Long-Term Publishing Schedule: Good Idea?

[Philip Overby]

So as most people know, Splatter Elf is my world I'm trying to dabble in and gather interest with fans of dark comedy, weird fiction, and fantasy. One thing I've enjoyed with self-publishing these tales is that it gives me a chance to do many things:

1. Figure out how to format e-books
2. Learn about Amazon's policies and promotions
3. See which social media works best for me connecting with like-minded readers and writers
4. Experiment with a fun world
5. Build up my tolerance for completing works

Since I've started publishing Splatter Elf stories, my confidence has grown and I've learned that there are some people that enjoy my style, so that's a definite plus. I also have learned how to complete stories, which is a huge boon towards translating that over to longer works in the future. Since I'm attempting one a month (the original plan was two), I've also developed a faster style of writing and editing with invaluable help from critique partners. I'm learning what works and doesn't work from reviews as well, which are also great for reference.

While I know things change often, my current plan has me publishing Splatter Elf titles up until March 2016. This doesn't include non-SE work that I also have planned. This basically means I'll be writing up a storm throughout the rest of this year in hopes of having some stories "on deck" when I'm ready to publish. I'll also be bundling the short stories I release later on as well.

I know some people like to take each work one at a time to see if it's successful or not. But what I'm trying to do is train myself to get better, faster, and learn how to use various tools to get my work in front of more people. Since the advise, "Write more books" is often used as the best form of promotion, I'm taking this same approach with my short stories. I'll also have the occasional SE novella thrown in and I'm going to experiment with Wattpad (Mark Lawrence recently started posted a serial there, which got me interested in using the platform) and my blog with sharing free serials.

Is it good for me to put all my ducks in a row like this and hope for the best or should I scale back and see where the SE stuff takes me? I feel in many ways that the SE work I'm doing are stories I have fun with and I hope that shows through the writing. Either way, I'll continue to write and share the stories, even if it's to a small segment of people. Since I'm attempting to go hybrid, I still have work I want to submit to publishers, so my short stories are in a way my constant stream. No matter what happens, I'll have them.

I also noticed that I had more interest in submitting some stories, which is something I hadn't been doing much. Self-pubbing helped me with that as well.

Thoughts on having a long-term publishing plan?

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

I think if Splatter Elf is working for you—it's fun, and you're producing and submitting more—whatever your plan is should probably be exclusively Splatter Elf for now.

I think you'll end up creating better stories faster if you stick to the SE universe, but then I'm not you, so I'm only going by the level of enthusiasm when you talk about Splatter Elf and the lack of elaboration when you refer to "non-SE work." Only you would know if I'm reading too much into that.

If my assessment isn't far off, I'd say enjoy the Splatter Elf ride while it's fun. If you find your fanbase keeps growing and readers keep coming back for more, then be The Splatter Elf Guy.

 

[Philip Overby]

I think if Splatter Elf is working for you—it's fun, and you're producing and submitting more—whatever your plan is should probably be exclusively Splatter Elf for now.

I think you'll end up creating better stories faster if you stick to the SE universe, but then I'm not you, so I'm only going by the level of enthusiasm when you talk about Splatter Elf and the lack of elaboration when you refer to "non-SE work." Only you would know if I'm reading too much into that.

If my assessment isn't far off, I'd say enjoy the Splatter Elf ride while it's fun. If you find your fanbase keeps growing and readers keep coming back for more, then be The Splatter Elf Guy.

Good points. I feel the same thing when I hear you talk about Barbarian Schoolgirls. It seems like a concept you're genuinely excited about, so I think writers in general get more mileage out of concepts they enjoy dabbling in.

I don't really elaborate on non-SE work, because I have a handful of things I'm hoping to submit to agents, but they're outside my usual wheelhouse. Meaning I don't have as much confidence in them yet since they're in genres I'm not completely sure will work for me. I'm willing to try though. I think SE for me doesn't feel like hard work like some of the more serious stuff I've tried to do. Therefore, they're much easier for me to complete because the stories are relatively straight-forward and simple plot-wise, yet I'm trying to balance that with memorable characters and weird concepts.

I wrote a story recently I'd consider "PG Splatter Elf," meaning it had a lot of similar things stylistically, but had less "over-the-topness" and less blood, guts, and mayhem. So I'm also learning how to hone my style outside of a niche, so I hope that helps me a lot in the long run as well.

