Authors, Writers, Publishers, and Book Readers

Multiple Works in Progress

How many of you have multiple works in progress? Are they all the same genre? How do you divide your time between them?

Currently, I have 4 WIP's.... sounds like alot huh? Right now I am thinking that too! As my second book just went back to my publisher for the formatting (after 13 hours of editing, my eyes are still crossed) I find myself looking at all the projects I have in the works.

One project is about half way through - but I had come up with a snag in the plot and I got frustrated so I put it on the back burner. Recently, as I find myself mulling over the issue, I think I found the way to work through my snag... but.... There is a more recent project that I started that I was working hard on. As soon as I figured out how to work through the other issue, I lost my train of thought on the new one.

Then there is the other book that I am working on with another author. Now that one is a huge project that will be in the making for a long time, but we are throwing ideas back and forth and running plot ideas and twists back and forth.

Then there is book 3 of my series (the second book is about to be published). After reading book 2 - and coming back to those characters I find myself running that plot hard and heavy in my mind. Conversations and characters building....

I'm at a loss right now as to exactly what I should be working on. I think I have so many things in the works that I am befuddled as to which one to go to next.

Anyone else get themselves in this situations? How do you work through them?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Catherine Green on October 21, 2011 at 1:05am

Well, despite having a full day out shopping (very successful by the way, I got a gorgeous pair of boots for winter, yay!), tonight I have written over 3000 words on my manuscript! I am buzzing! So close to the conclusion of this first draft I am really excited. I have to finish it before the end of the month so I can devote NaNoWriMo to my Redcliffe sequel.

Well done everyone on your achievements this week, and here's to a productive, or relaxing, weekend.

Permalink Reply by Stacy Eaton on October 21, 2011 at 1:07am

Yeah Catherine!!!!

Permalink Reply by Robert L. Allen on October 21, 2011 at 3:44am

I would think to write the best story possible and let whoever read it. If men like your work more than women okay!!! If you start writing for someone other than yourself, you'll be writing a lot of books you won't and don't want to write...

Borislava Borissova said:

Hi Robert!

I am not sure this is the truth because women and men are not alike, there always be difference between them so their reading bahaviour is different by origin. Perhaps I search for the answer why men do not like romances because one of the story is closer to romance while the other is purely drama...

Robert L. Allen said:

I write for both sexes. The book I'm writing now. I wrote the story quickly and now I'm building it. My characters are strong and weak. They have flause, such as my protagonist is suffering from the loss of a loved one, who was murdered by the man he was attempting to arrest. So now he refuses to get involved with love in fear of her getting hurt or, perhaps murdered. I try to write so that the reader will feel the pain and joy of both the protagonist and villain. In this story, my villain is a beautiful woman who has come to the end of her rope with her cheating husband. After paying a hit woman to end her misery, she becomes obsessed with the protagonist. I haven't decide if she will kill him or not. Yet! I think to give the characters real life situations and problems, as they arise in our lives, both men and women will enjoy the story. I don't stereotypes my characters. As far as men liking one story and women liking another, I would have to look at that and wonder what I'm doing wrong, perhaps not wrong but not right. I know this is confusing. Sorry!!!...

Borislava Borissova said:

Hi Robert,

I have a question to you. My situation with the second published book is a bit strange, men like the novella "The Last Secrets of The Ancient Island" while women prefered the other novella "A Love In Time of War". I feel a kind of sadness that my book cannot touch all. I wonder why it happens, both of the stories are love-stories. Do you have any ideas? Do you read love-stories sometimes? Of course, there are elements of thriller, mystery etc.

Robert L. Allen said:

Where is everybody this week, hopefully writing...Me, I've been spending money on car troubles... That's always fun...

Permalink Reply by Robert L. Allen on October 21, 2011 at 3:59am

Yes, I hear you. I don't write for just men or just women.

Steve Norris said:

Thanks for the good wishes guys - really looking forward to it.

Robert I understand your challenge. My book covers male and female viewpoints and I like to challenge some stereotypes of female roles in thrillers. My book also sounds if its a man's book with a political and violent storyline but the key characters in this story are female on both sides of the hero and villain scale.

Permalink Reply by Robert L. Allen on October 21, 2011 at 4:03am

My engine light keeps coming on. We put it on the scope and it says it's my gas cap. Hopefully, your thing won't be too big. However, I didn't fix it yet.

Amy Manemann said:

Wow, lot's of car problems on here lol Speaking of which we dropped my husband's car off at the auto shop last night, check engine light came on *argh* If I didn't live in Iowa where the snow drifts get higher then my house I'd consider selling off our vehicles and buying a bicycle! (I'd probably figure out how to break that too though lol)

Permalink Reply by Robert L. Allen on October 21, 2011 at 4:23am

Yes, I, being a man, love the passion also. The book I'm writing right now is sexy, not sex, passionate, and perhaps a little provocative. But now I am going back and building the mystery around it. I, personally, don't care to read too explicit sex scenes. They get old. However, to read, something that leads me up to ( what can't be reached ) leaving the reading hanging onto the point of asking, are they going to do it??? And then have something happen that interrupts them. It easy to write and read about sex. What's difficult is catching the reader off guard and leading them to a place where they can't stop reading. That's what I strive for. I want the reader to be late for work in the morning, because they stayed up attempting to escape from the story.

I think with writing one must show, not tell.

