Not sure which book to write next ...

[Simon Haynes]

Seriously, after I finish my series-starter WIP (60% done), I have five more projects leaping up and down for my attention, and I don't know where to turn next.


1: A 'book 0' novel for my longest and oldest series. I have a brief plot outline, and if I write this one it'll become the new 'first' novel in a ten-book series, replacing book one. This is important, because book one in that series was my first novel, completed in 2000, and is still weaker than the rest despite several rewrites. Writing a book zero gives me the chance to put my 26+ novels of experience to use crafting a new series opener.

2: The third book in my balls-and-all space opera series. I just published book 2 at the beginning of this month, and I hear that publishing the third book in any series can give all three a nice boost. I have a great plot idea which I'm really excited about.

3: The second book in my 1870s ghost mystery series. (My current WIP is book one.)  I'm getting wonderful vibes from my beta readers about book one, and I believe writing a second in the series ASAP would be a wise move. In fact, I'm considering putting the first up for preorder for at least 40 days after it's done, instead of hitting publish, thus giving me time to write most of book 2 before 1 actually releases. I have a vague plot idea, but I'm still finding out where book 1 takes me.

4: The fourth book in my comedy fantasy series. I had a BB featured deal on the first novel about 5 months ago, so there are plenty of willing readers out there. The first three books were sequels in a trilogy, but this would be a standalone fourth novel. Plot idea - check!

5: The fourth book in my light scifi series. This one had a BB a couple of months ago too, with 45k+ downloads of the freebie book one, and all three novels have done well. I have a plot idea for this one too. Bonus - these are only 55k words in length.


Argh!! Why can't I write all of them at the same time?


To make my choice even more difficult I've already knocked up draft covers for all five titles...

[idontknowyet]

I would go with 5 since it will be your quickest to finish.

2 you just published so people will be willing to wait a couple of months for the next one.

I would go
5
2
3
4
And skip 1 all together unless you have a passion to write it. As a reader it would be weird to start a series with one stronger then have the next book be weaker. That's when I stop reading an author or a story line.

[Simon Haynes]

Good points, and thank you. I should probably look at when I released the latest books in each of the other series, so that fans of any particular one aren't kept waiting.

Number 1 was going to be a short story to use as a newsletter magnet, but the plot grew until I realised the idea was big enough for a novel. Also, since moving the rest of the series to KU, there's not much point having a reader magnet for it. I could write this novel as book 11 in the series, but the problem with that is that it would be lacking two very popular characters.

[Maggie Ann]

Clone thyself. 

[idontknowyet]

Clone thyself. 

This!!!!!!! 

[Simon Haynes]

I wish!  With five novels on my plate and five more after those, I'm looking at a minimum of 18 months solid work, although to be honest I'd be very happy with 6 per year. (Don't want to fire up THAT argument again ...)

[Lynn]

Enthusiasm. Pick the one you want to write the most. Seriously. You'll thank yourself later. :D

[Simon Haynes]

BUT I WANT TO WRITE THEM ALL! ;-)

I'm lucky to have so many fun projects to choose from. I'm just letting off a bit of steam because family & friends wouldn't really understand what I was whinging about, and I know lots of people here do.

[notthatamanda]

Wait, is "Riddle in Bronze" out yet?  I was waiting for the new release notification on that because I really want to read it.
So my vote would be for the Silver Enigma.

But, and this is probably a horrible idea, just take a week and work on one of each every day.  The one you absolutely have to go back to, that's the one. You may not even get through the week.  I tried writing two books at a time, figured I could manage two writing sessions a day with that, I got to chapter 7 on both books and quit on one of them.  Never went back to it either.  It still was a good exercise though.  I just don't have a lot of days where I can pack that many hours in, but if I did more hours I might still work on two books at once.  I was able to start fresh with book 2 in the afternoon/evening, when I was clearly done with book 1 for the day.

[Lynn]

BUT I WANT TO WRITE THEM ALL! ;-)

I'm lucky to have so many fun projects to choose from. I'm just letting off a bit of steam because family & friends wouldn't really understand what I was whinging about, and I know lots of people here do.

I solved that problem by literally writing them all. :D I have eight books open on my computer most days and write whatever is the most fun for me at that moment. I usually top out working on three, it seems, but the three I work on change daily. Seems to be working really well to keep my enthusiasm up for them all. Now I'm just panicking a bit because I've started to realize I'm going to have several books finished at about the same time. November is going to be fun. :D

[Simon Haynes]

I've considered doing exactly that, but I'm worried I'd lose track of all the different plots.

Worse, they're not only 3-4 different genres, with no overlapping characters, but one of them is written in 1870s-style formal language...

[Simon Haynes]

Wait, is "Riddle in Bronze" out yet?  I was waiting for the new release notification on that because I really want to read it.
So my vote would be for the Silver Enigma.

