# How quickly can I write Repulsive?



## BWFoster78 (Jul 13, 2015)

Though I want to continue to improve the quality of both my technique and my storytelling, I'm focusing right now on improving my quantity of work.  By November 1, both my debut novel, _Rise of the Mages_, and a novella, _Abuse of Power_, will be up on Amazon (exclusive or wide release - haven't decided). My plan is to take a break from that series for my second novel.

Enter _Repulsive_, a novel in the superhero genre.

Some thoughts on the genre:

- It's not nearly as crowded as epic fantasy, but it seems to have a decent following.  Looks like a category ripe for entry.
- The books in the genre lend themselves to the stories I like to tell.
- Books in the genre are a lot shorter than epic fantasy. I'm shooting for 65k for _Repulsive _whereas _Rise _weighs in at 120k.

So from not a single word published, how quickly can I get to hitting Publish on Amazon? I'm shooting for aggressive but realistic, meaning that the schedule requires daily butt in seat but doesn't require an unattainable work product for each day.

First thing, I'm going to abandon my pantsing ways and try outlining.  The timeline below assumes a completed outline from the start.

- Start of production: November 2, 2015
- Rough draft: 10 weeks. 45 chapters (I write short chapters), 3 passes per chapter (expanding the outlined beats into an actual scene, making the scene readable, and final pass to smooth it out). That equates to 2 passes per day. That's the minimum I'm doing now. Probably averaging 2.5 to 3 at the moment.
- Content Edit: 4 weeks. The goal is to step away from the project for an entire month. Not even think about it until the editor finishes.
- 2nd draft: 7 weeks. Same number of chapters, but only 2 passes per.
- Beta Readers: 2 weeks.
- 3rd draft: 4 weeks. 2 passes per chapter but 3 passes per day average. Picking up beta reader comments are usually a lot more straightforward than content editor comments.
- Copy Edit: 1 week. I insist that the editor provide me with the edits as she works on them. That way, I can start my work with only a short lag.
- Final Draft: 3 weeks. I can pick up copy edit changes at a rate of 2 chapters per day.
- Proofreading: 1 week.

If all goes well, I can hit publish on May 23, 2016. That seems like too long, but the timeline includes 7 weeks of pure downtime.  If I'm using those weeks efficiently, that's a big jump on getting started on _Griffin_ (_Gryphon_?).

Any thoughts on ways to improve efficiency? I'll keep everyone posted as to if I'm able to hold to this schedule.


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## Caged Maiden (Jul 14, 2015)

ohh boy, you're really ambitious.  I write a novel in a few months in rough draft, but editing takes me a lot longer.  I think it's great you have a plan and a structure thought.  Best wishes as you venture forth and set your mind to an incredible task.  My only advice would be to change your goals if something hits the fan even a little.  My real life is often bumpy though ( I mentioned i'm bipolar) and so I can't keep to a schedule for those episodes where I'm barely functioning.  I think you've got a great plan, but please don't be hard on yourself if it all doesn't work out perfectly.  We're all human and just knowing you're on the right track needs to be good enough for me sometimes.


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## BWFoster78 (Jul 14, 2015)

CM,

I'm treating it as an experiment.  If I succeed, why? If I fail, why?

I'll share the results here.

I just got finished reading Chris Fox's book _5000 WPH_.  Maybe I'm overestimating the time this is going to take 

Two questions I'm considering:

1. When is the optimum time to send it in for a content edit?

On one hand, the less time I spend on it before the edit, the better.  After all, no step in the process is more likely to result in major rewrites than the content edit.  Could I just get an edit on my outline?  Do people do that?

On the other hand, the better developed the writing is, the more the editor can comment on tension and character. And I'm more concerned with those things than with structure, especially since I'm following a more rigid outline structure for this book.

2. When is the best time to do the beta reading phase?

Currently, I'm showing it when I almost have a finished product.  That doesn't allow me much leeway to incorporate major changes to the character and story without killing my schedule with an overall rewrite.  The alternative is to do it prior to content editing, but, again, you've got that risk of major change thing happening.

Thanks.

Brian

EDIT: Did my first micro sprint - 15 minutes of heavy editing (2nd draft, which is my hardest editing pass) at a rate of almost 1500 Words Per Hour.  The goal is to eventually get that up to at least 5000 WPH for the second draft and 7500-10000 for the third.

EDIT AGAIN: 3rd pass edit for a different chapter - 15 minutes sprint yielded 3700 WPH.  This is kinda fun


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## Caged Maiden (Jul 14, 2015)

wow that's great time!  Yeah, I'm super slow in editing, over-thinking every little thing.  I know I do it, but stopping has proved difficult.  I'm interested in hearing your progress as you go.


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## PaulineMRoss (Jul 15, 2015)

Brian, I was just about to recommend Chris Fox's book to you, but you're ahead of me.  The micro-sprints are a great idea. The part where he loses me, though, is where he says: don't edit, just write! Nope, can't do that. Editing as I go is how I get clean first drafts that need very little tweaking in the editing phase. That works for me. 

For interest, my writing schedule to get one book from first line to publication looks like this:

_Writing: 5-7 months
Brewing: 2-3 months
Critting: 1-2 months
Editing: 1 month
Beta readers: 1 month
Final edit/proofreading: 2 weeks - 1 month
Pre-publication: 2 weeks - 1 month
Min: 12 months; max: 16 months
From sending to beta readers to publication: 12 weeks_

However, I have several on the go in various stages: 1 being written, 1 brewing, 1 being prepared for publication. As soon as I finish the first draft of one book and put it aside to brew, I start on the next. That means I can put out a book every 4-6 months. For self-pubbing, that's a good system to keep the pot boiling.


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## Russ (Jul 15, 2015)

BWFoster78 said:


> CM,
> 
> I'm treating it as an experiment.  If I succeed, why? If I fail, why?
> 
> ...



I don't think a good editor can do the job you need on content based on an outline. I would suspect you would need at least a good first draft or close before they can do a real job on that.  They need good context etc and to see a good bit of your writing style before they can do what many call a developmental edit.  Without seeing how you write how can they really help you decide what goals  you can achieve with a work and how you can achieve them?

I think  you have a lot more flexibility with your beta readers.  With them I might suggest the time  you go to them is when you need them.  For example, I am about 86k into my eventual 125k novel and I am hitting to plot problems and have some questions I really want some outside perspective on before I take any more steps.  Now is the time I am going to turn to those readers because I just know or feel now is the time I need them.


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## BWFoster78 (Jul 15, 2015)

Pauline,



> Brian, I was just about to recommend Chris Fox's book to you, but you're ahead of me.



I read Write Better, Faster first, but I liked 5000 WPH better.  I didn't really take any action after the first book, but I started sprints immediately after reading Fox.  Of course, there might be something to the cumulative impact of reading both in a short period ...



> The part where he loses me, though, is where he says: don't edit, just write! Nope, can't do that. Editing as I go is how I get clean first drafts that need very little tweaking in the editing phase. That works for me.



Where Fox says, "Do this!" Leonelle says, "Try to figure out what works best for you."  That's one good thing about Write Better, Faster.

I tend to agree with that approach.  One needs to do what works best for that person.

