I’m at a spot where lots of stuff has happened or is happening in threes, good things or bad things.
For the bad stuff, well, meh – this too shall pass. The bad stuff gives us something to write about.
For the good, it’s all about the writing! I have three books in print now. <Begin shameless self-promotion> All highly recommended! Shiny! Spectacular! Thrill your friends and embarrass your parents! Works great as reading material or as draft stop! Chops julienne fries! Buy now, before they’re gone! <end shameless self promotion>
And in the next nine months or so (gasp) I’ll have another stories three in print. Helix: Blight of Exiles comes out soon, like in mere weeks, from Tyche Books. In the spring, I have a short story in Expiration Date, edited by Nine Day Wonder interviewee Nancy Kilpatrick, published by Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing. And after that, it’s the Fog of Dockside City: The Spectral Tempest, written, edited, and published by yers trooly.
That’s hard to wrap my head around…that’s six books in three years.
So, while stuck in a bit of a nail-biting period of wait-and-see, I have some time to get caught up on writing.
And it’s the hardest thing I’ve had to do in a long time.
The Fog series has always been plotted out as four books. Helix, as three. The good news is, Fog 2 is already in print (and has sold more books by virtue of the cover art than the author’s name). And just as good: Helix 2 is already written, with several editing passes completed already. Still some work to do there, but I’m happy with where it is, considering the first one hasn’t hit shelves yet.
But now I have Helix 3 to write, and Fog 3 is set to come out in under a year, like, panic-soon. I can write 66,000 words in a weekend, but do you think I can spend a couple of months writing two books at a more sedate pace? Apparently not!
It’s not for a lack of plot. Like I said, these are already plotted.
Here’s the trouble.
On a scale of Wow to Blah, Fog 1 was received as a clear “Meh”. Fog 2, however, has received lots of positive reviews (few of which are on Goodreads or Amazon, unfortunately…). So on the one side, I’m really excited to write Fog 3, knowing what I did wrong in Fog 1 and what I did right in Fog 2…But on the other side, I’m terrified, because I’m not sure if Fog 2 was a fluke, and I’ll revert back to Fog 1’s “meh-ness.” So, instead of finding out how well I can write book 3 – or better yet, actively making it as good as or better than Fog 2 – I’m paralysed by self-doubt. I’m scared I’ll publish something undercooked.
And worse: I’m afraid that the longer I chew my fingers, the more time passes, and the more likely I will publish something on time but before it was ready. With all this dithering and heel-dragging, I could be self-sabotaging my efforts to write the story I love so much.
Helix 3 is a different kettle of fish – most of them piranhas.
Helix 1 is being published by someone who is Not Me (the aforementioned Tyche Books). If it’s well received and sells well, then swell! I benefit, and so does my long-suffering publisher.
But with self-publishing, the risk is entirely my own; however, in this case, I’m putting someone else at risk. If Helix: Blight of Exiles doesn’t do well, then I feel like I’ve let down the whole publishing house, along with every one of its authors current and future. (Anxiety aside, Helix really is a good story, and I know it’ll do far better than anything else I’ve written so far. It’s really amazing to see the difference in quality between self-publishing well and partnering with the right editor. I may have to name my first born after Margaret Curelas.)
Publication of Helix 2 – with Tyche or otherwise – is dependent on how well Helix 1 is received. Helix 2 is written, just in case; but if Helix 1 doesn’t fly well, is it worth my time to write Helix 3? Of course it is – but that’s the noisy question going around and around in my head, making it difficult to hear the story I want to write down. Had I been smart, I would have written all three books before submitting the first to Tyche, but how was I going to know I’d freak out like this?
On top of the uncertain future of the publication of the full trilogy, I have yet to actually wrap it up. Imagine writing a 1000-page book and having to ensure that anything that’s referenced one page 850 meshes with whatever was written on page 15. That’s a lot of story to hold in one’s brain, and a lot of connections to make. Fortunately, Helix 2 isn’t in print yet, so if I need to pull a rabbit out of my hat in Book 3, I can retcon any hiccups in Helix 2 without anyone knowing. But I can’t lock down Helix 2 until a) I hear some reviews back about Helix 1, and b) I get to the end of Helix 3.
Publication aside, there’s some more technical worries swirling around my brain.
How do you keep characters consistent across 3-4 books, while simultaneously developing and maturing their personalities?
How do you keep the tempo, style, and voice consistent across 3-4 books, especially when you’re working on two completely different series at the same time?
Knowing where you need to be at the end of the series, how much reader feedback can you (or should you) incorporate into the last book(s)?
And…which one do I work on first? I want to have Fog 3 ready for June 2015, but Helix is (theoretically) more commercially viable. On the other hand, Helix 1 isn’t even released yet, and I haven’t even broached the topic of Helix 2 with Tyche yet, so technically I have a lot of time to get Helix 3 done…but Fog 3 isn’t going as quickly as I would like and I do want to write something so…
So: I open a letter to My Past Self with some words of wisdom.
1) Write absolutely everything now. If you want to write a 5-book series, write it all first, then attempt to sell book 1. It’ll be sooooooo much easier to edit Book 1 before submission, and once it’s accepted, you can apply what you’ve learned from your editor against books 2 through 5.
2) Write multiple series at once, sure. But sell one at a time. These days, a single series isn’t enough to make a living, especially when you’re first starting out. Two series at the same time? Probably not much of an economic advantage.
3) Enjoy every freaking moment of the creative process before submission, before the electricity bill depends on your creative process.
So, if you happen to write a series yourself and if you’d like to take a crack at those questions, give it a shot. Leave your comments in the spots below! How do you conquer the trilogy blues?