That's right, I have a plan that involves writing 4 books and publishing 6 in the next 12 months!
The key component to this plan is to not have children. I can not stress that enough. The next is to fly blindly into a panic that over achievers know all too well, that close enough is not remotely good enough. The last part of my plan is fairly straight forward: write in the mornings, edit in the afternoons.
As some of you know, I'm throwing in the towel at my day job and doing what everyone agrees is a universally bad idea: quitting before I have a steady income from writing. But that's a problem for future me. I'll be a free man on 1st September 2016 and there is a good chance that I'll be looking for work again on 1st September 2017. Until then I have three things to do: write as much as possible, publish as much as possible, and promote myself as much as possible.
I know it's crass talking about promoting yourself, but I'd rather write books for a living than work for someone who thinks that listening to teeny-bopping commercial radio is an enjoyable way to kill 8 hours of the day.
So, what's the plan?
I have a Napoleon-era fantasy series that will see its first words mashed blurrily onto the keyboard at 10am(ish) on 1 September. It has something to do with two soldiers finding a near-dead woman in the desert and a bunch of thieves only a mile away who are trying to kill her. My optimistic schedule of finishing the first draft of 150,000 words in two months leaves me with juuuust enough time to take a Sunday off every now and then before the second book begins at 10am(ish) on 1 November. It might begin with two soldiers finding near-dead thieves in the desert and a woman only a mile away who is trying to kill them. Maybe. Not sure. There are 4 books in the series and I am determined to not George RR Martin it up to 8 books in total with each standing at 350,000 words. To complete this epic haul in a year is no mean feat, considering that I'm supposed to stop writing each book at 2pm(ish) every day.
What happens then? A whole lotta editing on something that doesn't involve a Napoleonic fantasy series. I have anywhere from 4 to 6 books planned for a 2017 release. Thankfully I've already written them. They just need some editing before they ever see the light of day.
First up is a horror story in a hellish cemetery where a demon convinces a young man that everyone buried there is still alive and that he needs to dig them up. If he doesn't play along the demon will kill him. If he does play along all of the 5,000 'dead' people will kill him.
After that is a post-apocalyptic story from the Amazon. A lone tribesman heads into civilisation to find help for his people. The problem is, civilisation died out around the world twenty years ago and his people might actually be the last humans on Earth.
There's also the final instalment to the Kingston Raine saga, the one where Kingston tries to hide Satan's son. You'd think that would be nearly impossible, what with all of the seers, psychics, and mystics Satan has at his disposal. Kingston thinks so too.
Then there's a smattering of other stories. Maybe one about an actually scary vampire that doesn't sparkle in the daylight or taunts you with his sexiness, but rather one who has zero consideration for your feelings about his dietary needs because if it doesn't kill someone every day then it dies of ravenous starvation. And speaking on behalf of everyone who feels murderously hungry if they haven't eaten something in a couple of hours, starvation is one hell of a motivator when it comes to ruining someone's day.
So, I have to do all of that. Plus edit the fantasy series from a few paragraphs above so that it can be published in 2018. In a year. It basically comes down to: Monday to Saturday – write 3,000 words a day and edit 5,000 words of something else. On top of that: publish, promote, and find a way of still having a life.
Wish me luck.
(On a completely unrelated topic, I bet you're the type of person who likes reading books that have a 4.8 rating and that are receiving mind-blowing reviews. Do you want two of them for absolutely free? Then click the button below.)
The key component to this plan is to not have children. I can not stress that enough. The next is to fly blindly into a panic that over achievers know all too well, that close enough is not remotely good enough. The last part of my plan is fairly straight forward: write in the mornings, edit in the afternoons.
As some of you know, I'm throwing in the towel at my day job and doing what everyone agrees is a universally bad idea: quitting before I have a steady income from writing. But that's a problem for future me. I'll be a free man on 1st September 2016 and there is a good chance that I'll be looking for work again on 1st September 2017. Until then I have three things to do: write as much as possible, publish as much as possible, and promote myself as much as possible.
I know it's crass talking about promoting yourself, but I'd rather write books for a living than work for someone who thinks that listening to teeny-bopping commercial radio is an enjoyable way to kill 8 hours of the day.
So, what's the plan?
I have a Napoleon-era fantasy series that will see its first words mashed blurrily onto the keyboard at 10am(ish) on 1 September. It has something to do with two soldiers finding a near-dead woman in the desert and a bunch of thieves only a mile away who are trying to kill her. My optimistic schedule of finishing the first draft of 150,000 words in two months leaves me with juuuust enough time to take a Sunday off every now and then before the second book begins at 10am(ish) on 1 November. It might begin with two soldiers finding near-dead thieves in the desert and a woman only a mile away who is trying to kill them. Maybe. Not sure. There are 4 books in the series and I am determined to not George RR Martin it up to 8 books in total with each standing at 350,000 words. To complete this epic haul in a year is no mean feat, considering that I'm supposed to stop writing each book at 2pm(ish) every day.
What happens then? A whole lotta editing on something that doesn't involve a Napoleonic fantasy series. I have anywhere from 4 to 6 books planned for a 2017 release. Thankfully I've already written them. They just need some editing before they ever see the light of day.
First up is a horror story in a hellish cemetery where a demon convinces a young man that everyone buried there is still alive and that he needs to dig them up. If he doesn't play along the demon will kill him. If he does play along all of the 5,000 'dead' people will kill him.
After that is a post-apocalyptic story from the Amazon. A lone tribesman heads into civilisation to find help for his people. The problem is, civilisation died out around the world twenty years ago and his people might actually be the last humans on Earth.
There's also the final instalment to the Kingston Raine saga, the one where Kingston tries to hide Satan's son. You'd think that would be nearly impossible, what with all of the seers, psychics, and mystics Satan has at his disposal. Kingston thinks so too.
Then there's a smattering of other stories. Maybe one about an actually scary vampire that doesn't sparkle in the daylight or taunts you with his sexiness, but rather one who has zero consideration for your feelings about his dietary needs because if it doesn't kill someone every day then it dies of ravenous starvation. And speaking on behalf of everyone who feels murderously hungry if they haven't eaten something in a couple of hours, starvation is one hell of a motivator when it comes to ruining someone's day.
So, I have to do all of that. Plus edit the fantasy series from a few paragraphs above so that it can be published in 2018. In a year. It basically comes down to: Monday to Saturday – write 3,000 words a day and edit 5,000 words of something else. On top of that: publish, promote, and find a way of still having a life.
Wish me luck.
(On a completely unrelated topic, I bet you're the type of person who likes reading books that have a 4.8 rating and that are receiving mind-blowing reviews. Do you want two of them for absolutely free? Then click the button below.)
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