THE Group for Authors! discussion

A piece of advice which I keep referring to (but damn if I can find out who gave it to me) is to publish little and often - keep that pipeline flowing ... I have taken that advice but I wonder how you feel about it - is it better to keep the new releases popping out or go for the annual tome that weighs more than the turkey?

I believe publishing often is important. Personally I think having novels coming out throughout the year with shorts between major releases is a good way to go about it.

T.K. wrote: "I believe publishing often is important. Personally I think having novels coming out throughout the year with shorts between major releases is a good way to go about it."

I absolutely agree with you ...

Alp wrote: "T.K. wrote: "I believe publishing often is important. Personally I think having novels coming out throughout the year with shorts between major releases is a good way to go about it."

I absolutely..."

I've also heard that but in a different guise - as an example; after submitting an application for a job, someone once explained to me the advantages of contacting the HR department and asking a few simple questions such as, if they're received your application and how the process was progressing, even if it's for no other reason but to keep your name fresh in their mind.
Maybe the principle is similar, and if it works, then I think that's a good thing.

I am published three times a year by one publisher and twice a year by another, it's a way of growing one's readership. They are not novellas. The three books per year for the women's historical market are 100,000 words plus each, the crime mysteries are only around 73,000 words each.

It would depend on your goals and how many books you have in you, I guess. Are you writing a memoir, an epic, or a series? Genre fiction or a particular niche? Are you a non-fiction author with one particular area of expertise and one giant tome to put out, or a series of pamphlets or short instructional books? Are you a pot? A short story writer? Do you want your book(s) to bring in a full-time independent income, or are they a sideline and support to your main business? Are you selling at the back of a lecture hall or peddling to your family? Are you trying to get into libraries, book stores, and schools, or strictly online? Do you have a blog? A newsletter?

I think that for some people, trying to publish little bits here and there will take away from their "real" work, and you don't want to reduce the quality of the thing that really matters. If you are publishing short works, little and often works better for you. If you are writing an epic, does it make sense to serialize it or not? There is lots of advice about breaking big stories into smaller bits and then bundling them when you are done, but I'm not sure about that. Publishing often may mean putting out a blog once or twice a week, or sending out a monthly newsletter even though you haven't published a new book recently. Maybe you're writing some industry news.

Pam (big and often)

I have a friend who is an author, he has two books out, but he has many more stories that he has on the internet archives and I trying to convince him that he needs to put them into books. I believe he could sell them. And also get his name out there more. If I had not had him as a teacher, and he said something about being an author, I would of never known about him. And missed out on some really good books. I have the same feelings about some of the authors I am meeting on good reads.

I would love to be able to write and publish faster, but I really do think it depends on your genre. For example, romance fiction does not have to have any real unique features, or twists and tight plotting. It requires attention to character and setting of course, and good quality prose as with any fiction. Historical, women's, and possibly even literary fiction is pretty similar in what it requires of a writer. However, drama, and adventure needs some tighter plotting, and when you come to thrillers, sci fi, paranormal etc., then I think you need to have something new. You need good twists. You need new and exciting concepts. I just don't think these can be churned out several times a year. One option that some authors use to get around this is to come up with a huge concept and write a series. This can certainly work, but if you are in the business of writing stand alone thrillers, then I think producing more than one a year is a pretty tall order and quality could possibly suffer.

I have been hearing reader backlash about serialized novels, broken into shorts and sold for escalating prices. I was invited to review a 4 part 'novel' that was 78 pages each, selling for 99¢ each - in the end, a reader would pay $3.96 for a little over 300 pages. This being an indie author, and the story (at least part 1, which is all I could bring myself to read) wasn't very good. I'm hearing readers howling about this practice, and not in a good way.

I think you have to be careful not to alienate your readers by publishing before you are ready, over-pricing your work (though under-pricing is dangerous, too) and blasting your social media followers with 'buy me!' posts.

I read somewhere (from several sources) that writing and gaining a following takes time. It can take years before you see a steady income. Even and especially in today's instant gratification society. You might make a flash in the pan, but true longevity must be nurtured.

My plan is to write, and put out as many high quality works as I can each year (I'm currently publishing romantic suspense) and continue to build my web presence, my online brand, so to speak. Eventually when I have enough work out there, readers who 'discover' my work will have a good selection of titles to choose from, and the word will spread, and all my patience and hard work will pay off. Or it won't. But I will have been true to my craft and put out the best work I can, and as a writer who writes because I can't NOT write, that will be enough.

I think you've hit the nail on the head, Kristi. As often as you can put out quality work, and continue organic growth. The more you have out there, the more there is for readers to read once they discover you. But you don't want it to be crap or a frustrating experience for them.

It depends on the genre and the targeted market of readers. As I write romance and erotica, for me the answer is little or medium and often. Very important are not only your published works but your web presence. And that takes more time and stress than the writing itself.

I just found out the friend I had mentioned earlier, he is going to have more of his stories published, which I am glad, because they are very good. I had told him that they would make a good book. But he is doing this on his own, I really did not have anything to do with him writing them or deciding to have them published. He is a very good author, I am glad I had gotten to know him. And he has introduce me to other authors as well. He even introduce me to good reads. I also became friends with some of you here. I would like to wish all of you the best.

You are so right, Kristi! Quality trumps quantity/ frequency every time. As a reader and a writer though I want both!

Quantity, quality and competitive pricing ... is it any wonder I am writing today!

Best wishes to everyone for the holiday season

Alp
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