Support for Indie Authors discussion
Archived Author Help
>
Which novel should I self-publish next?
date
newest »
newest »
It all depends on your individual situation, but in general, I have to think it's best to complete your trilogy first. If readers are waiting for books 2 and 3 in that trilogy, the sooner you get them out, the happier your readers will be, and the better it makes you look. If you keep readers waiting, they might not be happy about it. And if they're not happy, they may not be keen to run out and read your other books that aren't part of the trilogy.I'm in a similar situation, and I've opted to focus my time on finishing the second book, even though I have several other projects written (but still needing proofreading, etc...) that I'm dying to release.
Well, there are many thoughts on this. First off, the sooner you can get the series books out,the better. Loads of people are reluctant to read incomplete series because they worry (mostly due to the days when trad publishers would cancel contracts) they will not get closure if the series ends prematurely.That said... if you've got a book ready to go, get it out there! Having another book on the market can't hurt.
That said... Standalone books are a hard sell. They don't always lead to sales of your other books either.
And finally, that said... Don't rush yourself to do anything. If you've got something ready, put it out. If it's not, don't force it.
I think you should put the other books out there and spread out releasing them over several months to increase your exposure. If you use Amazon, publishing one book a year will keep you down in Amazon's author ratings. Consensus in my author's group is even putting out a short story between novels, keeps you as a current author and apparently is what they want to see, especially for them to do any promotion of your work. So the more, the merrier.
If the other books are already finished and won't delay the release of Book 2 of your trilogy, then go for it. Can't hurt to build your brand further, and if it doesn't affect how fast the trilogy is getting written, there's no need to worry.
Anthony wrote: "Consensus in my author's group is even putting out a short story between novels, keeps you as a current author and apparently is what they want to see, especially for them to do any promotion of your work."That is a good point, Anthony. If this is true, then frequently putting out more work might have a positive impact on one's author status/ranking on Amazon
Does anyone have any objective data or information to confirm this? Has this been written about anywhere?
There is no disadvantage to publishing the stand alone now. It way actually increase interest in your other works. It will also show your diversity as a writer. Almost all major authors (as far as I know) have done this. Best of luck!
Thanks for all the advice! I'm leaning towards releasing a different novel for now since I don't have much time for writing the sequel to my book at the moment.April wrote: "Does anyone have any objective data or information to confirm this? Has this been written about anywhere?"
I would like to know this too, April.
No, to answer April's question, there is no data confirming this because like everything, there is no one way that works. I can name off the top of my head a dozen authors on Amazon's top rated who are indies with a single book. Likewise, I can name a dozen authors with more than ten works who rank low. Like everything, this is dependant on a number of factors, most of which are subjective. Your best bet is to do what you can to put out the best work possible, even if that means you sacrifice a few places in rank. It's all fluid anyway.
It the book is ready to go. Do it. No reason to wait!
Mod
Dwayne wrote: "If you have works that are finished and ready to be published, why wait?"I've seen some authors suggest waiting to release a book until a peak book buying time of the year, but I'm not sure there is a particular peak time as my sales seem to be in complete contrast to what I've seen other say about it being a slow or fast period.
Certainly if you have a horror or mystery, you might want to consider getting it out within 30 days of Halloween so it comes up when people search by new in 30 days. If it's something with broad appeal and you plan to put out a paperback, you might want to consider releasing it closer to Christmas when people are looking for gifts for others.
Also, I've seen the strongest sales personally ahead of the weekend, and coming out of the weekend, so I tend to prefer releasing on a Thursday or as early as possible on Monday so I'm as close to the top of the new releases when people are making those choices.
But otherwise, I wouldn't wait. I held my first book back for a few months, so by the time I released my second book and realized Scifi was going to work better for me than horror, I already had a number of horror pieces in the pipeline to push through before I could shift course. If I had released my first couple books as soon as they were ready, I could have caught the trend earlier and changed course early.
I've heard that the more books you have out there, the better, regardless if they are part of a trilogy or a standalone. This is why I'm trying to put out a few novellas before book 3 in my trilogy--I need a break, and I'll still have something to release relatively soon.
Yeah, my novel is a horror/suspense that I want to release, so I was thinking some time around Halloween would be perfect.
Mod
My horror stuff tends to sell off and on all year, but yes. We're in the Halloween season now. Could be a great time to set it free.
I've heard that publishing multiple books is the best way to be successful as a self-published author. My first book, Grim Crush, is part of a trilogy, and I'm only halfway done with the second book. I have some other books I've finished though, so I was wondering if it would be a good idea to put out a completely different standalone book in the meantime, and publish the second book of my trilogy next year.
What do you guys think? Is it better to finish publishing all the books in a series back-to-back? Or is it okay to publish other books in-between the series? For other self-published authors, what have you done in the past?