Writing a Series

Writing a series of books is incredibly popular right now. But it’s a whole different mindset to writing one, standalone novel and isn’t as easy as you might think.

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The characters and the setting are important in any book but in a series they take on added significance. Is the setting stand out enough to make readers want to come back for more? Are the characters interesting enough that you will want to spend a lot of time with them and so will the readers? Do they have enough depth to sustain a number of stories instead of just the usual one?

Can you come up with interesting ideas across a number of books because a pale carbon copy of what you did in book one won’t cut it?

If you are an indie author, have you thought about how you will brand the series so that each book looks as though it belongs to a group and yet is eye catching enough on its own?

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Are you going to have an overarching theme or thread that will link each book in turn? Do you know how the series will end?

These are all the questions I should have asked myself. Of course, I didn’t. Instead I plunged in and let the words flow, eager to see where they took me. It was only as the story started to develop that I could see the potential and that’s when I asked all the questions and was able, thankfully, to answer them positively.

You see, The Tregelian Hoard was not meant to be book one in a series. It was an idea I had had kicking about in my head for some time. I had always intended it to be a standalone novella but then Jonquil Jones started to work her magic on me and I wanted to know more about her world and her battles with Sebastian Ableyard – Sable. Suddenly, The Tregelian Hoard became book one in the Jonquil Jones Mystery Series and I was on to book two.

http://Author.to/EllieHolmes

Will my foray into writing a series be a success? Who knows? I have never done anything like this before. All I can say is that I am enjoying the challenge and entertaining myself and sometimes, as writers, that is all we can ask for.

 

 

The Return of the Novella

The ebook has given rise to the return of the novella and these have proved very popular with indie authors who often produce a series of books featuring the same characters.   I have done just that with the release of The Tregelian Hoard. The first in a series of three books.

The novella came to prominence in the Renaissance and one of the earliest novellas was by the Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio. Called The Decameron it featured 100 tales told by ten people all fleeing the Black Death.

Some notable novellas which have made the bestseller lists include Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote and The Invisible Man by H G Wells.

The length of a novella varies. The only real criteria is that it should be longer than a short story but not as long as a novel. As a result the stories featured are usually not as complicated as those in novel.

In modern times the novella fell out of favour. Publishers weren’t keen. The novella was neither fish nor fowl i.e. not a short story and not a novel. While magazines thrived selling short stories, it became harder to find a market for novellas.

That all changed with the advent of the ereader. A game changer in so many ways, the ereader coupled with indie publishing allowed writers to experiment with other forms, those writers found readers and novellas enjoyed a resurgence.

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In these days of fast paced life committing hours and hours to a long novel can be tricky. Consuming a novella across a few days is more manageable, particularly if you do most of your reading on the commute into work. It is on trains and planes where the novella coupled with the ereader has really come into its own.

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I am pleased this little gem has made a comeback. I am used to working to 100,000 words but I find writing novellas less stressful and more enjoyable.

If you are a reader, why not give a novella a try? And if you are a writer, why not try your hand at one? Either way a whole new world of opportunity will open up for you.

 

http://Author.to/EllieHolmes

 

Setting a Schedule

When you take the plunge and become an indie author there are lots of things to plan for but having a publishing schedule can sometimes slip down the list.

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If you were with an agent or a traditional publisher one of the first questions they will ask you once they have expressed an interest in your work is what you are currently working on and what other manuscripts you have. Some careers are built on one book alone but most are not. The professionals want to be assured that there is plenty more coming down the track from you which will make you a viable entity from their point of view.

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For indies, there is no one to ask that question but us and so it can slip off the radar but it shouldn’t and here’s why. Caught up in the excitement and terror of indie publishing your first novel it can be difficult to look up from the myriad elements you are juggling to take a moment to look ahead but one of the most popular questions I was asked when I did my blog tour for The Flower Seller was ‘When is your next book coming out and what is it about?’. Trust me when I say you want to have the answers to those questions and the only way to do that is to plan ahead.

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In an ideal world we would have all the time we needed to write, the stories would fly from our minds to our fingertips and out to the big wide world. We would be multi published authors in next to no time. Back in the real world not many of us have that luxury. Writing is something that has to be fitted around family and friends, hobbies and often a day job that pays the bills.