But, and this is probably a horrible idea, just take a week and work on one of each every day.  The one you absolutely have to go back to, that's the one. You may not even get through the week.  I tried writing two books at a time, figured I could manage two writing sessions a day with that, I got to chapter 7 on both books and quit on one of them.  Never went back to it either.  It still was a good exercise though.  I just don't have a lot of days where I can pack that many hours in, but if I did more hours I might still work on two books at once.  I was able to start fresh with book 2 in the afternoon/evening, when I was clearly done with book 1 for the day.

No 'Bronze' is my WIP, now 60% done with about 2 weeks to go. That's the one my beta readers are constantly emailing me about, which is why I've been thinking of moving book 2 up in my schedule!

With my trilogy (40+ viewpoint characters), I used to keep a runsheet with one sentence for each character, telling me where I left them and what they were doing. It was the only way to cope without re-reading all the novels over and over.

I guess I could do the same if I tried to write 3 or 4 novels at the same time. Of course, then I'd have no releases for 4 or 5 months.

Argh again.

[Lynn]

Wait, is "Riddle in Bronze" out yet?  I was waiting for the new release notification on that because I really want to read it.
So my vote would be for the Silver Enigma.

But, and this is probably a horrible idea, just take a week and work on one of each every day.  The one you absolutely have to go back to, that's the one. You may not even get through the week.  I tried writing two books at a time, figured I could manage two writing sessions a day with that, I got to chapter 7 on both books and quit on one of them.  Never went back to it either.  It still was a good exercise though.  I just don't have a lot of days where I can pack that many hours in, but if I did more hours I might still work on two books at once.  I was able to start fresh with book 2 in the afternoon/evening, when I was clearly done with book 1 for the day.

No 'Bronze' is my WIP, now 60% done with about 2 weeks to go. That's the one my beta readers are constantly emailing me about, which is why I've been thinking of moving book 2 up in my schedule!

With my trilogy (40+ viewpoint characters), I used to keep a runsheet with one sentence for each character, telling me where I left them and what they were doing. It was the only way to cope without re-reading all the novels over and over.

I guess I could do the same if I tried to write 3 or 4 novels at the same time. Of course, then I'd have no releases for 4 or 5 months.

Argh again.

Do you tend to have more than one book on the go reading-wise? Do you remember plot lines in the tv series you watch without having to go back to previous episodes to refresh yourself?

Those can be clues to help you decide if it would work for you.

I don't have trouble with that stuff. :D I remember *way* too much of everything. It makes me feel like my head is going to explode some days. Keeping up with the various plots for each of the books (even though some are in *long* series at this point) doesn't give me much trouble at all. Some of my series are very different from others, from language to tone, and I don't seem to have trouble with that either.

All that to say, think about how you work best and go from there. :D

My big problem is boredom or losing my enthusiasm. If that happens to me, I lose all will to write. So that's what I aim to cure with my method. Some people can work on one book and never lose that. If that worked for me, I am positive I would stick to one at a time. Just makes more sense for releasing.

[VanessaC]

Wow. No real practical advice to offer, just in awe at the organisation and work ethic it takes to keep all those plates spinning!

Are any of the 5 going to finish a series? I might start there. But that's because I can only deal with one series at a time ...!

Beyond that, and providing you don't have any hard deadlines to meet, I'd probably echo previous suggestions of writing the one you're most drawn to now. If you really can't decide, try putting names in a hat? or flipping a coin? A tip from a former work colleague: if you flip a coin to make a decision, and you're disappointed by the result, that tells you something - listen to your gut.

[123mlh]

I'd do 5 because I know of more than one author whose career took off shortly after a free BB run and so I'd want to get another book of the same type out as soon as I could.

I wouldn't do 1. That series is done and dusted and I'd think the new book 1 would just create more confusion if there's a big dip in quality to the now book 2.

After that my choices would be either 2 or 3. Standalones even in a related world (choice 4) are less liable to do as well as the next in a series and there's something to be said for having more books out in any series when it comes to advertising and readthrough.

[notthatamanda]

Very practical advice.  I'm still voting for Silver Enigma. 

[Vijaya]

Given how fast you write, you could do them all in 6 months! And you really do need a clone. But in its absence, I'd pick the one that's keeping you awake at night, the one you'd be sorry you didn't pay attention to if you died tomorrow.

[Simon Haynes]

Wait, is "Riddle in Bronze" out yet?  I was waiting for the new release notification on that because I really want to read it.
So my vote would be for the Silver Enigma.

