I want to start by saying this post will probably relate only to independent authors, since publishing schedules for traditionally published books are usually out of the author’s hands. And traditional publishing usually takes a long time.
I don’t usually give too much advice on my blog. The biggest reason for that is I have an author friend who used to give lots of advice, hoping to help other authors and keep them from making the mistakes she did. And what did she get for it? Lots and lots of criticism. Other authors slammed her for “telling them what to do”, etc. So I really hesitated about writing this post. I’ve been thinking about this a lot, though, and I’m just going to jump into it, and if I make someone mad, I’m sorry. That’s not my intention. Remember, this is MY blog, so it’s only MY opinions. 🙂
I’m going to take off my writer hat for a moment and put on my reader hat. This whole topic was inspired by feelings I have as a reader more than a writer. I’ll start with a personal story. I found a book that I really, really liked. It was well written and kept me interested through the whole story. When I was finished, the first thing I did was look for another book by the same author. There wasn’t one! This was her first novel, so I thought I would wait awhile and check again. And again. And again. After several months (maybe a year), I gave up. Now I can’t remember the name of the author. This means I’ll probably never read her next book. I was disappointed that I couldn’t read anything else by this author, but I had to move on.
As a reader, that story was just mildly annoying. As a writer, it worried me a little. It made me wonder if I was publishing fast enough. Some authors write much faster than others. That’s just a fact. Some authors who have been writing awhile won’t have to have to edit their books as much as those who are newer to the business. Some authors write a pretty clean first draft. There are so many factors involved in writing and publishing, so there’s no set rule as to how often you should publish. I’ve heard authors that take a year claim that no one can write a good book in three or four months. I’ve heard authors that write quickly claim that there’s no way it can possibly take a year to write a book. Sometimes, I just get tired of hearing authors criticize other authors. But I digress from my original point. I personally think it’s important to publish as often as you can as long as you can maintain quality. I had a reader email me recently, asking when my third Libby Fox novella was coming out. She was getting impatient because she actually wanted to read something I had written. It made me feel good, but something like that also puts pressure on an author. It had only been three or four months since I published the second one. Then I got a text from my uncle who lives about 600 miles away telling me I needed to get writing because he had read all my books and wanted another one. He said after he would read one, he had to pick up the next one and start reading. Again, a compliment, but more pressure. But if people want to read my next book that badly, shouldn’t I make an effort to give it to them?
If you’re not publishing at least two books a year, what’s holding you back? Is it fear? I know for a fact this is the case for some authors because they’ve told me so. But what are you afraid of? If you’re afraid someone won’t like your book, then you’re right. Lots of people won’t like it. But lots of people will. How will you know unless you take the plunge? Maybe you’re not publishing because you’re a “tweaker”. No matter how many times you go over your book, you find things you aren’t satisfied with. The thing is, after you publish, you’ll STILL be finding things you aren’t happy with. I certainly do. But you have to publish it sometime. Otherwise, what was the point in writing it? Or are you a lazy writer who only dabbles a bit here and there, but don’t really want to put in the effort it takes to actually write a book? If you’re just doing this for fun, that’s okay. In that case, your goal isn’t necessarily to be published.
I published three novellas during ROW80 this year (I probably would have written one more if my mom hadn’t had the heart attack in February). In fact, it was because of ROW80 that I was able to do it because I am just a little bit lazy as a writer sometimes. ROW80 kept me accountable. My goal is to produce at least two full length novels during 2012. I don’t want my readers to have to wait a year on my next book. I would love to write even faster than that, but with a full time job, that’s almost impossible. And there are other factors, I know, that can hold up writing and publishing. Life just happens. But I feel like my goal should be to put as much out there as I possibly can…without sacrificing quality. I don’t want a reader to forget my name because they couldn’t find my next book.
What about you? What are your writing and publishing goals? Why have you set the goals you have? I would love to hear from you, even if you disagree with me. I’m always open to comments and I love to hear what my fellow authors think.
lauralynnelliott.com 
Two novels a year, plus a handful of short stories, is about my average the last few years. I’m hoping in 2012 to up that to at least 3 novels. In a dream world, I’d have a new novel coming out every other month, or even every month, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be up that speed.
Hi, Ty, it’s nice to see you around here! 🙂
I’ve been writing novellas lately, but I want to start focusing on novels again. So I’m not sure how much I can write, but I’m hoping for at least two a year. We’ll see.
Lauralynn, I think it’s great you did this post. You’re a writer I admire for how much work you’ve been able to produce over the last couple of years. I’m happy with having published two novellas this year, since I published the first in August. However, I’m worried I won’t be able to publish my next book in time to satisfy some readers. Still, I hope to publish two novellas and a novel during 2012. Good luck with your goals!
