Would I Do Things Differently?

It's a very weird little community we have going on here.

People complain about "cheap books" ruining this industry, but there are whole groups here and on FB dedicated to lending and sharing books - a FREE practice that rarely gains reviews and usually not sales.

People complain about the dreaded cliffhanger, but series do massively better than stand alones, with big cliffies getting the most attention.

People hate to wait a lifetime for the next book in the series, yet countdowns and timelines and calendars are built around waiting for those next-books.

So what's the right move to make!? AHHHHHH!!!

Sometimes I wonder if I should've chucked my Mission Statement out the window. I could've published Degradation in July, and then just sat on Separation - it was already written, so no pressure. Used Degradation's cliffhanger to hook more and more people, build up a reader-base, so that when I released Separation, probably this coming July, or something, it would potentially be HUGE, massively bigger than it's actual release, potentially a top bestseller, which then could've catapulted Reparation's release into top selling status, when I released it in 2016.

Solid plan, right? Solidify me as a top selling author, gain me bestseller status - possibly USA and/or NY Times - and maybe even catch the eye of an agent or publisher. Boost my reader-base, give me thousands of FB LIkes and followers.

OOOORRRRRRRR I release Degradation with no set release date for Separation. People love it, but damn, that cliffhanger, though! People get angry. Or lose patience. Or the worst - FORGET. And then Separation releases. People have somewhat forgotten about it, so the release is good, but not as good as it could have been, maybe. And then worst thing ever - PEOPLE ARE DISAPPOINTED. Disappointment is worse than ANYTHING. So now they've waited a year for a disappointment. Are they gonna buy book three? Fuck no. Are they gonna buy any other book I release? Most likely not.

And suddenly Degradation is another indie-one-hit-wonder statistic and I fade away.

Two reasons why I went the route I did:

1. I read A LOT, and if I read Degradation and got to that cliffhanger and there was no news on when the next book would be released, I'd be PISSED. Almost borderline offended. I didn't want to do that to people.

2. Going the second route, using anticipation to build readership, is risky. It's betting a lot on my talent and abilities, something I wasn't willing to do right out the gate. I think I'm awesome - but I'm not stupid enough to think EVERYONE is going to feel that way (at first, bahahaha). ALSO - that whole offending people thing. I don't want to LOSE readership.

There was a book that came out in the fall of 2013. It was a VERY big book, it made a HUGE splash. I actually used it as a template of sorts - people made a big deal out of the fact that sex happened VERY quickly in the book, within the first chapter. So knowing that, I went ahead with my prologue in Degradation, figuring if that author could pull it off, so could I.

This Big-Book was also a cliffhanger, and a biggie, at that. A jaw dropper, kindle thrower. With NO release date for book two.

When did book two come out, you ask?

I actually wasn't aware that it had come out already - I had to look it up. It was released more than one year after the first book, to almost no fan fare, no attention, nothing. It was released one month BEFORE Reparation, yet Reparation already has more ratings. That shouldn't be possible - not with how big book one was, not with the kind of fame that author gained. Yet I was completely unaware of its release (and I spend A LOT of time trolling around this community, attempting to keep a finger somewhere near a pulse).

That's the problem with doing the long haul, with putting that kind of time between releases. That's the risk that it runs. Does it always pan out like that? No. Some times book two comes along forever and a day later, and blows book one out of the water. Was a very smart move to make by whichever author.

But I just wasn't willing to take that risk.

Was it a mistake? I guess we'll never know for sure. Can't turn back time. I think about it a lot - a lot more than I should. But ultimately, I think I'm happy with the way I did things. Maybe I didn't gain as many readers as I could have, but I am beyond thrilled with the success I've had, and with the relationship I've built with a lot of my readers.

And I'll take that, any day. Thanks for reading, everyone. Four more days till Completion!