Fantasy Book Club Series discussion
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What's the Best Way to Publish a Series?
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If you're trying to make a living at writing, I'd guess you better publish as you write them. That's not to say you can't have the entire thing outlined, but living on air is tough.
I think that the Riyria Revelations books by Michael Sullivan are an excellent example of why waiting until all the books are written can be a good thing. Having just finished reading the series, going back to book 1 is a joy, because there are so many comments and clues in there about what's to come - you don't realise it at the time, and yet the big reveals later on are all the more satisfying, because they don't come totally out of left field. I think it would be difficult to achieve this amount of foreshadowing if you couldn't go back and alter the early books.That said, the point about living on air is also an important consideration I guess.
I could see advantages to doing all three books of my trilogy together, but I wanted to get the first book into the hands of my readers and get a sense for what works in the series and what doesn't. Hopefully, I'll be able to use that feedback to write an even better book 2 and 3. Not that I'm waiting. I outlined the entire series first, so I know basically where I'm going with it, and the second book is in progress even though the first book hasn't been out long enough for me to get much feedback.
It isn't about the money. I know that most writers need at least three books on the virtual bookshelf before they start seeing much traction anyway. It's really about getting the story in front of readers while I still can.
The market is changing rapidly. If the publishing revolution has taught us anything, it's that we shouldn't take the current state of affairs for granted or assume it will continue into the future.
Daniel wrote: "I could see advantages to doing all three books of my trilogy together, but I wanted to get the first book into the hands of my readers and get a sense for what works in the series and what doesn't..."I'm with you Daniel. My first book in my series is up, but the next 2 exist only as outlines. For me, it was important to get the first published before I started on the second. I don't think I could have written all three on dedication alone. I am the kind of person who needs positive reinforcement to continue.
Now I have the motivation of people asking for the second book to light a fire under my arse. Better than any editorial deadline.
For what it's worth, I'm doing the Michael Sullivan approach: write it all before publishing. Actually, I started this long before I even knew who Michael was!Yes, Book I of the series is out, and yes, I'm currently "tweaking" Book II. But I feel that writing in this manner gives better consistency. J.E. Lowder
Reader only here,How long of a series? If it's a three book series I can see the advantages of having the whole thing written. But if it's going to be longer having two books done ahead should be fine. Imo. You could see what works and what doesn't.
I didn't know GRRM had things he wishes he could change. Who would've been killed off? Totally agree with the age of the children. I always picture them older anyway. Especially Sansa.
As a reader, I'm a fan of longer fantasy series, and with Malazan and Wheel of Time coming to end, they seem to be getting rarer. That said, I know there's only a certain number of concurrent series I can keep straight in my head, so I prefer series that have ended or have nearly ended so I can read them in one go. Although, I'm trying to get out of this habit, as I know if the early books in a series don't sell, then you're not going to see the later ones! I'm also put off a bit from starting a series until it's finished if the author takes a long time to write each book - for instance I've heard a lot of good things about Scott Lynch and Patrick Rothfuss but I've made up my mind not to start either of their series until the third books are out. That's not a criticism of them - good writing can take time, but if I know that if I read Name of the Wind and Wise Men's Fear now, I'd only have a sketchy recollection of what's happened when the third book comes out in 2 or 3 years' time. On the other hand, authors like Brandon Sanderson and Dan Abraham reliably bring out a book a year at least, so I'm more likely to start reading their series earlier.
T.B. wrote: "Now I have the motivation of people asking for the second book to light a fire under my arse. Better than any editorial deadline."Good point. I do feel more pressure to get the second and third books done now that the first one is out. My beta readers were clamoring for more before the first one was even published!
Jim wrote: "On the other hand, authors like Brandon Sanderson and Dan Abraham reliably bring out a book a year at least, so I'm more likely to start reading their series earlier."Thanks for that insight. It took me a year to do book 1, but now that I have a lot of the world-building behind me and several of the characters are old friends now, I hope to get both books 2 and 3 done in a similar time frame. I'm not sure that's possible, but it's good to have a goal! :-)
Jim wrote: "As a reader, I'm a fan of longer fantasy series, and with Malazan and Wheel of Time coming to end, they seem to be getting rarer. That said, I know there's only a certain number of concurrent seri..."I can see your point. I do that with movies as well. I especially hate the "To be continued..." endings. I will just wait until the next one is out so I can read/watch them back to back.
Things do get a little fuzzy if there's too much time in between.
My goal is to have a book out every five to six months. My maternity leave is coming up soon which will help. (Fingers crossed ;)
I asked my husband again because I'm not a big fan of wait until all the books are written and published. I also haven't heard good things about books that are released in bulk. I'm not sure why, but several had said it.