It’s good to have high standards and expect a lot from yourself but you also need a reality check. Consider how many books you can write, edit, polish, publish and market in a year. Don’t skimp on the estimates. In fact over estimate to allow yourself time for the emergencies that crop up in all our lives.

Hopefully before you indie publish your first novel you will have a pretty good idea of the genre you want to write in and that will also help determine the probable length of your books. This will also help you decide on a realistic writing schedule to produce new material and a realistic publishing schedule to turn the raw manuscripts into a lovely, shiny new books. I would recommend you set a publishing schedule across a period of two years at a time – any longer and it starts to lose its relevancy.

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Conscious that the more books you have in the market place, the higher your visibility should become, I set a year one target of one full length novel (100,000 words) and a novella (50,000) which is the first in a three book set. I felt that was a doable target for year one. For year two I have my sights set on one full length novel and, if I can manage it, books two and three in the novella series. Thus reaching my two-year target of two full length novels and one set of novellas. Will I achieve it? I’m going to give it my best shot so watch this space!

http://Author.to/EllieHolmes

http://Author.to/EllieHolmes

 

The easy option?

So here’s the thing, my next full length novel White Lies is due for publication next summer. It is a story that I wrote some years ago. It needs a general update, a good edit and a polish which is what I expected.

I was aware that there were also some areas of weakness with it which would need to be addressed and I formulated a plan to tackle those.

Plan in place I began the rewrite. So far so good.

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Then on my way to my day job I had a thought. You know how it goes, you are turning the plot over in your mind, aware of the areas that need more attention and then you suddenly think ‘Hold on! What if…’

The brainwave addressed the weaknesses and concerns I had with the original version but the simple fixer-uper approach would have done that too with a lot less time and hassle. The new idea would take a lot more work but the book would be so much better for it.

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I’ll admit part of me gave serious consideration to taking the easy option. If it will be good enough then do it. But is good enough, good enough? Especially when the new version could outshine it. So what if it’s more time and effort. I am a writer. If I wasn’t writing this, I would be writing something else. Besides which I want every book I put out to be the best version of that book it can possibly be. If I had settled for the easy option I would have known that I had sold myself, the book and my readers short. Other people may not have noticed but I would have known and that in itself was reason enough not to do it.

There are two things to take from this. One is listen to your gut instinct because it is so often right. The second is be prepared to do the hard work because good enough is never good enough when it comes to writing books.

http://Author.to/EllieHolmes

http://Author.to/EllieHolmes

Time to Write – Part Two

The thing about writing is you have to sit down and get it done. There are no shortcuts. Just you and the keyboard in harmony or despair – sometimes both in the same half an hour.

I have discovered the key to finding time to write is not to go looking for it in the first place. Your life will already be filled or else your natural instinct to want to relax will kick in. There is no free time to write. That is why you have to carve it out of your everyday routine. It is the only sustainable way to achieve your long term goals and call yourself a writer unless you have invented the ability to stretch time in which case call me.

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I happen to be a morning person. I love mornings! I am an early riser, the earlier the better. I love the solitude the new day brings when it is just me, my dog and a cup of tea as the world wakes up around me. I find writing early in the morning easy. Mentally, I get out of the way and just let the words flow. I do keep one eye on the clock because I have a forty-five minute window to make the magic happen. The reason I have a wonderful forty-five minute window? I get up early just to write.

It’s no good asking an evening person to do what I do. It would be like asking me to write good stuff at ten o’clock at night. It’s not going to happen.

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Once you know what suits your natural rhythms you will know the best time of day (or night) to write. Then you will need something to aim for – a set period of time or a word count target. I have both. I try for 1,000 words in my forty-five minute window.

If I have had a break from my morning routine I know that the first few mornings back in the saddle will take some adjusting to. I did this a couple of weeks ago – the first day I managed no more than 300 words, the second day it was 750. By the third day I had hit my stride. I didn’t beat myself up about not reaching the target on the first two days. I was simply pleased with the quality of what I wrote and the fact that I had SHOWED UP.

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Sometimes writing is all about demonstrating your commitment to the project and in yourself as a writer. Showing up for a writing session, day after day, is what gets a book written. We can all hit a rich seam of creativity for a few hours at a time but it is the sheer slog that pushes a writer over the finish line.

