I was never told how much waiting goes into being an author. You really need to be patient and that can be brutal. You feel like every week that passes without releasing your new book is going to be seen as a problem by what few fans you have. We’ve all heard throngs of fans complaining about authors taking years to release new books in a series, so many aspiring authors are terrified of that threat. For example, Beginning of a Hero debuted in late February and it’s late June. I still don’t know if I’ll have Prodigy of Rainbow Tower debut in July because of the waiting. It’s nerve-wracking.
There are so many things to wait on:
- Beta Readers
- Editors
- Cover artists
- Royalty checks
- Reviewers
- Muses
- Merchandise deliveries
- Postmen
You fight not to rush anybody because that would be rude and could cause trouble. Anybody else have nightmares about sending one too many pestering e-mails to their beta readers or cover artist? If there’s anything worse than missing a deadline, it’s pissing off the people helping you and being stranded. Yet, the truth is that nobody ever has the same sense of urgency as the author. We feel the days pass by even when working on other projects. It’s fine at first, but when days become weeks and then months, you start getting antsy. Perfectly natural because this is your dream and we’ve all heard horror stories of authors losing their momentum.
Is there any way to rush these people? Not without risking ire and sub-par job on what they’re doing. So, we wait and try to keep momentum going on our other books while preparing for the next. There are ways to make it easier or not screw up as badly:
- DO NOT put up a deadline unless you are 100% certain. Anybody remember me from my early blogging days? Mr. Waiting on Cover Art said Christmas debut (I was a dumbass) then mid-January (still an idiot) then late-January (this boy doesn’t learn!) and so on until I did a late-February debut. By the end of everything, I felt like apologizing to the world for breaking my promises. I’m doing it again too. I’ve said May, June, and now July for Prodigy, but I truly do not know. So, give vague deadlines if you must and show uncertainty. ‘Hopefully’, ‘aiming for’, and other words can help you.
- DO take a step away from writing to indulge in distractions when things get really bad. If you’re panicking about the next book then your writing will suffer. Watch a movie, read a book, exercise, wander internet memes, music, get into a squirrel fight with an on-line friend, or anything to cheer yourself up. In this way, positive distractions are a good thing.
- DO NOT let other people tell you what to do to get others motivated. Remember that the advice of others is their perspective from the outside. They don’t know your connection to those that you’re waiting on. I’ve been told to send my cover artist e-mails every day, but that’s ridiculous. I know his situation and I know he’s working on it as quickly as he can. To take that advice and harass him would accomplish nothing beyond making me an ass. Again, you need to remember that rushing a person creates issues. Would you like someone to rush your writing?
- DO continue to promote the other books. It might feel like things are dying, but you need to keep trying. Scrounge up money for another marketing site, run some giveaways, run a contest, and focus your energy on promotion. I’ve been tweeting and posting to the point that my friends no longer bother with my Facebook page. Does it work? Not as often as I’d like, but it’s better than sitting here growling about the dead sales.
- DO prepare as much as possible for the debut. I have Prodigy of Rainbow Tower set up on Createspace and Amazon as drafts. All I need to do is upload the cover art and recently edited manuscripts then it’s good to go. I can do both of those within an hour, which is a relief.
- DO NOT give in to impatience.
We all hate waiting, but it’s part of the job. Now, I’ll be going back to my writing and kicking myself for not learning my lesson about announcing debuts without solid proof.
Legends of Windemere 
I really think that as an author, one of the most important matters to contend with is…..wait, you were a dumbass?
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Every now and again. I call those times consciousness.
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lol I got nothin
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Wow . . . I’m not used to winning these.
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Squirrel
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Chipmunk
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Ah nuts!
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Peanuts?
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Great post. I totally agree with setting realistic lead times for your projects. Right now all I’ve decided is to finish the first draft of my YA by end July but I know I won’t be publishing anything until early next year. Since this will be my first novel, I really have no idea about realistic timeline for the editing, cover art, formatting etc. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us.
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You’re welcome. Best to be flexible when you’re still feeling out the way publishing works.
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This is exactly what I’ve been going through for the last two months!! One of my beta readers took more than two months to get notes to me and my cover artist took two months to get me the final version of the cover for my next book. You’re right when you say it’s so hard to find people as invested and enthusiastic as we are about our books and while I agree that it’s important to learn patience, I’ve also learned that finding the right team of supporters to surround yourself with is just as crucial. Still looking for my dream team! Hopefully such a thing exists.
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Supporters certainly help. With cover artists, one thing we have to remember is that we’re not their only project. I only have my books, so I’m focused. My cover artist has a lot of clients and I’m only one.