You have a lot more experience than me, though, and I'm sure that you have a process down that works for you.  I'm still trying to figure things out, so I'm willing to experiment.

I'm committing to outlining my next book (which is a huge change for me) and to tracking my sprints for a month (see the Challenge forum).



> That means I can put out a book every 4-6 months. For self-pubbing, that's a good system to keep the pot boiling.



That's fantastic!

Best of luck to you.  Any interest in doing a beta read exchange?

Thanks.

Brian


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## BWFoster78 (Jul 15, 2015)

Russ,

Thanks for addressing my questions.

Man, it'd be so much more efficient to get feedback on the outline, but I fear you're right.

Part of my issue, also, is the definition of "developmental/content/structural edit."  Some editors really focus on consistency and fact checking.  I just don't see that as a huge issue.  For one thing, I tend not to make too many of those kinds of mistakes (I make plenty of other kinds of mistakes; that's just not one of my major weaknesses  ).  For another, what mistakes I do make will really only be noticed by nitpickers.  My philosophy is that nitpickers are going to pick nits.  Nothing you can do about it.

All that to say: I want a developmental edit that improves my story, characters, tension, and emotion.  Otherwise, it's not worth the $$$.  And, truthfully and unfortunately, that probably can't be done by looking at the outline.

Regarding beta readers, I think I'd rather pick a time in my process when I'm going to use them.

Thanks again!

Brian


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## BWFoster78 (Jul 15, 2015)

Some observations on Outlining:

1. Man, it's hard not to just start writing the darn book. Discipline, Brian, discipline.

2. I'm not sure I was ever a pure pantser.  I always knew where my books were heading, and I typically put thought into my scenes before writing them.  So outlining doesn't change my process a whole bunch.  On my commute, I go through a scene over and over again, letting the action play out and characters reveal themselves.  When I get to a computer, I make notes on what happened in my head during my drive.  The only real difference is that I'm making notes instead of writing the actual scene and that I'm doing this for every scene for the entire book before starting the writing.

3. I can see how the outline will speed the process!  I've got all the hard work of creating done.  Now, I just have to connect the dots and color in the picture.

4. I also think that the outline, to a large degree, pretty much replaces my first draft.  That being the case, my real first draft is going to be a lot closer to what used to be my second draft.  Making my second draft more like my third.  I think, then, that there's a good possibility that I'll be able to skip the third draft prior to sending it for content editing.  If (big IF) that works out, that's a three week savings off the top.

5. Just for kicks, here's my outline for the first chapter:

Goal – Prevent LI from coming to harm
Opposition – Ineptitude, SAMM
Consequence – LI gets hurt

Zack tries to climb a hurricane fence.
He’s struggling. Glasses fall off his face.
Needs to get contacts if he’s going to continue going out as a vigilante.
So stupid for him to be out with Bear Steel rumored to be hitting Town tonight. But he has to do it. LI is coming over to do homework.  He couldn’t live with himself if something happened to her.
Needs a good vantage point to see her, and this is the best one on her route. Why wouldn’t she just let him pick her up. No matter what she said, he was going to drive her home.
Returns to trying to climb the fence.
Hears something behind him. He spins to find a real superhero, SAMM
Friend or foe?
You’re totally my favorite hero. I can’t believe I’m meeting you.  That time you did that thing! And that other time! Can I have your autograph?
Who are you? What are you doing out here?
Oh, yeah. The costume. “I’m the Crimson Ninja. A new vigilante.”
SAMM sighs. Kid, it’s dangerous being out tonight, especially for a wannabe. Go home.
I’m not a wannabe. 
Are you registered?
No, but—
Then, you’re a wannabe.
“You don’t understand.  My … friend … is walking to my house. I know it’s stupid for either of us to be out, but I couldn’t convince her otherwise. She insisted. And you don’t know LI, when she—”
“Where is she?”
Try the park. The path from her house will take her right through it.
SAMM grimaces. That’s the absolute worst place to be. When there’s a battle, we always try to steer it there to minimize property damage.
Oh, no!
“It’s okay, kid. Go home. I’ll find her and make sure she’s safe.”
Really? That would be, like, awesome.
Zack goes home. Worried and wondering if LI is going to be okay.


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## PaulineMRoss (Jul 15, 2015)

BWFoster78 said:


> Any interest in doing a beta read exchange?



Brian, I've come to the conclusion that I'm a terrible beta reader. I really find it difficult to disconnect me-as-writer and just be me-as-critical-reader. And then, to do it properly needs a huge amount of time, which I really don't have. Sorry.


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## BWFoster78 (Jul 15, 2015)

PaulineMRoss said:


> Brian, I've come to the conclusion that I'm a terrible beta reader. I really find it difficult to disconnect me-as-writer and just be me-as-critical-reader. And then, to do it properly needs a huge amount of time, which I really don't have. Sorry.



Pauline,

Not a problem.  Totally understand.

I'm about to try paid beta readers for my re-release of _Abuse of Power_.  I'm interested to see how that turns out.  There's a group over at kboards who offer the service of $1/1000 words, so $25 or so to test it out works for me.

I was going to ask you, though, about your production rates that you mentioned above: what is your average word count per title?

Thanks.

Brian


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## PaulineMRoss (Jul 15, 2015)

BWFoster78 said:


> I'm about to try paid beta readers for my re-release of _Abuse of Power_.  I'm interested to see how that turns out.  There's a group over at kboards who offer the service of $1/1000 words, so $25 or so to test it out works for me.



I've used Frostbite Publishing for beta reads. They're expensive, but pretty thorough. If that's the group you're thinking of, I can recommend them. Kira Tregoning of fantasticalreads is a lot cheaper (she charged me $55 for 165K words), and also very good. 



> I was going to ask you, though, about your production rates that you mentioned above: what is your average word count per title?



Here are the exact numbers. I aim for 1,000+ words per session, and I try to write every day, but I fail on both counts! Also, the first two books were written with nothing else (writing-related) going on. By the time I got to the third, I was prepping the first for publication, and that seriously detracted from writing time (for me, anyway). For the current wip, I've made a conscious effort to increase my production rate, because spending 8 months on one book really drags things out, I find. Writing faster helps me really get into the story.

_The Plains of Kallanash: 190 writing days over 12 months, 220K words (1K per day)
The Fire Mages: 90 writing days over 5 months, 151K (1600 per day)
The Mages of Bennamore: 119 writing days over 8 months, 157K words (1300 per day)
The Magic Mines of Asharim: 135 writing days over 8 months, 164K words (1200 per day)
(Current wip, approx 75% done) The Fire Mages’ Daughter: 63 writing days over 4 months, 90K words (1400 per day)_

This is probably more information than you wanted! I keep all these stats for my own information, so it's nice to have an excuse to share them.  I'm not the world's fastest writer, as you can see.


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## BWFoster78 (Jul 15, 2015)

> I've used Frostbite Publishing for beta reads. They're expensive, but pretty thorough. If that's the group you're thinking of, I can recommend them. Kira Tregoning of fantasticalreads is a lot cheaper (she charged me $55 for 165K words), and also very good.



Okay, I'll check her out.  I have no idea the name of the group - just saw a post advertising them recently.  I figured I'd throw $25 at them and another $25 onto Elance.



