McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Process Question
jaston01:
Hi,
Not knocking anyone's personal process here (definitely not looking in Mr. Butcher's direction or implying I'm was waiting for #16 two days after #15 came out), just asking a question ...
I somehow got the impression that series writers stayed ahead of their publishing schedule and that was how they maintained a regular output of new work. The long wait for Skin Game went a long way towards disabusing me of that. Does anyone know if book-to-book is the norm for authors or was I correct and things just go sideways for them sometimes? Or is it one of those everyone's-an-individual-and-I-shouldn't-try-to quantify-them concepts?
Thanks,
John
Guardian 452:
Hi,
I can't speak for all authors and for the most part can't speak for Jim! I say "for the most part" because I've had the good fortune to attend two conventions where Jim was guest of honor and he did address this briefly.
The second time I met Jim was in April of 2013. He had the outline done for Skin Game and was about to start writing it, telling us that the deadline for the first couple of chapters (which would be previewed in the next-released paperback) was fast approaching. He didn't sound terribly bothered by this.
If you've read Jim's blog then you know that he outlines meticulously. The outline is still fluid...he can go in and make changes as he goes. I got the impression that while he hasn't written all of the books he does know precisely where the story is going.
As to the long wait for Skin Game (or any of the other books, incidentally) the first time I met Jim (2008) someone practically screamed at him "You take too long to write books!" He was gracious and polite and very specifically explained to her that the publisher, most notably the marketing side of the organization, determines when each book will be released based on sales. Put simply they won't release a book if they fear it will cut into sales of the previous one. It sounded like he had very little say in the wait for books...that was exclusively a marketing decision.
I don't know if this holds true for other authors (I don't even know if it still holds true for Jim though I suspect it does) but book release dates seem to be more a business decision than anything else. As for how far ahead a writer gets on their writing I think that really comes down to personal preference.
The Deposed King:
Data points: In my experience working indie authors do 4 book or more a year. While with publishing house authors 1 book a year and you're part time and 2 books a year makes you full time. Also publishing house authors like to put out one new book a year in a series. Not that it can't go faster but that's pretty standard. So the guys doing 2 a year, a lot of them are alternating writing in a different series every 6 months.
You 'can' write a book in one month if you've got the plot all figured out and are ready to rumble but I don't know anyone other than Chris Nuttal who could possibly accept the challenge to rock out 12 books in a year and expect to succeed.
Everything I've seen says that publishing houses have a lot of control, I mean they're paying you to write a book for them at and on their schedule. Now if jim took longer than a year to write Skin Game probably it was because of the new series he's writing but you can't be sure.
have a blast,
The Deposed King
meg_evonne:
DK is a phenomenal writer with a near perfect work ethic, continually active creative mind, and, most important I believe, does a marvelous job editing his work. Most authors are not that competent. Most authors have full time professional jobs. I dedicate 6-8 each morning to my writing. Sometimes, I skip my shower. Yes, sometimes, I do.
I'm working with a small press who signed me in January of 2014, I think. I was placed in a queue for a tentative FEB - 2015 release. The press' editor had books to work before mine.
Of course, I was thrilled and told my family. They stared at me blankly when I told them the release would be at least a year away--and that was NORMAL. I wanted to show them the check and my contract to prove it, but that seemed unprofessional.
It was a two book contract. i got busy writing the second book, not quite believing that the higher ups would want a 2nd book. The offer was that they had first right to turn it down.
Just as I finished 302 pages of Book II rough draft an email arrived. Book I that the editor loved was back. She loved about 3/4ths of it. Ha! And this was the substantive editor, not the grammar/copy editor folks. It was two drafts later (through the summer) before she handed it on. I returned to Book II rarely, but then requests started showing up. "We need a new bio of several lengths for the publicity packets and cover." "We need a new synopsis--no, not the one you wrote for your submission, but one for the back cover copy. And we need a different tone to the long synopsis you did write so we can use it for the publicity packets, and we need it in varying lengths. (I despised writing the first one. Neuro once posted that if Neuro could have written the book in one page, it would have been written that way. i concur.)
Meanwhile, me with my Pooh brain couldn't remember the first part of book II so whenever I thought I could return to revising it--I had to start from the beginning again. (My Pooh brain was so bad that I accidentally revised something revealed from Book II into Book I! Horror story! Quick detailed re-reading of Book I for additional errors like that.)
Then it got quiet again. I took a few weeks and worked my way to the 1/3 way mark of Book II. Then the copy editor work started. Far easier, but still nerve wracking. Although the copy editor is a pro--there are still tiny things I'd not gotten right and my editor missed.
The cover art work came my way. Happy wallow! No writing! Showed my family who tried to look like they remembered that I'd sold a book. They ask, "But it's not out yet?" "No. FEB - 2015" "Will you be a millionaire?" "NO!" I go back to Book II and solitude.
Pooh brain has to begin again from page 1. Getting into the flow, ARCs show up. Happy wallowing. Family see them and tried to remember that I sold a book. They ask, "This is the cover?" "NO!" "But it hasn't come out yet?" Same questions all over again. Back to beginning of Book II. (After happily reading Book I and sighing in contentment.)
