If you’re going to be an independent writer outside of the big five traditional publishing houses, you have to wear many hats, not just your authorial one. Yes, this means marketing and promotion and handling artwork and all of that. If this isn’t for you, then keep sending query letters to agents, I guess.

Anyway, one question that I grappled with early on when starting this crazy adventure was whether to publish as soon as books are written and edited and polished and so on, or wait until multiple books were already written, series or not, and carpet bomb the world with them.

Many intelligent and successful writers recommended the second path to me: build up a backlog of ready-to-publish novels and then blitz the reading public. I, however, did not. There are a few reasons for this:

I’m impatient. I get very excited about what I’m working on at the time, and then when it’s done, I move on to the next thing and get very excited about that. Therefore, I like to finish one project conclusively before starting another.I can’t multitask. I tried writing two books at the same time in 2020. My goal was to publish them both by summer. That turned into publishing both in the calendar year 2020. It ended up being publishing one right after Thanksgiving and the other right before New Year’s to say that I technically accomplished my goal. I don’t think I’ll ever write two books at the same time again.It’s psychological. Publishing my first book in 2018 was huge. It elevated me from that mental “wannabe/aspiring writer” label way too many of us attach to ourselves and made it feel “official.” The next three books came a lot easier.It’s motivating. I don’t think I’d have as much drive to write and publish if I didn’t have an incomplete series out there. While I had it outlined and I knew how I wanted the entire series to go and, more importantly, to end, I knew if I tried writing all three before publishing I’d let perfectionism be my enemy. Instead, getting book one out there and–shocker!–having fans keep asking me when book two would be out really made me want to keep writing even more.

As writers, we make promises to our readers. If you want to keep being a writer that people want to read, you must keep those promises. I find that publishing as I go helps me keep that fire alive. As always, though, do what works for you. For example, maybe you have a lot more time for writing than I do and you can crank out two, three, or more books in a matter of months. If so, go for it. Don’t let some guy on the intent stop you.

“What if I die before finishing my books?”

I don’t know! I can’t see into the future. Eat healthy and exercise, I guess. And don’t be lazy (you know the writer I’m writing about; for real, I’ve never seen a writer who hates writing as much as that guy. And no, this isn’t an oblique reference to Robert Jordan. He had everything ready to go and wrote like a madman at an impressive pace until he was slowed and ultimately taken by a rare illness. Jordan is a personal inspiration to me).

And if you do die before finishing your books? Join the club. Everybody dies before they tell every story that is their soul.

The fruits of my labors: buy them here!