Publish fast or slow?

JLorenz · 07-27-2011, 08:15 AM

I'm working on publishing my late father's writings as eBooks. You can read more about it in my thread in the Author Self-Promotions forum.

I have 8 volumes to publish although I still have to go through them all to edit and format. I've read that one of the best ways to promote is to have multiple books that link to each other.

Would it be better to just put them all out as soon as possible or take my time and release them one at a time and let each book build interest? I'm kinda thinking every other month at this point but I don't know.

OneandonlyDoc · 07-27-2011, 09:06 AM

If your workload on other things could handle it, I'd consider doing it every 4-6 weeks or so, but it depends on what genre the writings are, I think.

HighRoadToTibet · 07-27-2011, 11:24 AM

Sounds like you've already got a good body of work to publish so you're lucky. I'd pay them the respect they no doubt deserve. Take your time and release them when each one is good and ready. Have them professionally edited and proofread and put a good cover on each of them. It should be a lasting monument to your father.
John

JLorenz · 07-27-2011, 01:58 PM

I definitely don't plan on releasing a book before it's ready. It took me a while to get Volume One ready to go but I learned a lot in the process. I just don't know if I should continue with my promotional efforts on the first book or should I work more towards getting them all out.
I guess it's really a combination of the two.

JLorenz · 07-28-2011, 09:53 AM

BTW - anyone looking to have a cover created should check out freelancer.com. I found a woman in Serbia who did the cover of my father's first book and I thought she did an amazing job at an even more amazing price. She took my basic concept and really added an artistic touch to it.

DArenson · 07-28-2011, 08:00 PM

Release them when you're ready. Don't rush through the editing and formatting. Once they look good, I'd just publish em.

VydorScope · 07-28-2011, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DArenson

Release them when you're ready. Don't rush through the editing and formatting. Once they look good, I'd just publish em.

I agree.

JLorenz · 07-29-2011, 11:05 AM

Thanks guys.

I guess usually the obvious makes the most sense.

Steven Lake · 08-05-2011, 11:18 AM

Well, I ran on a 6 month publishing timeframe, but that's only because I had the books done ahead of time. Anything faster and I wouldn't have meet my deadlines because I couldn't have gotten the books out in time at the level of quality I require. I do however have another one that's coming out in the near future that'll have all 4 books in the series completed ahead of time (I'm done with 1-3, so I just need to complete 4 and I'm done) so I can easily go with a shorter publishing timeframe, assuming the publisher will agree to it.

Oddly though, I don't think the publisher will agree. The reason for me thinking this is due to my experience so far with publishing. Despite how fast your publisher can put out your book, you still have to deal with the book distribution bureaucracy, and that's unbelievably slow. At this point a 6 month publishing cycle is pretty much as fast as you can push it, and even that's somewhat on the "too fast" side of things. I say this because I've already got books 4 and 5 of my Earthfleet saga completed and "published", yet book 3 hasn't even made it into circulation yet. So don't be trying to publish too fast, as your book needs time to work its way through the system and into the wild.

jaxx6166 · 08-05-2011, 10:56 PM

I've often heard some of my friendly neighborhood NYT Bestsellers saying your backlist is your second best friend.

It can also be said of alternative press writers like Dan, Dave Dalglish, Scott Nicholson, Amanda Hocking, et al.

Lazybones · 08-07-2011, 07:32 PM

I don't think staggering releases has any significance in self-publishing, just get your work out there. If you have an agent or have other marketing options that are very time-intensive, then perhaps it might make sense to space them out.

Tome Keeper · 08-07-2011, 08:06 PM

I would stagger them and then you can target your publicity better.

Spacejock · 08-08-2011, 04:37 AM

If you stagger them you can build momentum, and each new title will help sell the previous ones.

Definitely take your time with each. You only get one shot at making a splash and earning good reviews, and if you upload a new improved version later on you won' t be able to undo any earlier comments from readers.

JLorenz · 08-08-2011, 07:48 AM

Thanks for the continued advice!
I think with the 8 volumes, I'll be able to stagger the releases and always have plenty of work to do. I don't think I'll push out one until I've exhausted most of the avenues to promote the previous one.
Especially since I'm having fun doing it. There's no rush to make it a chore.

alehel · 08-08-2011, 08:17 AM

First off, I have no experience with publishing books, so keep that in mind. This is just personal opinion. I would probably, if you have the funding to do so, edit and prepare all 8 books before releasing any, but then publish them with maybe a month between each book. You will no doubt learn even more as you continue to edit the other books and you might discover things that you wish you did with the previous ones.

Also, it might be a good idea to use the same artist for all the covers if this is a series. It might be easier to get covers that look consistent by doing that. Also, if you have good experience with her already, why risk using someone else?

07-27-2011, 08:15 AM	#1
JLorenz Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Maspeth, NY Device: Thunderbolt	Publish fast or slow? I'm working on publishing my late father's writings as eBooks. You can read more about it in my thread in the Author Self-Promotions forum. I have 8 volumes to publish although I still have to go through them all to edit and format. I've read that one of the best ways to promote is to have multiple books that link to each other. Would it be better to just put them all out as soon as possible or take my time and release them one at a time and let each book build interest? I'm kinda thinking every other month at this point but I don't know.