> This is probably more information than you wanted!



Not at all!  I love data.

Wow, 220k.  _Rise _is 100k less than that.

Do you use sprints?  I'm only on my second day, but I'm excited to see where they take me.  I edited almost 5300 words in an hour, and I'm finding I'm more motivated to put my butt in a chair.

Thanks so much for sharing!

Brian


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## PaulineMRoss (Jul 15, 2015)

BWFoster78 said:


> Wow, 220k.  _Rise _is 100k less than that.



Yeah, _Kallanash _is stupidly long. But I'm told that it's easy to read. 



> Do you use sprints?  I'm only on my second day, but I'm excited to see where they take me.  I edited almost 5300 words in an hour, and I'm finding I'm more motivated to put my butt in a chair.



Sometimes, but it's not a big thing. Mostly, I have my long writing session during the evening, but I'll have shorter sessions during the day, sometimes. I don't really call them sprints though, because that implies fast, and I'm not a fast writer.  But I find that several short sessions gets a lot of writing done, so it works, whatever I call it.

And yes, the more I write, the more I want to write (if that makes sense).


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## Chessie (Jul 15, 2015)

Brian, I think you can do it. Stick to your plan, be flexible if the need arises, and ruthlessly pursue your goal. Spend time in nature and with family to give you introspective time (perspective). You got this.


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## ThinkerX (Jul 16, 2015)

Starting the rough draft in November?  Make it a 'National Novel Writing Month' project - 50,000 words in one month.  

(I am doing 'Camp NaNoWriMo' at the moment and failing miserably (just like the previous two tries).  

I have said for a while now that I don't begin a work unless I have at least semi-solid ideas as to the beginning, middle, and end.  As of late, I have started by writing short outlines, because while each novella is composed of scenes I have been batting around for months (or longer), sometimes their exact placement is problematic.  

Plus, I find it very difficult to focus on any given project for more than a couple of months.  Last novella took me seven weeks, the last two of which were torture - and that's just the rough draft.


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## BWFoster78 (Jul 17, 2015)

ThinkerX,

I just can't seem to make myself care all that much about NaNoWriMo.  Plus, I've been highly motivated lately to write, so I think I'm running ahead of schedule.  As soon as I get the outline finished, about 25% complete now, I'll start writing, and that's looking more like Sep 1 than Nov 1.

The original timeline was based on it taking me a while to complete Abuse of Power (it's ready for beta reading now, ahead of schedule) and assumed that editing for Rise of the Mages was going to take up more of my time.  In actuality, I'm easily able to keep pace with the editor by only putting in about a half hour a day.

Thanks for the suggestion, though.

Brian


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## BWFoster78 (Jul 24, 2015)

So I read a thread over at the Writers Cafe that basically said, "I read this post where someone is publishing a novel every month. How is that possible?"  The replies essentially boiled down to, "Completely believable."  One lady said she personally wrote 150k words in a single month.  A lot of people are churning out a lot of words.  Stuff that people are buying.

I can't help but think, "If they can do it, so can I!"

My original schedule for _Repulsive _was 224 days ending on May 23rd. Rethinking my schedule:

Outline 21 Days (very realistic.  I'm already 2/3 done.)
Rough draft	34 Days (this seems crazy, but 3k/day give me 65k in 22 days. That's 2 days of float and 10 days for editing. Eliminated my 3rd pass because the outline is essentially my first pass.)
Beta Readers 14 Days (Eliminated the structural edit.  Tough choice, but budget and time wise, not sure it was worth it)
2nd draft 10 Days (I'm averaging around 10k WPH editing _Rise _and _Abuse of Power_)
Copy Edit 7 Days
Final Draft 7 Days
Proofreading 7 Days

Total: 100 days starting July 14.  That puts me with a finished product on 10/22.  Aggressive, but it seems realistic.  I'll keep y'all updated.

In an ideal world:

Publish _Abuse of Power_ on 9/1 (Tough but doable.  In beta reading now.)
Publish _Rise of the Mages_ on 10/1 (Easily doable.  In Copy Edit now.)
Publish _Repulsive_ on 11/1


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## L M Rush (Aug 2, 2015)

It's inspiring seeing the ambition and clear thinking a lot of you guys here have. I think the time limit you've set yourself seems reasonable, but as quite a few people have pointed out - It won't be the end of the world if you miss the target. But as you said yourself, it's a win-win scenario really. Either you get it done quickly and efficiently, or you get it done and learn what slowed you down this time round. Good luck.


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## ThinkerX (Aug 2, 2015)

> So I read a thread over at the Writers Cafe that basically said, "I read this post where someone is publishing a novel every month. How is that possible?" The replies essentially boiled down to, "Completely believable." One lady said she personally wrote 150k words in a single month. A lot of people are churning out a lot of words. Stuff that people are buying.



We have a boarder here who did 108,000+ words during the July Camp NaNoWriMo.

Sadly, I managed a mere 11,000 - same as June, which was less than May's.  On the other hand I am busy with real world projects this time of year.


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## BWFoster78 (Aug 3, 2015)

ThinkerX said:


> We have a boarder here who did 108,000+ words during the July Camp NaNoWriMo.
> 
> Sadly, I managed a mere 11,000 - same as June, which was less than May's.  On the other hand I am busy with real world projects this time of year.



I started tracking my sprints on 7/14. Since then, I've mainly been editing. My word counts as of right now:

Editing: 118151
Writing: 3591

That second number should start climbing as I just started writing _Repulsive _today.


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## psychotick (Aug 3, 2015)

Hi,

Just one thing - do the beta reading before the editing. Editing costs money, and so you absolutely don't want to do it, then change the book and have to do it again.

Cheers, Greg.


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## BWFoster78 (Aug 4, 2015)

Quick update on my goals:

_Abuse of Power _- in beta reading, but I'm pretty happy with my current draft.  See no reason not to be able to publish 9/1.
_Rise of the Mages _- 75% complete with final edits. Very happy with the results.  My editor said today that she gasped out loud at a plot twist.  On target to have ARCs available by the end of this month and publish 10/1.
_Repulsive_ - Started today. Over 5000 words.  I'm pretty sure I've done 5000 words in a day before, but only a couple of times and never more than that. Fantastic start.  Too early to say if I'll meet 11/1.

Okay, I've read a lot of authors advising wannabees to publish once a month, so I'm really working hard to make that happen.  I don't think, however, that I can have another novel done by Dec 1. Here are my options:

I plan to eventually write a standard length (as opposed to epic length) novel set in the _Rise _world called _Wizard's War_.  I'm envisioning two novelettes, one from the nobles POV and one from the mages, to basically serve as the prelude to that book.  At 10-15k each, those would be pretty easy to knock out and would fill my Dec and Jan slots while still giving me a lot of time to work on _Gryphon_. Best of all, Amazon apparently counts box sets as a new release, so I can package, at some point, Abuse, these novelettes, and the novel together and make that my "new release" for a month.

I'm also thinking of an anthology of origin stories for the heroes and villains of my _Repulsive _world.  I'm thinking, though, that I'd rather release that the month before releasing _Attractive _(or _Radiant_, haven't quite figured out the title yet to my _Repulsive _sequel).

