What’s next?
I finished the major edit pass on Devil’s Business last night, and turned it in to my editor, so now there’s only one Insurmountable Project between me and drafting my next novel.
Next Novel is Iron Codex III, and after that, I owe a 5th Black London book to my publisher.
Now, I’ve been planning and prodding and writing a synopsis on a new adult novel for about four months, and I’m going to try to have a proposal for that turned in to my Lovely Agent by the end of April (I hope.)
Some writers go their entire career writing only one or two series (Jim Butcher and Laurell K. Hamilton are prime examples of that, each with only two series to their name.)(Okay, LKH did write that one epic fantasy novel aeons ago, but she’s known for her urban fantasy.)
Some writers write dozens of novels, standalone or series, across different worlds, and are equally successful.
Conventional wisdom tells newbie authors to stick with one “world” for a time (at least in genre fiction-contemporary and literary is another story) to build their “author brand”.
I decided pretty much from the get-go a) I wanted my “brand” to be my name, rather than a particular series of books (as in a “Caitlin Kittredge book” rather than a “Black London book”-still branding) and b) that I have the attention span of a six year old hopped up on pixy stix and coke. (The drink, not the drug, although I probably do have a cokehead attention span, when it comes down to it.)
Also, the hard fact is, I don’t yet have the sales numbers of LKH, or Stephenie Meyer, or other genre bestsellers. So in a way, I’m free. I can go on and do other stuff, and nobody at my publisher’s is going to scream.
On the other hand, I do have to keep pulling better rabbits out of my hat if I want to stay viable in the changing market, and keep being a full-time writer.
It’s rather like gambling-you can hedge your bets, play the odds, and do the math, but anomalies are always going to crop up, aka “luck”. Nobody can predict futures of any industry with 100% accuracy, and that goes double for entertainment, because it’s predicated on audience choice and audiences are fickle and sometimes appear to be completely insane. (I mean, they made a Yogi Bear movie, fer Steve’s sake.)
So yes, I’m developing a new adult series, and yes, I’m working on other YA projects besides the Iron Codex series (even though the response has been overwhelming, compared to any other book I’ve published.)
This isn’t a plea for more readers or sales. It’s just me thinking out loud, doing a little speculating about my speculative fiction.
And to close out, here’s some links:
- The Arlington, TX public library is giving away a copy of The Iron Thorn this week.
- Ellz Readz reviews The Iron Thorn.
- The Chapters/Indigo Teen Blog gives a glowing review to The Iron Thorn, which I am tickled pink over. (The book is also now available in Canada, woot!)
Originally published at Caitlin Kittredge.com