. The reader owes her nothing further."
Yeah. True. This independent author is owed nothing further. She doesn't need anything but money, yeah, because that's the only reason why she writes. (Sarcasm.)
If that was true, I'd have published as much crap as I could as quickly as possibly since 2005. I wouldn't have free novels, and I wouldn't have kept my prices as low as they are for the size of the novels I publish.
Yes, money helps. But I don't get much. Not enough to pay a professional cover artist yet, which is what I'd like to put some money on if I ever get enough to spare.
What money I do get helps my family. I paid for car repairs this summer. Yeah, the book income covered that. That was a new event for me, enough money to pay for an important family expense. Being Amazon published sure helped this year. Wish I'd figured out how to make an e-book a few years earlier.
But no, I do not publish in the expectation I will get a shit load of money. I know I am unlikely to become a bazillionaire. I'm happy to get what money I do get. Yes, it would be nice to get more, but money isn't why I write, obviously, or I would have given up on this series not long after publishing the first of my novels, because for the amount of work I put into it over the past ten years, I get paid a miniscule sliver of minimum wage. So anyone thinking I'm being a bitch because I want money isn't seeing the reality. I work hard for just about nothing. I've worked hard for a long time.
So what keeps me going after a few too many crappy reviews and any other negative crap that shows up on my author doorstep?
Not much keeps me going. I just stop going. I go elsewhere until I'm ready to come back. No motivation, no product. It's that simple.
What really helps me continue writing is encouragement. What helps is readers letting people know they liked my stories and why. Publicly! On Amazon. On Smashwords. On Nook. That' what helps. I am not a forum lurker who spams my stories to all and sundry at the first available opportunity. I don't like doing that. Word of mouth is still the means any book gets attention, and on line, that means good reviews.
So yeah. I'm done my little whine. I'll take my headache off to the kitchen for more painkillers that won't work, and maybe tomorrow I'll be more Zen about writing. Until then, I'll be doing stuff that isn't painful to think about.
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Hi, Kent. You put this so very well: "take your revenge by continuing to write your book". Sometimes I feel exactly like that, usually around when I publish the next novel. Sort of a 'Ha! Take that! Did it anyway' feeling. While I was reading your message, I remembered how it felt to write when I really want to write. That's a nice thing to remember. Thank you.
I remember your earlier message. Not long after, I bought this huge microphone so I can record my work for audiobooks. I haven't started yet. First, sadly (or not, because they only ever want to bite me), I must sell my tiny flock of evil parrotlets. They are too noisy to keep in the house while I do recordings. After the birds have a new home, I will set up the huge microphone at the desk top computer and slowly start the audiobook versions. I haven't even opened the box the microphone came in yet. I'm just hoping it works with Windows 8, since I recently changed my computer. I suspect it does, though.
Thank you for taking the time to write me. I do feel better. I've had supportive feedback from you and a few other readers since letting my guts sag publicly. Ha ha. :) Your support is truly appreciated.
Hi. I'm sorry to hear this...The ones who wrote those reviews clearly are not horror readers/ do not understand the genre...If they read "Silence of the Lambs" would they think the author approved cannibalism?? Bah.Anyway, I have promised myself not to pester authors to know when the next book will be out. Just know that I absolutely love your series and that, whenever it'll come, I will be waiting for it and will cherish it.
Take your time :)
After all, it's a long series with a lot of volumes to reread whenever I like :) ...and I'm used to long waits (there are books I read in italian when I was 14, but since those were translations and didn't have great success here, they never published the rest of the series so I had to wait to be able to understand the language to know what happened next! - it was quite frustrating ;) ) Right now I'm working on my German (there is this series whose first 3 books they translated 5 years ago and then they just dropped it :( and I just...have...to...know!).
Now I'll stop rambling and send you my best wishes :) Just know that there is an italian here who often thinks about Kehfrey :)
Thank you, Ambra. Yeah, horror elements, in my mind, are horror elements, stuff we don't want to happen. I think many readers realize that is the case in my stories. I admire your language skills. I think it is better to read a work in the original language. I read Le Petit Prince in French. I think that book would have lost some of it's charm in English, so I'm glad I picked that one up in the original language. But I'm not ready for something more complicated, like The Three Musketeers. I'm sure Alexandre Dumas' stories would improve my French skills, but I keep chickening out, lol.
I thought about trying my hand at writing, but quickly came to the conclusion that my talent is actually enjoying a good story by somebody else, not in doing the actual work in writing one of my own.
I personally like a long series such as yours. I want a nice l-o-n-n-n-g story. I do not like short stories and have refused to buy those of authors I truly enjoy. I want the whole meal and not an appetizer! In the days when I could drive to a bookstore and buy a physical book, I would buy an entire series only when it was complete. I did not want to wait for the next book. I was greedy! I still am. But, being a former chef here in Las Vegas, I can appreciate all the hard work, planning, preparations and actual time involved in a truly good meal. Excatly like your offerings: like they say, the good things are worth waiting for. Oh, by the way, my feedback came in the form of much appreciated tips. Not so much for the money's sake, although I liked the cash, it was because I knew that the customers really appreciated my efforts.
As I mentioned to you in my SINGLE positive feedback to you I have some handicaps now, M.S. and partial blindness to name but two. Back when I was a child and was hospitalized for over almost 2 months, my grandmother taught me how to sew, knit, and crochet to help pass the long days. I've always appreciated her efforts. And I now make doll cloths by commision. Not as lofty as writing or painting perhaps, but it allows me to use my creativity. Like you there is much research of the garment and proper materials. There is sketch after sketch; constant
revisions, until I get it just right There is an almost endless search on-line for the most suitable materials. Then there is the actual cutting, pinning & sewing. There is actually a lot that goes into each one. And when I sell the costume I'm happy to break even financially; because I've done something that I've truly enjoyed. The fact that my work has spread by word of mouth and that I now have to turn down projects is a great source of pride to me.
Hopefully my wordy ramblings have relayed that I truly understand a lot of what you go through. However, in my case when someone critizes my work, however carelessly, I have the option of refusing their commisions....unlike you. I know that you enjoy writing. Please do not let a few thoughtless people deny you something you so much enjoy. Nurse your wounds with the fact that there a so many who do appreciate your talents. I understand your hurt. Any one would. So take your time recovering, and the take your revenge by continuing to write your book...no matter how long it takes!
Kent Hedrick