Anyway, I am so freaking motivated right now.  Can't wait to get up in the morning to get more words on the page!

Night.


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## ThinkerX (Aug 4, 2015)

Brian - something I have noted in my own pathetic series efforts:

You really do not want to release book one into the world without having at least a rough draft of the sequel. 

When I wrote the second volume of my novella series, I was forced into making changes to the first story to make it consistent.  Same story with the third - had to go back and change some names, which shifts some background alliances, and so on.  Mostly this is consistency stuff, so you don't go mixing up the names of bad guys who are way in the background in book one and don't appear until book 2 or 3.   Or getting country names mixed up, or having an inland nation with a sea coast, that sort of thing.


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## PaulineMRoss (Aug 4, 2015)

BWFoster78 said:


> Anyway, I am so freaking motivated right now.  Can't wait to get up in the morning to get more words on the page!



This is such a great place to be in! And I'm thrilled to see you starting with the marketing plan and then writing to that. That's absolutely the best way to make a success of writing (ie money). I've never been quite that organised - I write 'em, publish 'em and then think about marketing. It works up to a point but your way is definitely better.

Watching your progress with interest.


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## BWFoster78 (Aug 4, 2015)

ThinkerX said:


> Brian - something I have noted in my own pathetic series efforts:
> 
> You really do not want to release book one into the world without having at least a rough draft of the sequel.
> 
> When I wrote the second volume of my novella series, I was forced into making changes to the first story to make it consistent.  Same story with the third - had to go back and change some names, which shifts some background alliances, and so on.  Mostly this is consistency stuff, so you don't go mixing up the names of bad guys who are way in the background in book one and don't appear until book 2 or 3.   Or getting country names mixed up, or having an inland nation with a sea coast, that sort of thing.



ThinkerX,

With my main series, I have a really solid understanding of the entire story, though not all the plot lines have been developed completely.  I know how it starts, the general journey of each of the characters, and where it ends, though.  I'll also sketch out the sequel before I publish _Repulsive_.

Thanks for the warning, though.


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## BWFoster78 (Aug 10, 2015)

My motivation is still sky-high, and I'm still making tons of progress.

One week in, and I'm over halfway done with my rough draft of _Repulsive_.  The word count is a little light at the moment, but my recent experience is that my second drafts tend to increase by 10-20%.  Overall, I'm pretty happy.

My goal is to finish by next Monday, spend two weeks doing a 2nd draft, and another week polishing before sending to beta readers.  Tough but, at my current production rates, doable.

In other good news, I sent the completed copy of _Rise of the Mages_ to my proofreader this morning - about a week ahead of schedule!


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## DanJames (Aug 16, 2015)

BWFoster78 said:


> Though I want to continue to improve the quality of both my technique and my storytelling, I'm focusing right now on improving my quantity of work.  By November 1, both my debut novel, _Rise of the Mages_, and a novella, _Abuse of Power_, will be up on Amazon (exclusive or wide release - haven't decided). My plan is to take a break from that series for my second novel.
> 
> Enter _Repulsive_, a novel in the superhero genre.
> 
> ...



I've spoke to a crime writer who pretty much operates like this. One thing he told me is that if you aren't capable of writing like thi, then don't waste your time on it, but you seem fairly confident in your ways. His productivity is incredible, his last book first draft was a week and a half, with some days of not working in betwen as well, think he average dlike 17k a day.


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## BWFoster78 (Aug 17, 2015)

Another weekly update on my progress:

_Abuse of Power_:

Still on schedule top release 9/1.  I got my final two sets of beta reader comments back. Revisions to be done this week. Off to the proofreader early next week.

_Rise of the Mages_:

Still on schedule to release 10/1. I've corrected the errors found by my proofreader. I'll compile a pre-final version tonight to send to advance readers to look for any more mistakes, then start sending out ARCs early next month. (Let me know if you want to become one of those advance readers!)

_Repulsive_:

I think I can realistically release this 11/1. I finished the rough draft yesterday, and I'm about 12% done with the second draft.  On track to send my 3rd draft for beta reading on 9/7.

_Prelude to Wizards War_ - Parts 1 and 2:

The goal here is two novellas to be released 12/1 and 1/1. I haven't got past the conceptual stage yet, so lots to do.

_Repulsive Origins_:

The goal is 8 short stories to release as an anthology on 2/1. I'm waiting to get one set of beta reader comments back before completing my first story. Lots to do.

_Gryphon_:

The sequel to _Rise of the Mages_ to be released 3/1.  In the initial planning stages.

Untitled sequel to _Repulsive_:

To be released 4/1. Haven't even thought much about it yet.

Yes. You read all that right. I have yet to publish a single darn thing (unless you count Abuse of Power in _Myths Inscribed_ or the short story in Ankari's anthology), yet I'm scheduling myself to publish an anthology, 3 novellas, and 4 novels in the next 8 months. Well, if I don't succeed as a writer, it won't be because I didn't push myself


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## PaulineMRoss (Aug 18, 2015)

BWFoster78 said:


> I'm scheduling myself to publish an anthology, 3 novellas, and 4 novels in the next 8 months. Well, if I don't succeed as a writer, it won't be because I didn't push myself



This is just awesome, Brian! I'm really rooting for you.  Just remember to breathe, OK?

ETA: You look like you've got the writing part sorted, but if you have any questions when you get to the publishing/marketing stage, feel free to email me. pmross AT paulinemross.co.uk


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## BWFoster78 (Aug 18, 2015)

PaulineMRoss said:


> This is just awesome, Brian! I'm really rooting for you.  Just remember to breathe, OK?
> 
> ETA: You look like you've got the writing part sorted, but if you have any questions when you get to the publishing/marketing stage, feel free to email me. pmross AT paulinemross.co.uk



Will do.

I'm pretty much planning on releasing AoP with no marketing or promotions.  I'm going KU with it, though, and I'm going to make it free at the beginning of October.

Actually, I do have a couple of questions:

1. How long does it take between the time you upload to Amazon and the book goes live?

2. Regarding making AoP free: how far in advance can I schedule that? And does the work have to be up on Amazon for a certain time before you can make it free?

I plan to do paid promotions (I bookmarked your Kboards thread and others) in October. I'm also building my email list.  I'm at 64 as of today.

Thanks!

Brian


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## PaulineMRoss (Aug 19, 2015)

BWFoster78 said:


> 1. How long does it take between the time you upload to Amazon and the book goes live?



Typically between 12-24 hours. You probably don't want to do this, but if you put the book up for pre-order, it goes live on the stroke of midnight, but in each country. So you get a rolling launch, and you can pop the champagne at midnight Australia time, and be seriously drunk by the time it's out in the States.



> 2. Regarding making AoP free: how far in advance can I schedule that? And does the work have to be up on Amazon for a certain time before you can make it free?



I think as soon as it's live and in Select/KU, you have your 5 free days available, and you can schedule each one as late as the day before. So in theory, you could have your first free day the day after launch (but then you can't plan any promo for it, of course).



> I plan to do paid promotions (I bookmarked your Kboards thread and others) in October. I'm also building my email list.  I'm at 64 as of today.



64 already! Well done. I'm still inching towards 40. 

