I recently read a post over on Brandon Sanderson’s blog where he did an exhaustive recap on his writing and update on all of his WIPs, and called it State of the Sanderson. Since it’s the end of the year and I’m already looking back in order to make some new resolutions for 2016, it seems like a good opportunity to do something similar myself.
In 2015, I managed to publish five books, including two novels, a novelette, and two short stories:
In addition, I wrote a number of short stories that are currently on submission to the major markets, and will probably be published (by myself or in the magazines) sometime in 2016. These include:
- Killing Mr. Wilson — Time Travel (950 words)
- My Name Is For My Friends — Sword & Sorcery (2,000 words)
- Utahraptors at Dawn — Cyberpunk (1,950 words)
- Welcome to Condescension — Sci-fi Humor (750 words)
- A Less Than Perfect Game — Sword & Sorcery (1,250 words)
- Elusive Eden — LDS Science Fiction (2,200 words)
- The Janus Anomaly — Space Opera (4,400 words)
All of these stories will get out eventually, though it may take a while. I’m putting them on submission to the short story magazines and anthologies that pay at least semi-professional rates, since none of them buy exclusive rights to the stories. Why rush to self-publish if I can get paid twice?
In a lot of ways, it was a pretty decent year. In other ways, I wish it had been more productive. I didn’t publish anything for the first six months, except for A Hill on Which to Die, which I later unpublished in order to take it out of Kindle Unlimited (the first and probably last time I will ever experiment with exclusivity). I made up for it later, but still.
Next year is going to be a lot more productive, I hope. I started a lot more projects this year than I finished, so in 2016 I plan to refocus on the writing and substantially increase my output.
As for writing projects, here is what I’m working on:
Major Projects
Sons of the Starfarers
There are five more books before this series is complete, and while I know more or less how the series is going to end, I’m still in the process of writing it. However, I’m making good enough progress to publish at least two more books in the series this year, possibly three or four.
Captives in Obscurity (Book V) is already written and ready to send off to the editor. Trouble is, cash is kind of tight right now and I probably won’t be able to send it off until after I’ve filed my taxes, which I hope to do early February (I always try to get a jump on tax season each year). For now, that means I’m looking for a launch in May.
Patriots in Retreat (Book VI) is my current WIP, and I hope to have the first draft finished before the end of January. A lot of stuff happens in this book—it’s kind of like the Empire Strikes Back episode, where crap hits the fan and things get real. Then again, Friends in Command (Book IV) was kind of like that too, and Captives in Obscurity has some really crazy developments… point is, I think you guys are going to like these books.
Haven’t outlined any of the other books in the series yet, but I’m a pantser so that’s normal. I do have a climactic ending that I’m working toward, which will tie in this series with all of my other books in the same universe. It’s going to be great to see it all come together, and I expect it will over the course of the next year!
STATUS: Book VI currently in progress.
Gunslinger to the Stars
I started this book in earnest a few months ago, then hit chapter 2 and realized I had a beginning and an end but no idea what to put in the middle. So I put the project on the back burner, letting the ideas percolate until I’m ready to pick it up again and go full throttle. With luck, that will happen very soon.
This is a really awesome project, and one of the ones I’m most excited about. I’ll post a few excerpts in the next few weeks to give you guys a taste, and I think you’re really going to like it!
STATUS: On the back burner, will resume again soon.
Queen of the Falconstar
A few of the readers who enjoyed my Star Wanderers books have mentioned that they wish Jeremiah, Noemi, and Mariya had ended up in a polygamous relationship. While I don’t think that would have worked for that particular story, in Queen of the Falconstar, it’s a major plot point. In addition, the book is an origin story for the Hameji, which should be a lot of fun for readers of my other books as well.
I’ve been working on this project off and on for the last year or so, and while I have a pretty good handle on the main storyline, I’m still a little iffy about how to proceed. It may have some promise as a hybrid between Space Opera and Sword and Planet (sword and starship? Is that even a thing?). The Princess of Mars books are on my reading list, so I’ll probably revisit this project after reading through some of those.
STATUS: On the back burner.
The Sword Keeper
I really need to finish this book. It’s already more than half written, and has some really fantastic potential. For the last three years, I’ve been working on it off and on, but 2016 will definitely be the year that I finish it (though it might still be a while before it’s published).
STATUS: On the back burner.