Thanks, J.R.! I think you’ve done great since your first novella was published later in the year. You got that second one out quickly. And you definitely didn’t sacrifice quality. I think two to three works per year might leave readers wanting more, but I feel it’s often enough to satisfy them. It’s worse when you’re doing a series, so I’m stepping away from that, at least for awhile. I think 2012 will be good for both of us!
This post reminds me of a piece of advice I remember reading somewhere, but I can’t for the life of me recall the original source. This writer had suggested that, before sending out anything for an inquiry to publish (I took it to mean before going ahead and self-publishing, too), make sure you have at least two other works that are pretty much near or ready to be published, too. I thought this was incredible advice; in my interpretation of it, having two more pieces waiting in the wings was a pretty good guarantee that you would be ready should things go well. It gave you some buffer; you had something to rest on in the event of a deadline, but also the freedom to create other new pieces as well.
This post also brought to mind Bruce Coville’s Unicorn Chronicles series, a series that offered up two books, with the promise of a trilogy, though it took Coville almost ten years to produce the third book. He made up for it with a fourth book, though. Granted, Coville writes a great deal of things and was probably producing other work, but the series had fallen to the wayside and might have even ended there.
I’m finally thinking of starting to self-publish some work, though I am far from following the advice of the anonymous sage mentioned above. I know I want to keep my publishing consistent, though, and think making sure to publish something frequently would be the kind of kick in the pants I need to keep getting work out. Or, I could put out my first piece, get swept up with everything else, and be unable to get something out as soon as I’d like. I’m not sure since it’s all so new, but it would definitely be interesting to find out.
At least two books a year, though? Sounds like a good, solid challenge….And I do love a challenge….
Yes, we know how you love a challenge. LOL. I’m sure you could do two books a year. Because you’re superwoman.
I have a friend who wrote a science fiction book, then he wrote a detective novel, which was supposed to be a series. The next thing I knew, he was working on yet another completely different detective novel, and I told him he needed to be working on his first series. There are some writers who can write simultaneous series, but if you can’t, I truly believe you should finish one before launching into another one (unless you write really fast). Because you’re leaving the reader hanging while you’re working on something else. That’s just my opinion, though.
As to the subject of self-publishing…I’m into it all the way. If an author wants to go the traditional route, then that’s great. But it’s not for me. Going the indie route has allowed me to publish whenever I want as often as I want without having to wait a year or two. And I’ve made more money that a small publisher would ever give as an advance. Honestly, I don’t think I would go the traditional route unless a publisher offered A LOT for an advance. I would laugh at $10,000. I can make that in the time it would take a traditional publisher to even get my book out. (Of course, now that I’m saying that, my book sales will probably tank.)
Here’s a great compromise. Publish some work independently and some work traditionally. I know authors that do that. Sometimes they have to write under a different pen name, but I would make sure my contract didn’t forbid something like that before I signed on the dotted line.
I’d like to pursue the compromise method myself, actually, unless things really take off in self-publishing and it somehow works out that my main series, the one I’ve been working on since I was practically ten, could really take off in self-publishing, too. But that series I really want to pursue more traditionally because I’m so invested in it and I’ve had that dream since grade school. All the other stuff, though, I think it would be really helpful to sort of branch out into the indie stuff and maybe build a platform and then, who knows? Maybe independently publishing that series might seem really appealing, because there’s an interest in it and I know it will go over well because I’ve got something beneath me to keep it up.
It’s exciting to think of the possibilities.
Well the only thing holding me back is lack of time. It’s tough to juggle writing projects around 2 jobs and life stuff. I keep working on my efficiency, but it just takes time, particularly when real life stuff keeps my brain from being able to focus well enough. I was definitely disappointed to only get one title out this year. I’m definitely aiming for 2 in 2012.
Time is a problem for a lot of us, and I’m worrying about the spring when I have to sometimes take work home with me. I get a little envious of the writers who get to stay home and only write if they want to. (That doesn’t count the writers who have children…that’s also a full time job.) I don’t BEGRUDGE them the time, I’m just envious. LOL.
I know life gets in the way sometimes, and it’s not always possible to publish as often as we like. I just don’t want the readers to forget my name like I forgot the author’s name that had only one book out. So I’m aiming for two books next year, too.
Great post. I am not published… yet! I plan on it before June 2012. I finished my first NaNoWriMo in November and will be pulling it out of the box to look at January 1st.
I just started outlining my second project.
Like Kait.. I lack time.
Hi Darlene. Lack of time seems to be a big factor for many of us. But, lately, I’ve discovered some things I’ve been doing that are big time sucks. I’m going to be looking at those things next year and see how I can use my time more wisely. One of my big problems is that I love to watch TV and movies, so I may have to cut back on that, even though that’s how my hubby and I spend time together. We’ll see.
