Writing multiple projects at the same time.
I'm still digesting what I learned @GenreCon in Brisbane, but one of the things which did come out of it, was the need to break the editing of Book 1 of the Hunter Duology (Heart Hunter) to return to Book 1 of my Angel series (Angel Blood). I pitched Angel Blood to Pantera Press while I was in Brisbane, and they were kind enough to invite me to submit, but of course, no writer submits without a 'final look'.
This raises the whole idea/problem of whether you can work on multiple projects in unison and not mix up your voice (or plot for that matter).
I hadn' really looked at Heart Hunter for a couple of years, because I got up to Book 4 in the series and got persuaded to try NaNoWriMo. Of course, if you're lucky (and work, work, work), you do make your 50,000 words+, but that is just the beginning. My 2013 NaNoWriMo project took until Oct of 2014 to be ready to pitch (The Third Moon - contracted to @Satalyte Publishing) and then it was November again and I wrote The Emerald Serpent as my NaNoWriMo project which I launched as an ebook in October 2015. Just in time for NaNoWriMo again!
Having managed to independently publish my first book, I've been keen to add to it, hence my current editing of the Hunter duology, and my decision to give NaNoWriMo a miss this year (despite a little project in my head that might have benefited).
But pitching Angel Blood means doing a final edit on it, which means immersing myself not just in Book 1, but in the story arc for the whole series.
Jumping between projects is not my preferred way of operating and I don't always do it well. I was writing The Kira Chronicles when I was doing another novel for my Ph.D and I'm still mortified by the memory of my supervisor's eyebrows shooting up when I mixed up my female heroes.
I do know of authors who write a fantasy trilogy in parallel, that is, they begin each of the books at the same time and progress through them at a similar rate. I couldn't do this, and not just because I'm a pantser (or panther - as Isobelle Carmody prefers).
And yet, an invitation to submit means getting a properly edited manuscript to a publisher in a reasonable time and that means putting other projects on hold. It's something contracted authors are more familiar with, when proofs from their previous work must be attended to when they are well into their next project.
And it might be more usual for full time writers whose increased work rate shifts projects closer together. As for me; I'm really enjoying visiting my Angel world again and frustrated I'm going to be leaving it again soon. But that's just the way it is.
This raises the whole idea/problem of whether you can work on multiple projects in unison and not mix up your voice (or plot for that matter).
I hadn' really looked at Heart Hunter for a couple of years, because I got up to Book 4 in the series and got persuaded to try NaNoWriMo. Of course, if you're lucky (and work, work, work), you do make your 50,000 words+, but that is just the beginning. My 2013 NaNoWriMo project took until Oct of 2014 to be ready to pitch (The Third Moon - contracted to @Satalyte Publishing) and then it was November again and I wrote The Emerald Serpent as my NaNoWriMo project which I launched as an ebook in October 2015. Just in time for NaNoWriMo again!
Having managed to independently publish my first book, I've been keen to add to it, hence my current editing of the Hunter duology, and my decision to give NaNoWriMo a miss this year (despite a little project in my head that might have benefited).
But pitching Angel Blood means doing a final edit on it, which means immersing myself not just in Book 1, but in the story arc for the whole series.
Jumping between projects is not my preferred way of operating and I don't always do it well. I was writing The Kira Chronicles when I was doing another novel for my Ph.D and I'm still mortified by the memory of my supervisor's eyebrows shooting up when I mixed up my female heroes.
I do know of authors who write a fantasy trilogy in parallel, that is, they begin each of the books at the same time and progress through them at a similar rate. I couldn't do this, and not just because I'm a pantser (or panther - as Isobelle Carmody prefers).
And yet, an invitation to submit means getting a properly edited manuscript to a publisher in a reasonable time and that means putting other projects on hold. It's something contracted authors are more familiar with, when proofs from their previous work must be attended to when they are well into their next project.
And it might be more usual for full time writers whose increased work rate shifts projects closer together. As for me; I'm really enjoying visiting my Angel world again and frustrated I'm going to be leaving it again soon. But that's just the way it is.
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