I have been plugging away at the second novel in the Choices
and Chances series I started a few months ago, and I’m almost finished!
My dilemma
Now, I have a decision to make. Although the novels are tied
together by characters, time, and basic themes, each one is written as a
complete story. You don’t have to read the next one in order to find out of
John gets back together with Mary.
So here is my author quandry: should I go ahead and publish
them one at a time as I am ready, or wait until I have written the third one
and publish them all together? Will my readers get frustrated at having to wait
a while before getting the next book in the series?
I keep going over the pros and cons of each option, but I
can’t yet seem to settle at an answer. I think I am leaning more toward
waiting. I’m used to buying or borrowing “older” books. I prefer that to
reading books, because when I start a series, I like to continue right on with
the rest of it. I don’t like trying to have to hold a group of characters and a
story in my head for weeks or months at a time.
So I think I’ve answered my own dilemma. ;)
The third book…already partly finished?
A while back I wrote that I was no longer going to plan out a novel before writing it. In that vein, I wasn’t sure how I was going to theme
the third novel in the series. All I knew was that it was going to revolve
around some area of unconventional living.
Recently, I decided that the third book would illustrate a
super-simple lifestyle. And guess what? Remember that book I wrote last fall
that I didn’t like and wouldn’t publish after I’d finished it? It illustrates a
super-simple lifestyle! I think I will be able to use large parts of that novel
to complete the third novel in the Choices and Chances series. Whew! But
whether I do or not, you should see the publication of the first and second
books sometime between mid-April and mid-May.
In the meantime…
Happy reading,
Emily Josephine