I think starting in Select/KU is a wise move. You can always go wide later, when you've built a fanbase and have a good portfolio, but it really does help with the early exposure. And the new KU, that pays by pages read, is awesome for novel-writers. I've more than doubled my borrows revenue as a result (I made $1,000+ from pages read alone in July!).


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## BWFoster78 (Aug 19, 2015)

> Typically between 12-24 hours.



So if I want to launch on 9/1, probably best to load it the morning of 8/31?



> but in each country.



That's another question I had: do you have to load separately for each country or is the book automatically available everywhere or do you choose which countries? And how are taxes handled? If I sell five books in the UK, do I owe taxes in the UK? Is it worth it making the book available internationally?



> I think as soon as it's live and in Select/KU, you have your 5 free days available, and you can schedule each one as late as the day before. So in theory, you could have your first free day the day after launch (but then you can't plan any promo for it, of course).



Perfect. My plan is to release _Rise _on 10/1 and make _Abuse _free for the five days from 10/1 to 10/5. There's a heavy tie-in between the two works, and I've included some relevant advertising.  I was planning to hit the promotion of the free days pretty hard in hopes that people would download and read _Abuse_ and then go on to buy _Rise_.



> 64 already!



I had my blog up for a long time, and I solicited email addresses in return for a free download of the 2nd Edition of _Abuse of Power_.  That's where most of those came from, but they're really old and I haven't sent out a single email to any of them yet.  (You signed up, btw.)  I figure, I'll get a lot of unsubscribes with the first email I sent out, but it makes me feel good to start with some.

I have gotten a few the last couple of days from my new website and from Facebook, though.



> I think starting in Select/KU is a wise move. You can always go wide later, when you've built a fanbase and have a good portfolio, but it really does help with the early exposure. And the new KU, that pays by pages read, is awesome for novel-writers.



This decision is actually a 180 for me. I kinda hate Amazon's growing monopoly, but I just think the advantage to me is too strong to ignore.  Like you say, I can always go wide later once I build a following.

I'm also going to try to capitalize on momentum by an aggressive release schedule.  A lot of people at kboards seem to think that it really helps to release monthly.  There's no real numbers backing up that assertion that I saw, but I figure it can't hurt to get more things out there. And I like big goals.



> (I made $1,000+ from pages read alone in July!)



That is fantastic! I'm so happy for you. You're one of the reasons I'm so motivated.

I kept hearing everywhere that "one shouldn't expect to make any money as a writer." Then I heard about your success and you told me about kboards where it seems like people are pulling in cash hand over fist. I thought, "I need to get off my butt and get to work!"

Thanks again!

Brian


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## Chessie (Aug 19, 2015)

Brian,

I want to thank you for starting this thread and keeping up to date with it. I'm doing something similar to what you are and this thread has been motivating. Keep up the good work!


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## BWFoster78 (Aug 19, 2015)

Chesterama,

You don't know how happy I am that you posted! 

I'm am so unbelievably motivated right now. That I could pass some of that on is fantastic. Made my day!

Brian


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## PaulineMRoss (Aug 19, 2015)

BWFoster78 said:


> So if I want to launch on 9/1, probably best to load it the morning of 8/31?



It's very hard to say. It can be anything from 4-48 hours. I'd say load it on the afternoon of 8/31, to make sure it's live on 9/1, and even then it's not guaranteed.



> That's another question I had: do you have to load separately for each country or is the book automatically available everywhere or do you choose which countries? And how are taxes handled? If I sell five books in the UK, do I owe taxes in the UK? Is it worth it making the book available internationally?



When you upload the book, there's a page where you can choose which countries you want to sell in, and the prices. You can set the price individually for each country, or set it to convert from the US price. There's no good reason I can think of NOT to sell everywhere. I get about 10% of sales from outside the US, which is not insignificant.

All local (sales) taxes are handled by Amazon, and you don't even need to think about those. When you get your royalties (either by check or direct to your bank account), you get a separate payment from each country you've had sales in. Then it's up to you to handle the tax due to your own government for that income (whether as an individual, a DBA or an incorporated company).

Apart from prices and countries to sell in, the other big decisions you'll need to make when uploading are categories, ages and keywords. You can choose 2 categories: mine are Fiction > Fantasy > Epic and Juvenile Fiction > Fantasy & Magic. I've set the ages to minimum 14+. The epic fantasy category is huge, my books are never going to rank there, barring miracles, but the Juvenile fiction and age 14+ settings get me into YA categories, which are much more accessible to smallfry like me, and will suit your books too.

Keywords are important for subcategories you can't get into any other way (like sword and sorcery, and coming of age). You can have up to 7 keywords, separated by commas, BUT you can put as many words and phrases as you like into each one, up to 400 characters. Here are the keywords for one of mine:

Mature female protagonist guard, Spells mage mages heir ruler, Epic fantasy adventure post-apocalypse, Mystery powers quest, Love triangle romance, Sword ships harbour coast port fleet sea battle, Magic tower tunnel dungeons kidnap escape

I highly recommend you set up your account with KDP and put at least one book on there (you can keep it in draft mode) so that you can see all the options and experiment a bit, and ask questions! You don't want to be sitting there on 8/31 trying to upload and wondering what all these things mean. Of course you can change them later, but it's better to get it close to right the first time.



> I'm also going to try to capitalize on momentum by an aggressive release schedule.  A lot of people at kboards seem to think that it really helps to release monthly.  There's no real numbers backing up that assertion that I saw, but I figure it can't hurt to get more things out there. And I like big goals.



There is lots of anecdotal evidence of the 30-day cliff. For the first 30 days after release, a book is eligible for the Hot New Releases list in its various subcategories. This is a MUCH smaller pool of books than the entire store, and it's possible to rank pretty well in the fantasy categories with only a few sales per day. Plus, a lot of voracious readers are actively looking for new books. Huge visibility. But after 30 days, you lose that, so having new material out within a month, or not long after, really gets the momentum going. The 30-day cliff is very real in the romance categories, not so much in fantasy, but it's still worth bearing in mind. If you can't quite get a release out every month, putting the next one up for pre-order with a link at the back of the existing books works pretty well too.



> I kept hearing everywhere that "one shouldn't expect to make any money as a writer." Then I heard about your success and you told me about kboards where it seems like people are pulling in cash hand over fist. I thought, "I need to get off my butt and get to work!"



It's possible. If you can write to a genre, and write/release fast, and keep up the momentum month after month, it's possible to make good money. I can't write that fast (a book every four months, roughly), but I'm making a fair bit. And the nice thing is that it increases with every book. Here are some more numbers for you: with one book out, I averaged $2 per day; with 2 books out, I averaged $19 per day; with 3 books out, I've averaged $50 per day to date (although dropping fast now). I'm hopeful that the fourth book next month will crank things up another notch. And that's with a relatively slow release schedule. I know one lady who's gone from coffee money to a 5 figure income in 2 months flat by writing to a popular genre, and releasing on a relentless schedule. So it can be done.

I hope this is helpful. Some of this will be stuff you already know, but it might help other people too.


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## BWFoster78 (Aug 19, 2015)

> I'd say load it on the afternoon of 8/31, to make sure it's live on 9/1,



Works. Thanks.



