As a writer who has taken six years from conception to completion of her first novel, I’m a little (massively) out of step with the prolific output of many of the talented writers publishing eBooks in the current marketplace.
My ‘bible’ for the publishing side of this venture is Let’s Get Digital by David Gaughran. I’ve read it more than once, and value his advice immensely. But I feel a little foolish every time I get to where he says it is better to write five books than spend five years perfecting one book. Foolish for obvious reasons – I kind of went the other way.
He’s not the only one to advise this, and I know this advice is sound. There is a wealth of free, good advice on how to write faster, and publish quicker, lessons I could have benefitted from over the last six years. But I took the slow road, learning as I went, and I’m with the characters I’ve created for the long haul.
Why has it taken so long, and will it hurt me in the long run? Time will tell on the latter. As for the former… Life, obstacles, working full time, and learning both my craft and my story have all filled in those years. I have the same visions of success that every writer of a YA paranormal romance series secretly cherishes, so Find Me, the first in my series Immersed, had to be good. I wanted my readers to engage, to believe my characters, to love their love and to stick around for the whole ride. My problem (hence the sound advice) is by the time book two is out, I may have lost the readers who love Find Me, in a sea of other novels.
But I have faith. That just as I never forget the books I love, and never stop looking for more from their authors, if any of my readers connect with my characters, they will seek them out, and give the world of Immersed more than one look. I hope there is room for us writers who take a little more time to bring you our stories, and that we’ll be welcomed onto your devices and bookshelves just the same.
The good news is, I’m already quicker at this writing lark, and book two Follow Me is seventy percent there already, to follow Find Me in reasonably quick succession. Let’s hope that Find Me gets you so keen for Follow Me, that you won’t forget me or my world of Immersed in the meantime. Happy writing, all you slow and fast writers, and happy reading to all.