If you were able to finish NaNo, you’re probably one of those faster writers. I think it’s good to let a novel rest for a little while before going back to look at it. When I do that, it’s almost like someone else wrote it. LOL. It sounds like you’re doing fine if you’re already outlining another story. I bet you’ll get a couple of things published next year!
Hi Lauralynn–I’m doing Row 80 this year as well. I love writing with accountability. I think it is smart to publish quickly when you are doing so independently–well, and I think it is smart when you are publishing traditionally to also publish independently. The more great works you can put out there, the more chance of making it!
Good luck! I’m hoping we’ll all reach our goals–it seemed like you did a great job with the last round!
Hi Heather! ROW80 is a great way to have that accountability. A lot of writers can write just fine on their own, but I think most of us need a kick in the pants every now and then. ROW80 is the best writing challenge I’ve ever seen. It’s helped me publish more often. I also think it’s important to publish in several different venues instead of putting all our eggs in one basket.
I think this is going to be a great year for reaching goals. Good luck to you, too!
Great post, Lauralynn. I definitely agree with your point on publishing often. As a reader…I devour books. Constantly. But that also means, that if an author only has one out…the chances of me remembering them a year (and sixty-some books read between then and now), that I’ll remember to keep checking back. Two a year, seems to be standard, even in traditional publishing. Even at that, I lose track of a lot of authors between deadlines. One of the things I love about indie publishing is the appearance of novellas and short stories to ‘tide’ readers over. Love it!
As a writer, publishing as often as I can sounds a bit daunting. lol I’m one of those fast writers…so it’s not the writing speed that holds me back, nearly as much as it is other factors. Like money (for editing) or time (for submitting and trying for traditional publication).
I loved ROW80 and am definitely thinking of hopping back in for the next round.
I WISH I could publish FOUR books a year, but…. LOL. I could if I just did novellas, but I want to focus on novels for awhile. I really do worry about being forgotten.
I’m a semi-fast writer, but I want to make sure I don’t put out garbage. I usually kind of edit as I go so there’s not as much to do later. I wanted to mention that sometimes you can kind of use the barter system for services like editing. You can offer to maybe beta read for an author that may be good at editing…things like that. Just an idea. I’ve never tried submitting for traditional publication because I’m simply not interested in going that route. But I can understand how time consuming submitting can be. Don’t you wish there were more hours in a day? 🙂
I’d love to be able to publish four a year too, that’d be awesome. But agreed, quality trumps quantity, by a LONG shot. I’ve seen some authors putting out more books than they can handle…and it shows. It’s amazing what a reader can tell.
I’m not largely interested in traditional publication either…but we’ll see. I haven’t looked into the Big 6 at all, but some epubs, yeah. Because it’s a way to get some stuff out there without having to cover the costs for those projects. So I’m splitting my focus, some for submission, some for indie…and hopefully, I’ll move to mostly, if not all indie eventually. I love the freedom self-publishing gives. I like the control. If I get a bad cover that’s my own fault when self-publishing…it’s something I can control.
Ha, I wish there were a LOT more hours in a day! lol
[…] Mine might be entirely different. The idea of putting out at least two books a year comes from Lauralynn Elliott who recently posted about the importance of publishing often and got me thinking that, if I really […]
I think short stories, novellas, and novels have different goals for me. Any novel 60,000+ words, I probably wouldn’t attempt more than 1 a year, especially with a new baby. Now, if I could hire a nanny? I’d do 2 a year. 🙂
Kate, everyone is different depending on their other obligations. My novels tend to be 50,000 to 60,000, so I think I can do two this year. If I didn’t have a full time job, I think I could do it easily. A new baby? That’s a full time job for sure! And it doesn’t stop when eight or nine hours are up. It’s 24/7.
I think if an author can’t do more than one a year, putting out a short story here and there might help toward keeping readers interested. I did a short story recently and put in on Smashwords for free, just because I wanted to give something to my readers. I immediately got a really nice 5 star review. I had to put it on Amazon for .99 because they won’t let me do free. To my surprise, I sold 10 of them for .99. So I think there is an interest in short stories. You could probably knock out one of those between diaper changes and feedings. 🙂
If you distribute the story elsewhere via Smashwords, you can then report the free price to Amazon and they’ll eventually discount it.
I know, but I was wondering if someone else had to do it. It just seemed weird to do it myself since Amazon would know it was me and why I was doing it. I guess I’m just being paranoid. I worry about stuff like that way too much. LOL.
I’ve reported all my price changes and never had a problem.