My first published story, A Touch of Heaven, was released in 2005. My second, a short story for Whiskey Creek Press Torrid, was released in 2007. My third, Destined Hearts, in 2008. Three years and I have 3 stories to show for it. I guess some could say I don’t have what it takes to make it, but I would have to disagree.
I love books. I love to read and I read a lot. Traditional books as well as eBooks. One thing I’ve noticed about eBooks and the authors who write them is the frequency in which they release them. I’ve seen authors with new releases every other month, some even every month. My hats off to those select few for doing something I cannot.
I’ve had stories that take me an entire month just to plot out. Others take months just to organize my thoughts. I often wonder how writers produce a well thought out manuscript in such a short period of time. I’ve always said, “I’m a slow writer.” But I have to wonder if its not so much as I’m slow as others are just fast.
I spent 5 months editing Destined Hearts. Not to mention the years it took to write it. I would get hung-up along the way and put it aside. It actually took me from the first word to the last, 5 years to write. If I broke that down into actual writing time, I’d be safe to say it actually took closer to 6 months. So a good FULL year to write and complete a full novel.
I’m in the process of writing a new story. The release slots get snatched up so fast at Alinar you have to plan ahead. I’ve already taken a date, August in case you’re wondering, but I’m not really sure I’ll be able to make it. I have 5 months to write a complete novel and edit it. To some, I’m sure they could write several in that time frame, but not me. I’ll be lucky to get my first draft done in that time.
I know in the eBook world getting your name out there is key, but I have to wonder if in doing that, authors are really growing as writers. Anyone can slap words on a page and call it a story. Even I can do that, but does it mean it’s a GOOD story?
The majority of problems I find with eBooks are they aren’t as well written as traditional books. Not every eBook, mind you, but the ones I’ve purchased left much to be desired. I actually have 3 that I never even finished reading. The plots were so rushed they were unbelievable. Your hero and heroine can’t meet and the next day be madly in love. It just doesn’t happen like that in the real world, so why would I want it to happen in a fantasy world. Books filled with so much sex it reads like a “How To” guide turns me off a story too. I like sex in my books as much as the next person, but after reading 20 pages of JUST sex, I get bored.
I love a good story but I want it to BE a good story as well. Books that are thrown together on a whim just to sell copies or get your name out there only hurts the writer in the long run. They get sloppy, don’t see the bigger picture, and let their readers down.
I guess one could say an author who produces 20 books a year is a better writer than one who only produces 1 or 2 a year, but I’d have to disagree. I would much rather someone take the time to delve into a character, and take the time telling their story, than fly through it to get to the sequel. It’s okay to slow down and enjoy the process. There are no mad dashes to the finish line. It’s all about the story and giving your readers the best you can is far better than rushing through it and losing the most important parts. Writing a damned good book!
You have to write at your own pace, every writer does better with that. I used to write faster, lol. Some of the books I have out now were written 5-years ago. I’m talking 400-300 page novels, but for the last couple of years, Ive written short stories only, Novellas, and only producing about 2-3 a year, not good for me, production wise, because it used to be I could write much faster, I needed to. It’s possibly a matter of slowing down because of all the extra work in co-publishing, but its more that my novellas do better in e books than long ones. But you know, if you factor in research for something like ETYGA, I was 3 years writing that book. (shrug) someone wise said a story is as long as it should be, and takes as long as it needs to, from start to the end. What matters is that you feel you’ve done your best job.
Good luck with work and all, take care. Eve~Gayle
Not everyone rushes when writing. Some people can just write faster than others. I don’t rush my stories, but I can’t help the pace I write them at. I’m just a fast writer. Some people are just slow writers. It’s all a matter of how quickly you can type and how much time you get to do it in. I’ve always written fast and I don’t think my stories suffer because of it. I can write around 2000 words in an hour on a good day. I don’t rush to write them, it’s just the number that comes out of me.
Some ebooks are obviously rushed though, but then a lot of print books I’ve read I could say the same thing about. There’s a definite push to keep your name out there in order to keep generating sales and getting a reputation for yourself. I think a lot of the quality issues come from poor editing rather than fast writing. If the editing process is approached at a normal, slow speed, then there shouldn’t be a problem with the quality as it should all get picked up. The problem comes when publishers just read it and think it’ll do and they don’t need to edit it anymore, and they put it out there because they’re desperate to make money.
Also, some writers just aren’t good writers and it’s probably that you’re seeing rather than fast writing and editing. A lot of publishers are happy to put things out they think will make them a few bucks, regardless of how good they really are.
Felicity