It's snowing!

[ksmith]

Why couldn't it have done this when I was on vacation?

Anywhere from 1" of slush to 5" of snae, depending on which weather report I read. I may be shoveling the drive this evening instead of treadmilling.

Talk in lnhammer's group about the downturn seen in the second books of series, and why that might be. My contention, which may not be true in all cases, is that you have no deadline for the first book beyond those you impose upon yourself. No contracts, CEs to ship back, overlaps with the outline that's due for the next book. No marketing to worry about. You were able to take as long as you needed to write it. You were able to fix the things that bugged you.

I have always heard that you need, at least in mmpbs, to kick out a book a year to build an audience. Any longer than two years between books, and you slip off peoples' radar. Dust accumulates. Folks, frankly, forget about you. I don't know if it's the same for genre tp and hc.

Yes, I know all about the authors who write one book every 4 years and whose names are Legend. Well, for every Vinge and Martin, there are a hundred 'whatever happened to...?' It may just be a fact of life, and depending on how you write, it may be something you will always wrestle with. I'm a slow writer with a day job--a book a year is not an option. So I'm left to consider how to construct a winning series, build an audience, and, well, have a life.

The importance of balance--friends, taking care of oneself, getting out of the house occasionally--is being discussed in another writers group. My 0.02 were:

I have a day job, and went through several stretches where I worked,
came home and ate dinner, then...worked. What's aggravating is when
you run into the people who question your commitment if you
complain, because you're supposed to be willing to do whatever is
necessary in order to write or promote your work. I love writing,
but it isn't a hairshirt. If I drive myself into the ground while
doing it, which muse am I feeding, exactly? Masochista, the goddess
of the midlist?

Having a life is so important. *Balance* is important.

So, I'm left to consider, how much can I do? Just because I can do it, does it mean I should? Where do I draw the line with self-promo? Where do I draw the line with schedules? What type of career do I really want, and how do I go about building it?

I am the one who has to live with these choices.

Comments

[daveamongus.livejournal.com]

Not that I'm to your level of things yet, but let me tell you, kids certainly seem to complicate the question even further. Charlie Finlay (father of two) once said to me that having kids almost militates against the long-term focus novels require, and that's when he focused more on short stories: they could be written on a much shorter term than novels, and thus easier to wedge into the rest of Real Life. Definitely hard to build a broad readership just through short stories, though.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I recall a female writer once saying that one child equals one novel you will never write. I am *not* going to get into the discussion as to which is more important. That is an individual decision.

So many younger writers--I'm such a fogey--seem to have built their reps via short works. Much attention is paid to the novel, and the pay is better, but it doesn't seem to me to be the only way to go.

[daveamongus.livejournal.com]

Wouldn't touch that comparison with a ten foot pole, myself.

But yes, and as a Younger Writer(tm), I wish I had more ideas that fit in under 15k or so, so I could build some kind of readership, my first sale aside.

One of the things that I think might help stretch the acceptable lag between mmpbs, though, is the growing blog environment. I think it's not so much the simple lack of novels at an annual pace that dooms the midlist, but the exposure vacuum. The average midlister didn't have, before this here internet-thingy, as many opportunities to get their names in front of people when they did not have a book imminent or just out. Cons (as we all know) only go so far and are only so accessible, less true of the internet.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

One reason I would like to get some short works out there is to fill the gaps between books. Fingers crossed I can give the editors in question what they like.

FWIW, I have noticed more activity on Big Brazilian River since I started blogging. It's not OMG, but it's there. Online exposure does help.