> All local (sales) taxes are handled by Amazon, and you don't even need to think about those. When you get your royalties (either by check or direct to your bank account), you get a separate payment from each country you've had sales in. Then it's up to you to handle the tax due to your own government for that income (whether as an individual, a DBA or an incorporated company).



What I'm understanding from this is that I don't have to worry about the British and Australian governments knocking on my door with their hands out because Amazon handles that portion. My accountant can handle the US portion. So no worries about selling in other countries.  Good deal.

Did you list in non-English speaking countries as well?



> I highly recommend you set up your account with KDP and put at least one book on there (you can keep it in draft mode) so that you can see all the options and experiment a bit, and ask questions!



Okay. I'll do this next week.



> Keywords are important for subcategories you can't get into any other way (like sword and sorcery, and coming of age). You can have up to 7 keywords, separated by commas, BUT you can put as many words and phrases as you like into each one, up to 400 characters. Here are the keywords for one of mine:
> 
> Mature female protagonist guard, Spells mage mages heir ruler, Epic fantasy adventure post-apocalypse, Mystery powers quest, Love triangle romance, Sword ships harbour coast port fleet sea battle, Magic tower tunnel dungeons kidnap escape



Thanks for this. I read the big keyword thread at kboards, but seeing your words (and the discussion on categories) helps.  When I make my decisions, I'll post and, if you don't mind, you can comment with your thoughts.  Like you said, hopefully all this will help those who come after us.



> There is lots of anecdotal evidence of the 30-day cliff. For the first 30 days after release, a book is eligible for the Hot New Releases list in its various subcategories. This is a MUCH smaller pool of books than the entire store, and it's possible to rank pretty well in the fantasy categories with only a few sales per day. Plus, a lot of voracious readers are actively looking for new books. Huge visibility. But after 30 days, you lose that, so having new material out within a month, or not long after, really gets the momentum going. The 30-day cliff is very real in the romance categories, not so much in fantasy, but it's still worth bearing in mind. If you can't quite get a release out every month, putting the next one up for pre-order with a link at the back of the existing books works pretty well too.



Ok. This is a good explanation!  I think I'm mainly doing it at the moment just for the challenge of it: Can I do a new release the first of every month for 9 (now!) months?  It'll give me a chance to experiment with different strategies, promotions, and types of books, too.



> It's possible. If you can write to a genre, and write/release fast, and keep up the momentum month after month, it's possible to make good money. I can't write that fast (a book every four months, roughly), but I'm making a fair bit. And the nice thing is that it increases with every book. Here are some more numbers for you: with one book out, I averaged $2 per day; with 2 books out, I averaged $19 per day; with 3 books out, I've averaged $50 per day to date (although dropping fast now). I'm hopeful that the fourth book next month will crank things up another notch. And that's with a relatively slow release schedule. I know one lady who's gone from coffee money to a 5 figure income in 2 months flat by writing to a popular genre, and releasing on a relentless schedule. So it can be done.



I'd be very happy with a couple thousand per month.  My biggest fear is that I do all this and ... crickets.

Good to know how you've done, though.  I'll have some expectations at least.



> I hope this is helpful. Some of this will be stuff you already know, but it might help other people too.



Tremendously so!  Thanks again!

Brian


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## T.Allen.Smith (Aug 21, 2015)

Brian,

A bit off the current track, but I have some questions on your achievements so far.

I bought Chris Fox's book because the process intrigues me. One thing I desperately need is a massive increase in production. I'm far too slow a writer, averaging around 500 per day, if I'm lucky, and that's over two hours.

After reading the book and working through the initial sprint writing exercises, I've completed 3 morning sprints of different lengths for an average of 2080 WPH. I'm pre-planning scenes and outlining throughout the day when time allows, so each morning my scene is ready to write. 

So far, so good. Two days, four sprints of 10, 13 (a distraction popped in), 15, & 5 minutes yielded 1491 words. While that's not blindingly fast, and I know it'll improve with training, it's still triple the production of one normal day with my old method, performed in 43 minutes of sprint writing instead of 4 to 6 hours. 

The quality I'm accustomed to isn't there of course, and I'm constantly resisting the urge to edit to perfection with the understanding that when finished drafting, I'll make it good. 

My question comes with the editing. I haven't yet done the editing sprint exercise, partially because it doesn't make complete sense. Chris claims the editing phase is faster than the actual writing, and it seems your results bear this out. However, I can't help thinking that my editing will be slower than actual writing because I'll be paying attention to finer detail. 

I understand the first edit is content editing and the last is meant to be proofreading, but where in the process does the writer actually improve on the quality of the narrative, the quality of description, showing versus telling, and employing active voice where passive sneaks into the prose? Descriptive quality and conscious showing seem like editing activity that will take a decent amount of focus. That attention to detail seems contrary to speed. Perhaps I'm wrong. Like I said, I haven't done the sprint editing exercises yet.

Some of the above writing elements I do as second nature, like employing active voice as a default. Still, some passive voice slips in if I'm writing at a higher rate of speed. Not much, but some. What I find more lacking is the quality of description, which I believe is usually a strength of mine.

Should I expect all these things to improve as I train this new creative process? Will sprint editing be slower if these details need a lot of work?

The editing section of the book is far less clear to me since issues of detail and refinement for quality are hardly discussed. 

What has your experience with this method taught you so far?


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## Chessie (Aug 21, 2015)

Hi T. Allen, in regards to Chris Fox's process, I believe that editing passive voice, etc is what he means by content editing. I haven't read that part of his book yet, but from what you are describing that sounds like it would make the most sense. Remember, you are training yourself to write in a way that you aren't accustomed to. How exciting, right?! His process for writing works. I used to suffer through words (700 in 3 hours if I was lucky) until I started a process similar to his with outlining scenes, doing sprints, etc and now I can write anywhere between 3-4,000 words in about 4 hours (averaging 1,000 words per hour). SO not kidding about that. Hang in there!


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## T.Allen.Smith (Aug 21, 2015)

Thanks Chesterama. I dig the process so far and it is exciting to stretch boundaries, especially considering the rut I've experienced over the last few months. I promised myself to give it a full month of discipline before I make any judgments. I'm even writing first thing in the morning now instead of late at night to knock it out before the real day begins.   

I figured he probably meant that prose improvement takes place during content editing, but I still don't see how sprint editing in this stage will be faster than the sprint writing. It's seems like the attention to detail will naturally slow this down considerably.


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## BWFoster78 (Aug 21, 2015)

> I've completed 3 morning sprints of different lengths for an average of 2080 WPH.





> While that's not blindingly fast, and I know it'll improve with training, it's still triple the production of one normal day with my old method, performed in 43 minutes of sprint writing instead of 4 to 6 hours.



Fantastic!



> My question comes with the editing. I haven't yet done the editing sprint exercise, partially because it doesn't make complete sense. Chris claims the editing phase is faster than the actual writing, and it seems your results bear this out. However, I can't help thinking that my editing will be slower than actual writing because I'll be paying attention to finer detail.



I do multiple stages of editing. This question seems to refer to my first edit. I consider my first draft to have the sole purpose of getting words on the page. The 2nd draft (the first edit) is supposed to get the writing into some kind of readable form, including tension and cohesion.

