Writing in two series
I had identified some time ago that readers like to read novels and read novels in series (duh). This should have been painfully obviously upon a second’s reflection, but I had been too busy trying to write ALL the things that it had never popped into my mind as I was happily writing away into strange new worlds and meeting new characters. Once I got serious about this writing thing and started to make some money, I wisely evaluated my business and plan and found it wanting. So, as I have written before, I shifted to only writing novels in series.
Now of course, I couldn’t have simply written one series. No, that would’ve made too much sense. Instead I started writing in two series. Present-day-Jeffrey grumbles and shakes his fist at overly-ambitious-past Jeffrey. I have since written two full length novels, the first one in each series and have yet to release either (bah-hum-bug). I had hoped the first novel in the Underwater Restorations series would be released this winter, but alas, no. I couldn’t get ALL the stuff lined up in time and it was causing me far more stress than it was worth. It’s both a blessing and curse to be you’re own boss. I’m now thinking the first novel in the Underwater Restorations series will be released in the fall of 2016–so it goes.
The extended timeline, while at first disappointing, offers some interesting opportunities as well–if I were only writing in one series. Which I’m not (*gives past-Jeffrey a dirty look*). I haven’t decided entirely yet what I’m going to do. I’m currently polishing the first novel in the steampunk universe, and I’m leaning toward putting that series on the back-burner while I try and write more in the Underwater Restorations series for a winter and spring release on the heels of the fall release. But … but, I love the steampunk universe. I really dig the character relationships and conflicts. The steampunk books are just huge, epic things that take much longer to write than the fun, fast Underwater Restorations stories. About the only thing I have decided is that we need a thirty-six hour day.
Next time I’ll roll out one of those unused covers I have laying around, and will be hopefully closer to a decision about where to write next.