Stacy Eaton said:

I hope you all didn't jinx me with my car!! lol...

Robert your book sounds good! I have found it very interesting that there are a lot of men that have read my two books and they all enjoy it! I agree that it is hard to find a happy medium. I was speaking to a friend about what men like to see in a romance novel - I figured he was going to say - a quick easy get-er-done kind of thing - but he said men actually do like to see passion... not fluffy romance - but passion they can relate to. Look forward to hearing more!

Permalink Reply by Robert L. Allen on October 21, 2011 at 5:08am

Have you ever written something and then went back and read it, only to think, oh my God I can't write that! Yes! That's art! I try not to have barriers in my writings, however I don't preach, I don't voice my opinions and I stay away from racial things, I know when writing some stories that may happen. But I don't write them. Everything else goes. The things we only think about. Those are what makes a great writer. Taking chances. In, Kiss Me Before You Die, the antagonist is a woman, who is mixed up about sex, she prefers women but seek male companionship. How about you guys, what have you written and then changed it and or kept it, something against your morels...Hard question???

Permalink Reply by Amy Manemann on October 21, 2011 at 5:13am

Very true Robert. I like to write a book that I would personally want to pick up and read.

Robert L. Allen said:

I would think to write the best story possible and let whoever read it. If men like your work more than women okay!!! If you start writing for someone other than yourself, you'll be writing a lot of books you won't and don't want to write...

Borislava Borissova said:
Hi Robert!

I am not sure this is the truth because women and men are not alike, there always be difference between them so their reading bahaviour is different by origin. Perhaps I search for the answer why men do not like romances because one of the story is closer to romance while the other is purely drama...

Robert L. Allen said:

I write for both sexes. The book I'm writing now. I wrote the story quickly and now I'm building it. My characters are strong and weak. They have flause, such as my protagonist is suffering from the loss of a loved one, who was murdered by the man he was attempting to arrest. So now he refuses to get involved with love in fear of her getting hurt or, perhaps murdered. I try to write so that the reader will feel the pain and joy of both the protagonist and villain. In this story, my villain is a beautiful woman who has come to the end of her rope with her cheating husband. After paying a hit woman to end her misery, she becomes obsessed with the protagonist. I haven't decide if she will kill him or not. Yet! I think to give the characters real life situations and problems, as they arise in our lives, both men and women will enjoy the story. I don't stereotypes my characters. As far as men liking one story and women liking another, I would have to look at that and wonder what I'm doing wrong, perhaps not wrong but not right. I know this is confusing. Sorry!!!...

Borislava Borissova said:

Hi Robert,

I have a question to you. My situation with the second published book is a bit strange, men like the novella "The Last Secrets of The Ancient Island" while women prefered the other novella "A Love In Time of War". I feel a kind of sadness that my book cannot touch all. I wonder why it happens, both of the stories are love-stories. Do you have any ideas? Do you read love-stories sometimes? Of course, there are elements of thriller, mystery etc.

Robert L. Allen said:

Where is everybody this week, hopefully writing...Me, I've been spending money on car troubles... That's always fun...

Permalink Reply by Catherine Green on October 21, 2011 at 8:49pm

Personally I like to read stories that push the boundaries when it comes to sex and relationships. It seems to me that it isn't so much the act of sex that causes controversy amongst people, rather the fact that it is still viewed as something 'bad' that must be hidden away, even in these supposedly liberated times. I think that's partly why I am drawn to the paranormal genre, because that's where I can get my fix so to speak! And of course, why I write it.

Permalink Reply by Borislava Borissova on October 21, 2011 at 9:47pm

Hi to all!

I am also interested in your opinion about promotions on blogs. Recently it seems they are overloaded with queries for reviews more than ever and are hardly touchable as much as the big publishers. What is your experience? Do you think these reviews are overestimated and they don't sell your books anymore nor are trustworthy for your writing skills?

Here is a bit of what I think:

When I published my first book 'The Starlight Prince" two-three years ago the situation was different. The review or article about it stayed on the surface of their blogs for a few days in the purpose as many as readers could see it. I had increased traffic to my personal web-site, some sales even even two emails from readers, who liked it.

Now it my second published book "Affairs of The Heart" I find the situation for the authors unpleasant. If a review is posted, it stayed for few hours only before it to be displaced by another topic so no more than too few people could read about your story and heroes. As you guess readers have other work and don't stay into any blog to read it all day.

The other worse thing is that the big-bloggers /with many followers/ don't answer to queries as in the past. Many of them are touchable by big publishers only and you quickly could guess about it seeing they publish reviews of best-sellers mostly.

What I can say is that the marketing and promotions of our books are not the same as in the past and there should be found new good channels to do it.

Permalink Reply by Stacy Eaton on October 22, 2011 at 5:26am

Catherine - I agree with you on that. One of the reasons I like the PNR too.

Permalink Reply by Stacy Eaton on October 22, 2011 at 5:29am

Borislava -

With the amount of Indie authors that are out now, it is harder to find good places to get your book up and reviewed. One thing I do know is that you have to build a relationship up with the bloggers that do reviews in your genre. Once it is posted, you need to make sure that you market that blog location. Making sure you tweet it, put it on facebook - announce it on your website - get the actual webstie address for your page - not the home page of the blog so that you can keep referring to it. The blogs stay there, but yes they slide down to make way for other books.

As indies - we have to do a lot of promoting... we have to make people remember us.