 

[BWFoster78]

Phillip,

One of the best posts I've seen on MS ever. Love your thought process! (In that it mirrors mine )

One thing I've enjoyed with self-publishing these tales is that it gives me a chance to do many things:

1. Figure out how to format e-books
2. Learn about Amazon's policies and promotions
3. See which social media works best for me connecting with like-minded readers and writers
4. Experiment with a fun world
5. Build up my tolerance for completing works

I think this is such a solid idea. We can read all we want about how to do these things, but until we actually do them, what do we really know? Fantastic!

Since I've started publishing Splatter Elf stories, my confidence has grown and I've learned that there are some people that enjoy my style, so that's a definite plus. I also have learned how to complete stories, which is a huge boon towards translating that over to longer works in the future. Since I'm attempting one a month (the original plan was two), I've also developed a faster style of writing and editing with invaluable help from critique partners. I'm learning what works and doesn't work from reviews as well, which are also great for reference.

Yes. Love the attitude. Trying to learn all you can, especially the last sentence. The key to success is to figure out who your audience is, what they want, and where to find them. Learning from this feedback is a fantastic start.

While I know things change often, my current plan has me publishing Splatter Elf titles up until March 2016.

Wow, that's a long time in the indie publishing world.

Is it good for me to put all my ducks in a row like this and hope for the best or should I scale back and see where the SE stuff takes me?

I think you should continue to do what you're doing for now. One of two things is going to happen:

1. SE is going to gain an audience. At which point, you can decide:

a. It's worth it to continue to serve that audience.
b. It's been real, but it's time to move on to other projects.

2. SE is not going to gain an audience. At which point, you can decide:

a. You haven't learned all you need to from the project and keep the experiment running.
b. You've gotten all the usefulness you can from it and move on.

I think that, with the introduction of KU2, shorts aren't where the market is. Amazon basically said, "Customers want novels." KU1 propped up short stories. It seems like you've decided to enter a market just after the bubble burst.

In my view, you probably should pull the plug sooner rather than later but only after you've learned what you need.

Was that ambiguous enough?

Thanks.

Brian

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

I envy you. I only wish I had the consistency to stay in one genre let alone one world. Personally I had a slow start to the year. My first book out a couple of months ago was space opera. I've just published the Arcanist which is steampunk. And the next book off the press is an uban fantasy - the next wizard at law novella. After that who knows? There's no consistency what so ever.

I think you're right staying with one world for as long as you can. All the evidence suggests serials do better than singles, and swapping genres reduces crossover of readers as well.

Long may your elves keep splattering.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[Philip Overby]

As far as choosing shorts over novels, I realize that I'm not going to get rich doing that. That was never really my intention. However, I do see doing the shorts as a way to "test the waters" and see if this world necessitates a longer work like a novel. That's the ultimate goal, to do less shorts and transition over to novels down the line. However, I think building up a library of tales is my main focus at the moment. With each story I complete, I learn more about my style, how to write blurbs, categorizing my stories on Amazon, etc. It's kind of a trial by fire, which I know some people may be afraid to do. I used to feel that way, but recently I like to learn things more by doing them than reading about them and storing up knowledge for later.

Thanks for the feedback! I think sticking with this world for the long-term is going to help me out in many ways, but I have to put out of my mind that money=success. My first story wouldn't be considered a financial success, but it's taught me so much already, which I find to be really invaluable.

I think that, with the introduction of KU2, shorts aren't where the market is. Amazon basically said, "Customers want novels." KU1 propped up short stories. It seems like you've decided to enter a market just after the bubble burst.

In my view, you probably should pull the plug sooner rather than later but only after you've learned what you need.

In regards to KU, I haven't really figured that out yet. That's one goal down the line as well. I think once I transition over to novels, this will be a bigger option to consider. But while I'm doing shorts, it doesn't matter too much. I think I'll probably continue doing SE tales even after I've learned what I want, but I'll certainly be focusing more on bigger projects and non-SE work as well (I've got an urban fantasy and a thriller I have brewing). This was always the goal, but doing the shorts is a way not only to learn by doing, but also to gauge any interest and to finer tune my style.