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Reblogged this on Just another inane writer.
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I guess then it is better to give a date, for example, you think your book will be ready by April so you announce a May release date?
And you shouldn’t worry, Rick Riordan who writes the Percy Jackson series spaces his books out (like, years at a time) and I wait patiently for each and every one of them. Of course, he’s an established author, which makes all the difference.
Well, here’s to hoping you get to make your July deadline, even if it is July 31st. 😉
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George R.R. Martin gets some complaints for taking too long. Robert Jordan was another. Like you said, the established authors can survive it better than us indies. I think we get very excited and some of us jump the gun on debut announcements.
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Know what you mean. Robert Jordan did come out with some BIG books though, so I could see it taking over a year to write that much.
Of course, your book is just as big, so maybe he was just spacing them like that to increase anticipation for the sequel, making for better sales?
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I think it took him a while to write them because he was being meticulous. My books aren’t as massive as his or Martin’s.
Didn’t Jordan get sick too? I know he died before he finished.
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Oh, understandable.
Jordan died from Cardiac Amyloidosis (think it is a heart related disease) but found an author to finish the series by going off his notes.
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Yeah. The final book debuted in April of this year. I remember being next to it on the Hot New Release list in March.
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Oh, okay. I didn’t know that. But I got burned out with the series somewhere around book 6.
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You made it further than a lot.
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Did you read any of the books?
Book one was awesome, book two was alright, then it was a steady decline after that and I basically just skimmed, chasing the scenes with my favorite characters.
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I read the first one a long time ago. Then I got busy and thought it was too much to get back in there.
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Good choice. If you don’t read them fairly close together, you’d get lost pretty quick.
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That’s what worries we about my books. 15 in the series, which sounds really long.
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Well, I don’t think it will be a problem when you’re releasing two or three books every year. Besides, thus far (sorry, but I haven’t even started Allure of the Gypsies yet) your books are very interesting and keeps the reader wanting more.
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Thanks. I’ve received some praise from the people who read Prodigy. Fingers are crossed that they like Allure too.
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I know I sure liked it! 😉
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Another person recently finished it and loved it as far as I know. I’m in the doghouse for a few of the big incidents near the end. Shhhhhh.
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I should say you are! Haven’t quite forgiven you for that yet. 😉
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The demon and Luke scene is a winner.
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Oh yeah!
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Being such a fan of Ann Rice i would wait for her next great book, but then she would release some little aside book, like an entire book devoted to describing the story of the life of just one of her characters in her series. At first I didn’t like it because I wanted to know what was going to happen next in the series.. But I got so fond of her characters that I actually enjoyed the asides. I believe now that was part of her strategy. She was so good, she knew we would wait. After all, there was only one Ann Rice.
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That’s a great strategy. I’d do that, but the waiting for me is on cover art now. The fun of writing 3 books before heading for self-publishing.
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I’ve been waiting weeks for this post. Heh. 🙂
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😀 Good things come to those who wait. Worked with my first book’s cover art, so it should hold true for the second.
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Thanks so much for this! My beta readers/editor didn’t get my copies back to me before gardening season debuted – I felt bad pushing my date out to November, so it’s so nice to see that I’m not the only one that’s dealt with that.
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Nope. It happens a lot from what I can tell.
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Why must you tell me these things, like “be patient”?
Okay, fine. Lesson learned. The other tips are great, too. I think I shall share this.
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Thanks. That “be patient” rule is a killer.
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I hate waiting!!! Did I just hear you laugh? Ah well…I guess I have to WAIT to know if you laughed! 😀
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Sorry. I’ll have to answer you tomorrow.
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Ah well…tomorrow it is then! 😀
“I actually thought you meant it” -_-
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Reblogged this on We Drink Because We're Poets and commented:
Great tips from Charles, my friends. Check them out on Legends of Windemere.
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I’m still not certain about self-publishing, but if I did I’d probably do the cover art myself. I have a very strong idea of what I want on the cover and I could borrow a very good camera from my Dad. After that, I’d only need a photo-edit program.
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It’s great if you can do it. I would recommend getting opinions on the cover before publishing. You only have that first month to hit the best seller lists on Amazon and the cover can make all the difference.
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Yeah, in the end if it looks rubbish and I decide to ask someone else to do it, it’s not like I’ve lost anything.
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Yep. I’d write more but I’m waiting for the cover art.
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I’m still writing even without that. As far as I’m concerned, my cover artist needs to catch up to me. I mean that with all respect to him since he’s busy and has a lot more projects than I do.
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Do you mean I need to rejoin the queue for patience?
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I think they’re out of stock.
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Bugga!
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