But we are a writing duo so the plot, publishing, and marketing methods all have to be agreed upon.
Apparently, I misunderstood my hubby. He wants to have the series planned in detail before I start releasing each book. That I can agree with. Already as we start fine tuning more of the details, I'm seeing the benefits. We have a clearer picture of what's going to happen and also what needs to lead up to it. It will make the writing process smoother.
The planning may delay the release of the second book but after that I should be able to bang 'em out! (At least, that's how I envision it. Hehe.)
Angel, would you say you were a gardener or an architect? These are terms coined by George RR Martin to differentiate between two types of writers. Gardeners only have a rough outline of where their story will go and allow the finer detail to grow organically during the writing process, whereas architects plan far more meticulously. I'm not a writer myself, but I kind of like this metaphor. I guess you and your husband have to way up all sort of commercial considerations and publishing requirements, but it's also important to have a bit of think about what sort of writing process works for you, and whether you can change your process without too much trauma!
Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck.
Angel wrote: "What's the best way to publish a series?For myself I wrote all six books before publishing the first. It took 4 1/2 years. It was definitely the right choice for me and my series - but would I recommend it??? Probably not. I think it really depends on how interwoven your plots are. There were many "tweaks" that I made to early books as I wrote later ones - but investing years without knowing if the series can gain a following...that might mean A LOT of time down the tubes.
Rachel wrote: "I think that the Riyria Revelations books by Michael Sullivan are an excellent example of why waiting until all the books are written can be a good thing. Having just finished reading the series, going back to book 1 is a joy, because there are so many comments and clues in there about what's to come - you don't realise it at the time, and yet the big reveals later on are all the more satisfying, because they don't come totally out of left field. I think it would be difficult to achieve this amount of foreshadowing if you couldn't go back and alter the early books.That said, the point about living on air is also an important consideration I guess."
I think Rachel is right on both accounts.
Daniel wrote: "It isn't about the money. I know that most writers need at least three books on the virtual bookshelf before they start seeing much traction anyway. It's really about getting the story in front of readers while I still can.The market is changing rapidly. If the publishing revolution has taught us anything, it's that we shouldn't take the current state of affairs for granted or assume it will continue into the future."
Timing should be weighed...Keep in mind that once you have a book out there then you won't be able to write full time - interviews, blogging, social networking, answering a flood of fanmail (hopefully) will divide your time. If you put out something and it will be years before the next one - that is problematic. When I did mine my goals was one book every six months and that pace was a good one. There was always another book - on the horizon and sales for the first one(s) would get a shot in the arm each time a later book came out.
Timing should be weighed...Keep in mind that once you have a book out there then you won't be able to write full time - interviews, blogging, social networking, answering a flood of fanmail (hopefully) will divide your time...Michael: Thanks for your comments. I can only hope that some day I'll have to worry about answering fan mail! For the moment, it is looking like my third book will probably be out anyway before the world starts to figure out that I exist. Obscurity is a bummer. I hope my first book helps me take the first steps to solve that particular problem.
Thats a good point - that you can have a book "out there" but pushing one book (i.e. spending much time on promotion) may not make a lot of sense - I found that 3 books is kind of a magic number - once you get that body of work out you can start spending more time on promtion.
As a reader, I would say - get the books out there as they're written. Unless it's a wildly complicated plot that needs the whole series to be tightly interwoven, it's better to build your fanbase book by book. Also, it must be very tempting to keep tinkering and adjusting and fine-tuning indefinitely. Write book 2, publish it, and then move straight on to book 3. And keep them coming. There's some evidence that sales don't really start to take off until an author has several books out - 4+, and the more the better. Not sure why - maybe people are more willing to take a punt on someone with some longevity, rather than an obvious newbie.Good luck!
I'd say the answer to this question depends a lot on how quickly you can write. If you're a slow writer, maybe you should have a couple books done before publishing the first one. If you're fast, perhaps that isn't necessary, so long as you are able to keep up the pace. What I've read about the way the industry is these days (which will doubtless change by the time I finish this sentence) says that being able to produce in quantity is its own sort of marketing. So long as what you produce is good, that is.
A) Wait until you've written the entire series (even if it takes a couple years) and then publish it.
B) Publish each sequel as they are written.
C) Either A or B is equally effective.
I know both A + B have their advantages and disadvantages. George R. R. Martin wishes he hadn't published each individually because he would have changed who he killed off and the ages of the children. Now he is somewhat limited as to what how he writes the sequels.
I published the first book in the Legacies of Talimura series in July and was about to announce the release date of the next one when my husband suggested that I wait until we've written the entire series. He says this is especially important in the fantasy genre. We've already plotted out the next four books but, as you know, things change once you start writing.
I just wanted to know what you thought was the best choice.
:)
Angel