So my tips for getting the writing done are simple:-

1. Find the time of day or night that suits the rhythms of your body best and carve out writing time from it.
2. Set yourself a realistic limit on time and/or word count for your writing sessions.
3. Show up, day after day, week after week.
4. Don’t beat yourself up if you fall short of your word count target, just be pleased you still showed up.
5. If you break the routine of showing up, get back to it as soon as you can.
6. When you reach a milestone in your work in progress choose a little treat for yourself.
7. Keep showing up until the book is finished.

Before you know where you are, you will be ticking milestones off your list and your writing sessions will be incorporated into your days as if they have always been there.

http://Author.to/EllieHolmes

http://Author.to/EllieHolmes

 

Time to write?

One thing is guaranteed in life – there is never enough time.

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To find time for all the things we have to do in life is bad enough. For a lot of writers the situation is even worse. Writing often isn’t the day job. Writing is the job we do after/before/around the day job. It may once have been a hobby but has become, often to our delight, another career. If you are an indie or hybrid author, you also have to balance all the business demands that have to be met. If you are not careful that delight can turn to overload and then panic which usually results in you being less productive and extremely stressed. Not the position you want to be in when you are trying to make your dreams come true.

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The work of a writer is labour intensive. The business side of it equally so. Most of us don’t have the luxury of employing staff or even have willing family or friends to whom we could farm out some duties. In any event, most writers are control freaks who even if offered competent help would probably turn it down in fear of what might happen if they relinquish the reins of control.

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When your one time hobby becomes a job, especially a second job, how do you ever find time for a new hobby that takes you out of yourself and gives you a chance to relax?

We are not designed to be Duracell bunnies, happily banging cymbals together without any down time. It may be sustainable for a short stretch of time but you cannot live like that for long without the cracks starting to show either in your health, your relationships or the fact you start making mistakes.

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We are all familiar with the timeless plot of many stories. You know how it goes – our hero/heroine finds themselves downtrodden and put upon, then has to find a way to improve their lot and achieve a happy ending. A lot of writers are living that plot but without the happy ending.

Next week I will share some of the tips I have adopted to help me get the work done but not lose my sanity along the way.

All writers deserve a happy ending to the work/life balance conundrum and there isn’t a one size fits all answer so I am keen to hear how you manage your writing time and what strategies you adopt when you feel your work/life balance getting out of control.

http://Author.to/EllieHolmes

http://Author.to/EllieHolmes

The Writer’s Waiting Game – Part Two

Waiting to discover the outcome of a submission to either an agent or a publisher is a nail biting time for all authors as I blogged about previously. This week my blog isn’t about the wait imposed upon you by others, it’s the wait you must impose upon yourself. This particularly applies to indie published authors and is by far the hardest wait of them all.

Too often writers succumb to a mad dash for publication. All that matters is getting the book out into the market place. It is as though the temptation becomes too much. But at what cost?

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Depending on how they are working indie authors have no one to tell them whether a manuscript is ready. If you don’t have a critique group to fall back on trusting your own judgment can be a difficult thing.

Once the drafting and polishing are finished, I can understand the urge to put your work out there but too many indie authors are slapdash about editing. They make the mistake of thinking they know enough themselves to be both writer and editor or that asking a well read friend to read the manuscript will suffice.

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Some don’t see the point in wasting time in organising a proofread much less a professional one. There is a cost to hiring professionals but in the long run it is worth it. I hired both an editor and a proofreader. I also read the manuscript through several times during the process. I was amazed that the proofreader found errors (fortunately only a few) which the editor and I had missed. She also picked up a couple of niggles that had crept in during formatting.

Taking the time to get the book edited and proofread was, for me, worth it. I wouldn’t consider publishing a novel any other way. It’s an author’s shop window. Would you really want a half baked story full of spelling or grammatical errors on sale with your name on it? To do so risks losing fans who, with a bit more patience, you may have wowed with your fabulous book.

Publishing can be a crazy carousel ride but rush to publication too soon and everything you hoped to achieve will be undone at the outset.

Ignore the voice saying ‘Publish me. Publish me now!’ The extra time and effort you put in at this stage will reap rewards.

Indie authors are in the envious position amongst writers of having so much choice but don’t make the mistake of rushing things when there is absolutely no need. Put the extra time in and play the waiting game. I promise you, you will be pleased you did.

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http://Author.to/EllieHolmes

http://Author.to/EllieHolmes