Question. You talk a lot about the positives of Indie Publishing. Is there a negative for you?
Answer. For me there definitely is one negative. The emphasis on frequency of publication.
The three requirements for Independent Publishing success as a fiction writer – according to what I’ve been told – are these.
- Write in a popular genre.
- Write a series.
- Publish every 3 to 4 months. Preferably every 3 months.
I’ve got the first two covered. Romantic Suspense is a popular sub-group of a very popular genre. I’m also writing the Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series.
I was doing all right with number three for a while. A Wrong Way Home launched in February. A Year of Summer Shadows in June. Four months apart not three but still in the frequency ballpark.
That looked okay on the calendar but I knew better. Making book number two’s publication date was a stretch for me. An uncomfortable stretch. To accomplish it I did a truly stupid thing.
I rushed the manuscript straight from my editor’s hands into production. I didn’t do the final crucial read-through myself.
I’ve been around way longer than enough to know there are edits only the author’s eyes will see. I rushed it anyway. Because I didn’t want to commit the allegedly deadly sin of letting five months pass between published books.
Since then I’ve committed other sins that also toll the death knell to my frequency of publication. Specifically I’m guilty of wanting and having a personal life. Complete with family and friends and even some fun.
In the 1990’s I set all of those aside to pursue a career as a literary agent. I was all business all the time and the goddess of commerce awarded me well.
What I seem to be experiencing now is a case of Been There Done That when it comes to All Work and No Play Make Alice a Successful Woman.
Whatever the cause may be – I’m just not feeling the need for speed. I fully understand this flies in the face of my having told hundreds of writers in my workshops that they must be Warriors on Behalf of Their Careers.
All the same – I’ve decided not to renew my fast lane pass. Which also flies in the face of the three-prong program for independent publishing success.
I’ve been fortunate to experience a number of worldly successes in my life. Maybe I’ve fulfilled my required quota of those.
Maybe it’s time to seek another kind of success. The kind that perhaps doesn’t involve being a warrior at all.
RR
A Wrong Way Home – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 1 – the eBook – is FREE at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T9RVGGC. It’s also free at Barnes & Noble and iTunes and KOBO and other online platforms. A YEAR OF SUMMER SHADOWS – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book #2 – is also available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZBOTH5O. These are my 12th and 13th novels. Number 14 will probably take longer to arrive. Alice Orr – www.aliceorrbooks.com.
Thanks for every other excellent post. Where else could anybody get that kind of info in such an ideal way of writing? I’ve a presentation subsequent week, and I am at the look for such information.
Thanks RolfesRussel141. I’m very glad to be of help. Feel free to quote me any time. And best of luck with your presentation. Alice
Alice you do what your heart and head tell you. Riverton Road is a good series and your readers will await your next when you are ready
Thank you Judy. I have to admit this particular subject can be discouraging. Especially when going through a flagging stamina phase as I am now. I hope you’re right about readers not forgetting me if there is a lag between books 2 and 3 of the series because that I fear is exactly what’s going to happen. BTW your encouragement is very much appreciated. You’re the best and you always have been.