But, and this is probably a horrible idea, just take a week and work on one of each every day.  The one you absolutely have to go back to, that's the one. You may not even get through the week.  I tried writing two books at a time, figured I could manage two writing sessions a day with that, I got to chapter 7 on both books and quit on one of them.  Never went back to it either.  It still was a good exercise though.  I just don't have a lot of days where I can pack that many hours in, but if I did more hours I might still work on two books at once.  I was able to start fresh with book 2 in the afternoon/evening, when I was clearly done with book 1 for the day.

No 'Bronze' is my WIP, now 60% done with about 2 weeks to go. That's the one my beta readers are constantly emailing me about, which is why I've been thinking of moving book 2 up in my schedule!

With my trilogy (40+ viewpoint characters), I used to keep a runsheet with one sentence for each character, telling me where I left them and what they were doing. It was the only way to cope without re-reading all the novels over and over.

I guess I could do the same if I tried to write 3 or 4 novels at the same time. Of course, then I'd have no releases for 4 or 5 months.

Argh again.

Do you tend to have more than one book on the go reading-wise? Do you remember plot lines in the tv series you watch without having to go back to previous episodes to refresh yourself?

Those can be clues to help you decide if it would work for you.

I don't have trouble with that stuff. :D I remember *way* too much of everything. It makes me feel like my head is going to explode some days. Keeping up with the various plots for each of the books (even though some are in *long* series at this point) doesn't give me much trouble at all. Some of my series are very different from others, from language to tone, and I don't seem to have trouble with that either.

All that to say, think about how you work best and go from there. :D

My big problem is boredom or losing my enthusiasm. If that happens to me, I lose all will to write. So that's what I aim to cure with my method. Some people can work on one book and never lose that. If that worked for me, I am positive I would stick to one at a time. Just makes more sense for releasing.

I'm definitely a 'fifty projects on the go' sort of person, but when it comes to writing I try to stick to one so I can finish it. (I have a folder somewhere on my computer which contains maybe 100 unfinished short stories. Probably a dozen opening chapters for novels, too. But that was 20-25 years ago, and I don't do that nowadays.)

I'd rather step away from the WIP for a day or two than set it aside and take up a different one.

As for TV and reading, that's a special case. I do tend to have multiple books on the go, but with TV I like a very long series so I can have it running on one screen while I'm tweaking book covers on another and maybe browsing the web on the third.

[Simon Haynes]

Wow. No real practical advice to offer, just in awe at the organisation and work ethic it takes to keep all those plates spinning!

Are any of the 5 going to finish a series? I might start there. But that's because I can only deal with one series at a time ...!

Beyond that, and providing you don't have any hard deadlines to meet, I'd probably echo previous suggestions of writing the one you're most drawn to now. If you really can't decide, try putting names in a hat? or flipping a coin? A tip from a former work colleague: if you flip a coin to make a decision, and you're disappointed by the result, that tells you something - listen to your gut.

Yes, #2 would finish a series of three books, and I'll only write a fourth in that series if the first three take off.

The rest all extend ongoing series.

[Simon Haynes]

I'd do 5 because I know of more than one author whose career took off shortly after a free BB run and so I'd want to get another book of the same type out as soon as I could.

I wouldn't do 1. That series is done and dusted and I'd think the new book 1 would just create more confusion if there's a big dip in quality to the now book 2.

After that my choices would be either 2 or 3. Standalones even in a related world (choice 4) are less liable to do as well as the next in a series and there's something to be said for having more books out in any series when it comes to advertising and readthrough.

Re the prequel novel (selection #1) and the ten-book series - I may have given the impression that series was finished, but it's ongoing. I have books 11, 12 and 13 in planning stages. Also, I may have understated the quality of book one a bit, because it has been tidied up and rewritten a couple of times, and the average review score is fine.  I might also have misled myself, because you always get people who read the first book in a series and don't like it for whatever reason. (Hence, lower avg score than the rest of a series.)   But I think if I took the prequel novel and shoved it into the series at position #11, the lack of two favourite characters would start a riot.


Re  choice 4: The first three books are a trilogy, like one 240,000 word novel cut into three.  I was planning a second trilogy, but I would have to write all three of them back to back. That's why I'm considering writing a new novel (same characters, setting, etc), which wraps everything up within the same book.  I don't want to write three of them and ignore all the other series.

[Simon Haynes]

Very practical advice.  I'm still voting for Silver Enigma. 

Haha. This is the sort of thing I'm getting from my beta readers.

[Simon Haynes]

Given how fast you write, you could do them all in 6 months! And you really do need a clone. But in its absence, I'd pick the one that's keeping you awake at night, the one you'd be sorry you didn't pay attention to if you died tomorrow.

I could write them all in six months, maybe, although I'd put my money on completing three or four.  The historical novels take longer because I seem to rewrite every sentence two or three times on the fly, trying to get the phrasing right, plus there's the research into the era.


Anyway, I appreciate everyone's input, and I'll definitely review all the suggestions.