Then hell broke out, as in sweat was dripping off my skin. The email from my editor came, "It's time to get endorsements for CT. [the book's title that took forever to decide upon, Chaos Theory, has shrunk to CT.] And we need them by XXX." OMG, who do I contact? Who can I bug? And where did I get the courage? It took two weeks to make a plan, create individual letters, and comb through the ten years of business cards & bookmarks I'd collected from writing conferences. I started with two I knew from SCBWI. Shock, they both wanted hard copies of the ARC. The press sent them out.
Both came back with amazing endorsements fast. That gave me the guts to go for a big endorsement from an Edgar YA Finalist in 2013. I'd contacted her when I decided to make the switch from scifi to mystery/crime fiction. She was encouraging, loved that i loved her book. She sent me a whole bunch of her promo stuff. Bless her heart she remembered me and, yes, she wanted a hard copy of the ARC.
Luckily, at this point I'd sent out four ARCs and I still had thirty or so names on my list of pretty good possibilities. By accident in conversation with my editor, I found out these were for the cover only, not for inside pages. SHE EMAILS ME IN CAPS, "STOP ASKING. YOU'RE TOO GOOD AT THIS!" I had three glowing ones back, and the famous one dangling. Her initial tweets were amazing. It was looking good, but then her father died. End of any reading with great sadness, then my editor moved the deadline for endorsements up. I told them to go without the last one. I couldn't bother her while she's grieving at Thanksgiving!
Book II? Yeah, well there's this short story anthology that I had a good shot of getting into, if my short story was any good. Short story moved to top of queue back in September. If it's accepted, it's mine and I'll give it away holiday season 2015 from my website. It's good, really good, but so damn hard to write! 4000 words that I sweated over. Revised. Revised. Revised. Revised.(And there will be rounds of editing from them as well!) Book II taunts.
And somewhere in there the website went live, the Goodreads author's page went up (I completely forgot the joy of receiving the ISBN. Yes, I had an ISBN--more happy wallowing), new contacts and book clubs and threads there as well,
Now the real cover is pdf'd. Show my family, who this time remembered--kinda. Same questions. Happy wallowing. Book II sits unloved.
Then--horror of horrors the famous she-freaking-loves-the-book-and-my-writing-style, especially-my-mind-blowing-ending comes in! OMG, is it too late? I query the art director, pleading and I don't care if it is unprofessional... He asks, "Who do we cut from the other three endorsements?" ARGHH. "Me, cut me!" No one wants my photo or bio that's shrunk to "Lives in IA with a horse she trained herself, a neurotic sheltie, and a ghost cat no one sees but her. And she has family she loves around too." " NO GO," I'm told. I call one of the people who had seen their names on the first cover... She was gracious and thrilled for me. How do you top professional friends like that?
I'm back in Book II--at the beginning. Now, remember that I had a full year dedicated for the first book. That's a ton of necessary revisions, a ton of changes, a ton of character voice decisions, careful comparison of white/black space, decisions on subplot threading, etc. And most important, time to rest so I could return with a fresh mind to the work.
At this point, I've put everything else on hold from a writing point of view except for a Goodreads Book Club where I nominated a book. Turns out if you nominate, you moderate. ARGHH. Grin, enjoy, and I did. I'm at the half way mark with that still stinking Book II rough draft, but it's not as bad. Maybe in another two months I'll have it to submit. Except for some blog posts like Dear Teen Me, etc. And whatever else is thrown at me.
Now, you ask why it takes so long? Uhm, the polite answer is not screw you.... :-)
PS. At this point? I couldn't care less if not one copy sells. Those endorsements prove that I've got some talent, that I've learned a great deal over the last ten plus years of being a serious author. The high of that moment when the last endorsement arrived? You can't top that--ever.
And this time, my family will need to ask me for a copy of the finished book, if they remember. Thank God for authors on sites like this. You understand the madness, the hopes, the crushing defeats, the insanity... Happy Holidays all. May 2015 be full of villains, heroes, and amazing supportive friends.
The Deposed King:
Sounds like a lot of work but way to go Meg! Your really rocking it on. The long odessy of publishing trials is interesting but I'm really glad I don't have to go through it all, sounds far too hectic for an A-to-B kind of guy like me ???
As for the near perfect work ethic... I won't laugh out loud promise, :D I went more than a month and a half over deadline on my latest book here. I've been trying to shoot for 5-6 books in 2014 and only got the 4-5. That's cause of book finished in dec of 2013 rough draft and final version was up for sale in january so its a kind of sort of counted for this year type of book.
On the editing my brother and my host of beta readers over at pacificcrestpublishing.com are the ones to thank. I will take the 'continually active creative mind' compliment though! Like a lot of authors ideas have never been my problem. Dedication to the grinding, no fun, this is too much like work, task of actually writing it out is more my style. But like they say in the Legendary Moonlight Sculptor, grinding is life!
Keep after it Meg and vis-a-vis the family that keeps forgetting you've written a book or sold a book, let me just say that after a dozen titles out on amazon my 'wife' still hasn't read a single one. But she has a whole shelf full of romance novels that she's only aquired since I started writing. Sometimes I think to get her to read anything I've written I'd need to stop and switch genres and write a romance novel to get her to read my writing. She's been promising since 2012 to read my first book. I even wrote a fantasy series staring a female hero and still no joy.
On the other hand she did take me out to see the 3rd Hobbit movie last night so there is that.
The Deposed King
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