Zero Angel
Auror
Hi Guys,
Gave some advice over in "Finding the 'One'" and it was brought up that this would make a good thread on its own. I've adjusted my original advice to make it more standalone.
To the advice!
So if there was one thing I would do differently over the course of the last year, it would be to manage the release dates of my first few stories much better. Here is what I wish I would have done back then.
First, we need to establish which story is going to be our "baby", another way of thinking of this is that it is the "sun" that everything else you do is going to revolve around and support. For me, this is the main series of War of the Ages, manifested presently in Book I – The Throne of Ao.
If you don't know how to pick your baby, then it's basically the dream story that you want to tell. It's the one that calls to you, that beckons to you, and it's the one that interferes with your everyday life. If you don't have one, then my advice probably won't be as applicable.
Now that we have the baby, table it.
You need to do some things:
(1) Provide some shelter for your baby. That is, create 1-2 prequels, shorts, day-in-the-life, novellas or whatever that are directly related to your baby. These should be created and scheduled for release 1-6 months before your baby.
(2) Decide what sort of story your baby is going to be. Is it a trilogy? Is it an ongoing series? Are there any unresolved plots? Are there things that can be tied to this baby for readers after they're done? (read: another short, not the sequel).
(3) Diversify. You do not want to be a one-trick pony. Chances are you have other stories you want to tell, and you want people to be able to come to you from different outlets. Create more shorts and novellas to market yourself to others.
Now, it's a question of release dates. How long will each take you and when should you release things? I recommend releasing at least one short/novella 1-6 months before your baby, with a follow-up short/novella released within 1-6 months after your baby. This makes your baby not just a standalone, but a living story with other materials associated with it. (Remember that these other stories, although they can involve main characters of your baby, should not be "required reading". They're more like bonuses to both draw in fans and to reward their loyalty).
After the release of your baby, I recommend 2 or more diverse stories to build up your author platform. This should be done within the first 12 months of your baby's release.
Note, I was a bit foolish when I first released *my* baby. I had no platform to speak of and have been playing catch up since then. I'm just now getting to the point where I will be releasing the "prequel" assist stories, and have only two diversification options. It's been ~8 months, so I'm two months behind releasing the follow-up "reward" stories to fans.
Oh, and if it's not clear, the prequel/diversification/reward stories should be cheaper than your baby.
So to summarize:
1 to 6 months before baby's release: Release 1-2 "draw-in" short stories that either lead in to the main story or relate to the setting itself. These draw in people to the story you want to tell.
At baby's release: release your baby
1 to 6 months after release: Release 1-2 "reward" stories for your fans (whether you have any fans or not).
Within 1st year: release 1-2 "diversification" stories that draw in people to *you* (as opposed to your baby).
Note: If you can keep the main releases of your baby going yearly, then I would continue to recommend following this type of model where the "reward" stories to the first book of your baby becomes the "draw-in" stories to the second book (although you should take the opportunity to maybe make other draw-ins that can be read independent of the series. If you can't maintain releases of your baby, then consider increasing the number of draw-ins, rewards and/or diversifications to make sure that your fans can continue to think of you and the story you want to tell until you are able to tell it.
Your non-baby entries should vary between short stories, novellettes and novellas. I recommend against novel-length books at least until you feel that your baby is well-established, and don't pass up the opportunity to release anthologies. Just make sure that you're providing a service to your fans and not scamming them. Make sure that people are aware of the prices.
I hope this helps! Thanks to WordWalker for the suggestion to make this its own thread. If anyone else has experience establishing themselves or a series or other advice / suggestions, then please feel free to share with us. Comments/Criticisms/Thoughts are welcome on my advice as well.
Gave some advice over in "Finding the 'One'" and it was brought up that this would make a good thread on its own. I've adjusted my original advice to make it more standalone.
To the advice!
So if there was one thing I would do differently over the course of the last year, it would be to manage the release dates of my first few stories much better. Here is what I wish I would have done back then.
First, we need to establish which story is going to be our "baby", another way of thinking of this is that it is the "sun" that everything else you do is going to revolve around and support. For me, this is the main series of War of the Ages, manifested presently in Book I – The Throne of Ao.
If you don't know how to pick your baby, then it's basically the dream story that you want to tell. It's the one that calls to you, that beckons to you, and it's the one that interferes with your everyday life. If you don't have one, then my advice probably won't be as applicable.
Now that we have the baby, table it.
You need to do some things:
(1) Provide some shelter for your baby. That is, create 1-2 prequels, shorts, day-in-the-life, novellas or whatever that are directly related to your baby. These should be created and scheduled for release 1-6 months before your baby.
(2) Decide what sort of story your baby is going to be. Is it a trilogy? Is it an ongoing series? Are there any unresolved plots? Are there things that can be tied to this baby for readers after they're done? (read: another short, not the sequel).
(3) Diversify. You do not want to be a one-trick pony. Chances are you have other stories you want to tell, and you want people to be able to come to you from different outlets. Create more shorts and novellas to market yourself to others.
Now, it's a question of release dates. How long will each take you and when should you release things? I recommend releasing at least one short/novella 1-6 months before your baby, with a follow-up short/novella released within 1-6 months after your baby. This makes your baby not just a standalone, but a living story with other materials associated with it. (Remember that these other stories, although they can involve main characters of your baby, should not be "required reading". They're more like bonuses to both draw in fans and to reward their loyalty).
After the release of your baby, I recommend 2 or more diverse stories to build up your author platform. This should be done within the first 12 months of your baby's release.
Note, I was a bit foolish when I first released *my* baby. I had no platform to speak of and have been playing catch up since then. I'm just now getting to the point where I will be releasing the "prequel" assist stories, and have only two diversification options. It's been ~8 months, so I'm two months behind releasing the follow-up "reward" stories to fans.
Oh, and if it's not clear, the prequel/diversification/reward stories should be cheaper than your baby.
So to summarize:
1 to 6 months before baby's release: Release 1-2 "draw-in" short stories that either lead in to the main story or relate to the setting itself. These draw in people to the story you want to tell.
At baby's release: release your baby
1 to 6 months after release: Release 1-2 "reward" stories for your fans (whether you have any fans or not).
Within 1st year: release 1-2 "diversification" stories that draw in people to *you* (as opposed to your baby).
Note: If you can keep the main releases of your baby going yearly, then I would continue to recommend following this type of model where the "reward" stories to the first book of your baby becomes the "draw-in" stories to the second book (although you should take the opportunity to maybe make other draw-ins that can be read independent of the series. If you can't maintain releases of your baby, then consider increasing the number of draw-ins, rewards and/or diversifications to make sure that your fans can continue to think of you and the story you want to tell until you are able to tell it.
Your non-baby entries should vary between short stories, novellettes and novellas. I recommend against novel-length books at least until you feel that your baby is well-established, and don't pass up the opportunity to release anthologies. Just make sure that you're providing a service to your fans and not scamming them. Make sure that people are aware of the prices.
I hope this helps! Thanks to WordWalker for the suggestion to make this its own thread. If anyone else has experience establishing themselves or a series or other advice / suggestions, then please feel free to share with us. Comments/Criticisms/Thoughts are welcome on my advice as well.
Myth Weaver
Acolyte