Secondary Projects
Starship Lachoneus
In spite of finishing the prologue and publishing it as “Worlds Without Number” under my J.M. Wight pen name, I haven’t yet made a serious attempt to write this book. The main reason is that it’s a passion project that I don’t expect to pay off very well or earn me much prestige. Still, when my career is at a point where I can afford more time for a passion project, I will probably pick it up.
STATUS: On the back burner.
The Genesis Earth Trilogy
Genesis Earth is a standalone book, but I realized soon after finishing it that I could easily turn it into a trilogy. Back in 2011, I even started writing the second book: Edenfall. But one thing led to another, and it got put on hold in favor of Star Wanderers.
The trilogy is still on hold, but if there is enough interest, I could certainly resume work on it. I made Genesis Earth free for the month of December, and it’s had a much stronger free run than I’d anticipated (especially with almost no advertising). Depending on the feedback I get from readers, I’ll finish this project sooner or later.
STATUS: On hold, may resume soon.
Mercenary Savior
This is a prequel to Bringing Stella Home that I’ve had kicking around in my head for the last two years. The interest in Heart of the Nebula has been surprisingly steady, even more than a month after publication. If either of those books starts to break out, then I will definitely pick up this project. Otherwise, I can’t justify making it a priority.
STATUS: On hold.
Empress of the Free Stars
Empress of the Free Stars is a sequel to Stars of Blood and Glory that I started back in 2013 but never got further than the prologue. Again, unless my Gaia Nova books start to break out, I can’t justify prioritizing this over my other WIPs.
STATUS: On hold.
Children of the Starry Sea
This one is a novelized sequel to Star Wanderers, with all of the major characters from that series. I know there’s some interest in this one, but for now I think my time would better be spent launching new series rather than returning to old ones. But in 2016, that may well change.
STATUS: On hold.
Lifewalker
This is a standalone I started back in 2013, and I even got several chapters into it before I put it on the back burner. Haven’t touched it since, so right now it’s really more on hold, but my Dad keeps bugging me to finish it (he read the first chapter and really liked it). So yeah. Someday.
I will say this, though: if the short story that’s derived from this book gets picked up by one of the magazines, I will definitely move it up in the writing queue.
STATUS: On hold.
A Brotherhood of Swords
This book is supposed to be a Sword & Sorcery prequel to The Sword Keeper, but since I already have plans for that book, this one is on hold. I did get a really good short story out of it, though.
STATUS: On hold.
That pretty much does it. This next year is going to be super, super busy, and hopefully productive as well. My goal for 2016 is to get back in the saddle, writing full-time again as soon as I can. There are other resolutions I plan to make as well, but those can wait until Thursday.
Dang, that’s an impressive list!! I wish mine were as ambitious, but I will be happy to edit my first novel and write the other two in the series in 2016. The first novel in my trilogy will hit the editing phase by the years end, by hook or by crook!! How do you manage and organize so many WIP’s? Heck, that’s a post by itself for any aspiring writers in your fandom! 🙂
When I finished my first novel back in 2008, this would have seemed like a pretty huge list to me too, so don’t worry—you’re in good company!
As for organizing them, heck if I know. Most of these projects aren’t currently any longer than two or three chapters. I’m a lot better at starting projects than seeing them through to completion. Organizing and finishing most of them is worthy of a new year’s resolution!
If you figure any of it out, write a blog post yo! LOL!!! Luckily my mom is my first line editor and Alpha Reader, since she just retired as an office manager, and she has some ideas to organize my many works… though I might regret it with her drill sergeant approach!! LOL!!
Quick Question: Why don’t you do the Amazon Kindle Unlimited? I’m hearing good things about it from Terry Mixon, another author whom I respect.
In a word: exclusivity.
I would love to enroll all of my books in Kindle Unlimited, but currently Amazon requires you to agree to a rolling 90-day exclusivity requirement in order to participate in the program. That means that your KU books cannot appear on any other store outside of Amazon. I don’t want to limit my readers’ choices like that, and believe that exclusivity is a bad deal for them and for me. Otherwise, I would almost certainly enroll my books in KU.
Doesn’t the exclusivity provided to the KU program mean a significant monetary return for you? Doesn’t the monetary return mean you can afford to keep writing, and so serve it’s own purpose? How much are you really selling thro non-Amazon sources? The numbers I’m hearing are slim to none from alternative vendors.
Not necessarily. For December 2015, iBooks alone is earning me about 85% of what I’m making on Amazon. There are different tricks to succeeding on the other platforms, as well as an element of luck. KU is not a magic bullet.