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07-27-2011, 09:06 AM	#2
OneandonlyDoc Fearless Writer Posts: 210 Karma: 375317 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: In a mitten! Device: Kobo Wifi	If your workload on other things could handle it, I'd consider doing it every 4-6 weeks or so, but it depends on what genre the writings are, I think.

07-27-2011, 11:24 AM	#3
HighRoadToTibet John Dwyer Posts: 23 Karma: 591706 Join Date: May 2011 Location: Ireland Device: Kindle	Sounds like you've already got a good body of work to publish so you're lucky. I'd pay them the respect they no doubt deserve. Take your time and release them when each one is good and ready. Have them professionally edited and proofread and put a good cover on each of them. It should be a lasting monument to your father. John

07-27-2011, 01:58 PM	#4
JLorenz Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Maspeth, NY Device: Thunderbolt	I definitely don't plan on releasing a book before it's ready. It took me a while to get Volume One ready to go but I learned a lot in the process. I just don't know if I should continue with my promotional efforts on the first book or should I work more towards getting them all out. I guess it's really a combination of the two.

07-28-2011, 09:53 AM	#5
JLorenz Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Maspeth, NY Device: Thunderbolt	BTW - anyone looking to have a cover created should check out freelancer.com. I found a woman in Serbia who did the cover of my father's first book and I thought she did an amazing job at an even more amazing price. She took my basic concept and really added an artistic touch to it.

07-28-2011, 08:00 PM	#6
DArenson ebookworm Posts: 268 Karma: 100026 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Canada Device: Kobo, Kindle	Release them when you're ready. Don't rush through the editing and formatting. Once they look good, I'd just publish em.

07-29-2011, 11:05 AM	#8
JLorenz Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Maspeth, NY Device: Thunderbolt	Thanks guys. I guess usually the obvious makes the most sense.

08-05-2011, 11:18 AM	#9
Steven Lake Sci-Fi Author Posts: 1,157 Karma: 14743509 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Michigan Device: PC (Calibre)	Well, I ran on a 6 month publishing timeframe, but that's only because I had the books done ahead of time. Anything faster and I wouldn't have meet my deadlines because I couldn't have gotten the books out in time at the level of quality I require. I do however have another one that's coming out in the near future that'll have all 4 books in the series completed ahead of time (I'm done with 1-3, so I just need to complete 4 and I'm done) so I can easily go with a shorter publishing timeframe, assuming the publisher will agree to it. Oddly though, I don't think the publisher will agree. The reason for me thinking this is due to my experience so far with publishing. Despite how fast your publisher can put out your book, you still have to deal with the book distribution bureaucracy, and that's unbelievably slow. At this point a 6 month publishing cycle is pretty much as fast as you can push it, and even that's somewhat on the "too fast" side of things. I say this because I've already got books 4 and 5 of my Earthfleet saga completed and "published", yet book 3 hasn't even made it into circulation yet. So don't be trying to publish too fast, as your book needs time to work its way through the system and into the wild.

08-05-2011, 10:56 PM	#10
jaxx6166 Wizard Posts: 1,222 Karma: 769316 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Eternal summer Device: 350, iPad, PW	I've often heard some of my friendly neighborhood NYT Bestsellers saying your backlist is your second best friend. It can also be said of alternative press writers like Dan, Dave Dalglish, Scott Nicholson, Amanda Hocking, et al.

08-07-2011, 07:32 PM	#11
Lazybones Groupie Posts: 162 Karma: 1719250 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Sacramento Device: Kindle	I don't think staggering releases has any significance in self-publishing, just get your work out there. If you have an agent or have other marketing options that are very time-intensive, then perhaps it might make sense to space them out.

08-07-2011, 08:06 PM	#12
Tome Keeper Addict Posts: 355 Karma: 1001201 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle 3 Keyboard, Surface Tablet, Android Smartphone, Laptop, Netbook	I would stagger them and then you can target your publicity better.

08-08-2011, 04:37 AM	#13
Spacejock Hal Spacejock & yWriter Posts: 125 Karma: 1100412 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Perth, Western Australia Device: Kindle	If you stagger them you can build momentum, and each new title will help sell the previous ones. Definitely take your time with each. You only get one shot at making a splash and earning good reviews, and if you upload a new improved version later on you won' t be able to undo any earlier comments from readers.

08-08-2011, 07:48 AM	#14
JLorenz Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Maspeth, NY Device: Thunderbolt	Thanks for the continued advice! I think with the 8 volumes, I'll be able to stagger the releases and always have plenty of work to do. I don't think I'll push out one until I've exhausted most of the avenues to promote the previous one. Especially since I'm having fun doing it. There's no rush to make it a chore.

08-08-2011, 08:17 AM	#15
alehel Zealot Posts: 112 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Norway Device: Kobo Clara HD	First off, I have no experience with publishing books, so keep that in mind. This is just personal opinion. I would probably, if you have the funding to do so, edit and prepare all 8 books before releasing any, but then publish them with maybe a month between each book. You will no doubt learn even more as you continue to edit the other books and you might discover things that you wish you did with the previous ones. Also, it might be a good idea to use the same artist for all the covers if this is a series. It might be easier to get covers that look consistent by doing that. Also, if you have good experience with her already, why risk using someone else?