I've done a lot of second draft writing lately.  My first draft writing is pretty similar to yours, averaging in the 2000 to 2500 range. Second draft is ranging more between 2500 and 3000. So not a huge increase. I also notice that I'm adding about 20% to my first draft word count, meaning that it's taking me close to the same amount of time to write each draft.

As far as why the WPH is faster, though:

1. Sometimes it's really slow if the first draft is a complete mess and I have to move a lot of stuff around.  Even in that situation, though, I haven't seen numbers as low as my lowest first draft number.  I think, for me anyway, it's simply easier to think and work when I already have words on the page.
2. Not every word/sentence/paragraph needs any attention at all.  Some I read and I'm like, "That's good. I like it."  If I have to completely rewrite 3/4 of a chapter (and I do that at the same rate as my first draft), my overall rate will still be faster since 1/4 of the chapter was basically done at reading speed.

I'm also noticing as I advance deeper into my first draft, that the quality is improving, making my 2nd draft go faster and faster.  Is that the flow advantage that Chris mentioned or was it me finding my voice for this book?  No idea. Maybe a little of both.



> I understand the first edit is content editing and the last is meant to be proofreading, but where in the process does the writer actually improve on the quality of the narrative, the quality of description, showing versus telling, and employing active voice where passive sneaks into the prose? Descriptive quality and conscious showing seem like editing activity that will take a decent amount of focus. That attention to detail seems contrary to speed. Perhaps I'm wrong. Like I said, I haven't done the sprint editing exercises yet.



First, understand that I believe everyone should take Chris' process and fit it to how they work instead of fitting how they work to Chris' process.  I don't think I'll ever get my second draft to be twice the speed of my first draft.

Back to your question: I improve everything with every edit, but that's just how I work.  I know some writers go through each edit with a specific thing in mind. I don't.  I try to add content, description, flow, tension, etc. every time through.  Typically, each draft gets better and better, though, so I end up doing less and less each time through, making the final edits much faster than the first ones.

Again, though, that's just me. You need to figure out what works for you.



> Should I expect all these things to improve as I train this new creative process? Will sprint editing be slower if these details need a lot of work?



I think that your best bet is to just do it and see what happens.  Keep detailed records for several months.  Use those records to analyze what worked for you and make your process more efficient.

Did any of this help you?

Hope so 

If not, I'm more than willing to elaborate if you have more thoughts.

Thanks.

Brian


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## Chessie (Aug 21, 2015)

I believe that he promotes more than one pass though. It IS weird to focus on a single aspect of editing when going through a pass, and it took me some getting used to as well, but now there is no other way for me. One pass I focus on spelling errors, grammar, and improving narrative/prose, next pass I focus on character and plot, and the last pass I focus on dialogue. But I can comment more on Chris's method once I read that part of his book.  (sorry to hijack the thread, Brian!)


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## T.Allen.Smith (Aug 21, 2015)

Chesterama said:


> I believe that he promotes more than one pass though.


The book says he does 4 edits on average.

I sent him a tweet requesting an email address so I can bounce some questions off him. I'll let you all know what he says.


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## Philip Overby (Aug 21, 2015)

We're doing a podcast with him in a couple of months. I'm curious to ask about these kind of productivity things.


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## BWFoster78 (Aug 21, 2015)

T.Allen.Smith said:


> The book says he does 4 edits on average.
> 
> I sent him a tweet requesting an email address so I can bounce some questions off him. I'll let you all know what he says.



I seem to remember him posting something about a hiking trip. Not sure if he's back yet or not, so he might be slow to respond.


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## PaulineMRoss (Aug 22, 2015)

BWFoster78 said:


> I seem to remember him posting something about a hiking trip. Not sure if he's back yet or not, so he might be slow to respond.



He's still away. Not sure when he's back.


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## BWFoster78 (Aug 24, 2015)

A couple of quick observations prior to getting to the update:

- I think the biggest key to getting stuff done is to make a commitment to yourself that you're going to get stuff done. Even when I don't feel like writing, I put in my time.  Sometimes in that situation, the first few minutes goes slow, but it picks up after that.  Except for when I don't feel like writing and it's the afternoon. The afternoon seems dreadful for me.  My slowest editing the entire week, like half my normal rate, came in that situation.
- My commitment is to put in a minimum 3 30min sprints daily on my main WIP. A lot of days, I spend another 30min to an hour on a secondary project.  On days where I don't work on secondary projects, I spend time on the business aspects of writing - ie fiddling around with my website, contacting reviewers, etc.
- I was able to "find" 30 extra minutes in the morning for writing. I used to watch an entire program (40-45 min on the DVR) every morning at breakfast. Now, I only watch for the 10min or so I'm actually eating. The rest of my writing time is coming from stolen moments and from sacrificing sleep at night. I feel like I'm back in college.
- The second biggest key for me to actually get everything I want to get done done is organization. I have to look ahead to upcoming projects and make sure that I'm ready with the outlines done when it's time to start the writing. It's crucial to prioritize my time correctly.

*8/24 Weekly Update on Progress*

_Abuse of Power_:

Finished revisions, proofing, and the front and back matter. The document could be uploaded right now.  I'll probably do that this week and save it as a draft per Pauline's recommendation.  No more writing work to be done. I'll start a new thread later on to talk about marketing.

_Rise of the Mages_:

Same as with _Abuse_, this one is ready to rock and roll.

_Repulsive_:

I'm actually ahead of schedule. As of this morning, I'm 68% done with the second draft. I'm projecting completion as of Friday.  The plan is one week for the 3rd draft and then off to beta readers on 9/7.

_Prelude to Wizards War_ - Parts 1 and 2:

As of last week, I had some idea as of the plot for part 2, and no idea at all for part 1. That wasn't good since the only way for me to meet my goals is to complete the first three drafts of one of these while _Repulsive _is with beta readers. Great news: I had a major planning breakthrough on part 1. I now have characters and a plot and the basis for my outline. It will my major planning priority over the next couple of weeks.

_Myles Mathis - Mage Hunter_:

New to my plans. I decided that there is no way I can publish _Gryphon _on 3/1. There's just not enough time to write and edit what is sure to be over 120k words in that time period and do all the other stuff I want. I'm pushing back everything else and adding this novelette for 2/1 to keep momentum going.  The goal is to write three drafts of this in less than a week in January.

_Repulsive Origins_:

Of all my deadlines, I'm most worried about meeting this one. I have no blocks of time scheduled that are devoted to this project as the primary. That means I have to write it entirely as my secondary project when I can.  Worrisome.  I'm still waiting for beta reader comments back on the first story, and to make myself feel better about the schedule on this one, I need to write the second story in the next couple of weeks.

_Gryphon_:

I'm thinking about doing this as a NaNoWrMo thing. The rough draft is probably going to be in the 120k range. That's 4k a day for 30 days. Whatcha think?

_Attractive_:

Still a working title, but it's firming up.  If things work out correctly, I'll need to start this mid January when I send _Gryphon _to beta readers.

Lots to do ...


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## BWFoster78 (Aug 31, 2015)

Weekly update time 

_Repulsive_:

I finished the 2nd draft two days ahead of schedule, and it's looking like I'll finish the 3rd draft in 5 days instead of the budgeted 7.  That's four extra days to work on my next project. Whohoo!

_Prelude to Wizards War - Parts 1 and 2_:

I've got the general concept of Pt 1 down, but I've only outlined 2 chapters.  Not good since I'm planning on starting writing on Thursday.  Got to get more outlining done!

_Myles Mathis - Mage Hunter_:

Finishing the 3rd draft of _Repulsive_ early might give me time to write this in a couple of weeks. While I'm writing Pt 1, my main secondary priority will be to outline this novelette.

_Repulsive Origins_:

I got all my beta reader comments back and started the 4th draft of my first story.  Big priority to get it finished and get another started!

_Gryphon_:

Still planning on starting to outline in early Oct and write the rough draft in Nov.

_Attractive_:

Haven't really thought about this one too much.


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## BWFoster78 (Sep 2, 2015)

I'm rethinking my strategy of releasing every month.  Here's my thinking:

1. The advantage of monthly releases is some kind of "momentum" that builds up.  I've no idea how much that accounts for anything or how to quantify it.

2. The only way I can release monthly is by publishing some stuff that aren't novels.

3. I really think that novels in a series are the way to go. Lots of promotional options with series. For example: Publish the first book at 4.99 and don't do anything promotion wise until you get the second out.  Promote 1st book at 2.99 for a short time when the 2nd book comes out.  Raise it back to 4.99.  Promote 1st book at .99 temporarily when the 3rd book comes out. Raise it back to 2.99.  Promote 1st book at 0 when the 4th comes out. Raise back to .99. Eventually make the 1st book permafree.

4. The people who follow such promotional schemes seem to have good results.

5. If I publish monthly, it's going to add time that I could be using to write the sequels.

6. So it seems to come down to: which gives me the better advantage - getting sequels out faster or publishing monthly.  I think I'm starting to lean toward the former.

Thoughts?

Thanks.

Brian


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## PaulineMRoss (Sep 3, 2015)

I don't have any advice here, Brian. Either way can work. The rapid-fire release keeps at least one of your books permanently in the hot new releases lists, for maximum visibility, but in the long run the series will be your bread and butter. 

One of the biggest advantages self-pubbers have is being light-footed - we can shift direction overnight. You've got Abuse of Power out there, you'll have Rise of the Mages out next month, then you'll have a point of comparison: which sells better? Which gets better reader response? At that point, you can make the decision on what to focus on next.

Publishing is like jumping off a cliff - you just have no idea what you're going hit or how far down it is. It's a complete unknown. So don't try to second-guess yourself, just go with the flow for now. (I guess I did have some advice after all...)


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## Chessie (Sep 3, 2015)

Brian, this is going to sound cliche because it is, but only you can answer that question according to your writing speed. If you believe that your time is better spent writing sequels, then do so. Are you able to work on multiple projects at once? If so, maybe you could follow the 80/20 rule and work a bit of the time on smaller stuff and most of the time on larger projects that will reap greater rewards. 

But, as Pauline wisely stated, the beauty of self-publishing is that you can switch gears at any time. Do what feels right according to your skill level, time availability, and writing speed. Personally, I wouldn't EVEN worry about marketing right now, just write.

Good luck to you! (btw, your novella is super good!)


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## BWFoster78 (Sep 3, 2015)

> Brian, this is going to sound cliche because it is, but only you can answer that question according to your writing speed. If you believe that your time is better spent writing sequels, then do so. Are you able to work on multiple projects at once? If so, maybe you could follow the 80/20 rule and work a bit of the time on smaller stuff and most of the time on larger projects that will reap greater rewards.



I think that the shorter works would only delay me for a month or two, but truthfully, I think a bigger issue is that I just don't feel the same sense of accomplishment in putting out a novella that I do with a novel.

I've pretty much decided to jump right into writing Gryphon, followed by Attractive.

The decision feels good to me.



> (btw, your novella is super good!)



Yay! I'm so glad you're enjoying it!  Truthfully, though, I think the novel is so much better.

Thanks again!

Brian


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## BWFoster78 (Sep 8, 2015)

Weekly update:

_Repulsive_:

With the beta readers (3 paid, 4 friends). I'll start work on the 4th draft on 9/21.  I'm really looking forward to that. The story, I think, has good bones; it just needs a lot of TLC to get from where it is to a final draft.

Everything except _Gryphon_:

I'm officially cancelling work on all other projects.  I have no desire to write a bunch of novellas and short stories.  It was tough coming to this decision, but, now that I have, I'm at peace with it.

_Gryphon_:

Deep in outlining mode.  Lots and lots of work to do if I'm going to publish by 3/1.


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## Philip Overby (Sep 8, 2015)

I know your method is a lot different than mine, but I think we both have the same goals in mind: building up a library. That's tough to do in a short period of time and especially with longer works, but if you have the passion to do it, go for it. My approach has been slightly different, but since I'm writing fairly niche fantasy (dark comedy fantasy), I'm trying to do things outside the box a bit.

My original plan was to release two shorts a month. That didn't pan out simply because my shorts ended up a lot longer than I wanted originally, but I felt they need to be that long in order to tell the complete story I wanted to tell. 

I've settled on releasing one short a month (with eventual bundles with bonus material) and periodic collections of shorter stories. I'm doing this in anticipation for my first novel I want to self-pub in 2016 sometime. While I realize novels are going to sell better than my shorts, I think I'm looking at the shorts as a way to gauge interest, get some people interested (which luckily I have in some capacity), and see which elements people seem to like. I've gotten a lot of comments on the characters, so I think that's my strong point. I definitely think using reviews to shift your approach can be useful.

I have gotten some comments that they would love to see a novel. That's good to know. That means I'll probably focus more on getting novels out in the future instead of only spending time on shorts. For now, I like what I'm doing, and I think it'll be cool to see where it goes.

Good luck with your approach. It's a lot of writing to do with a great deal of quality control, so I hope you can pull it off!


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## PaulineMRoss (Sep 8, 2015)

BWFoster78 said:


> I'm officially cancelling work on all other projects.  I have no desire to write a bunch of novellas and short stories.  It was tough coming to this decision, but, now that I have, I'm at peace with it.



That sounds like a sensible plan.


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## BWFoster78 (Sep 14, 2015)

Weekly update time:

Not much progress the last week. I got early feedback on _Repulsive_ from a couple of sources, but I won't get all of it back before the end of the week.  That leaves me kind of planning what I'm going to change without starting to make actual changes yet.

I'm also going to not do sprints for the next set of drafts. Instead, I'm going to go back to my old method of chapter by chapter.  I think that sprints are much better for the first portion than the last.  We'll see how it works.

Meanwhile, I'm still planning _Gryphon_.  The goal is to be ready with almost a full outline by the time _Repulsive_ is ready.


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## BWFoster78 (Sep 21, 2015)

Just starting the 4th draft, and I'm excited for what this book will become.  Luckily, I found a couple of good beta readers who were able to point out some of the biggest deficiencies of the last draft.  Biggest issue:

The book has 3 main conflicts and a major subplot.  I really focused too hard on two of the conflicts and let the third, and the subplot, kinda fall by the wayside.  By strengthening those two elements, the overall story will be made a lot stronger.

Off to write ...


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