Kindle Forum banner

Writing two or more books at the same time?

2K views 22 replies 22 participants last post by  Kelaren 
#1 ·
What is your personal modus operandi when it comes to writing two (or even more) books? Do you always try to write them one after the other, i.e. dont' start on a new one before you finish the previous one? Or do you write several at a time? And if you do, do you prioritise one of them still?

Any advice on this very welcome!

 
#2 ·
Camille Langtry said:
What is your personal modus operandi when it comes to writing two (or even more) books? Do you always try to write them one after the other, i.e. dont' start on a new one before you finish the previous one? Or do you write several at a time? And if you do, do you prioritise one of them still?

Any advice on this very welcome!
I always have more than one book/project going at a time. Maybe I'm a little ADD. What I try to do is have one in the writing mode and another in the editing mode...or one with beta readers...but that never works out quite write. (Not to mention the future novel story lines flying through my head.) In fact, yesterday I wrote "The End" on a novel and a novella. No secrets or tips...other than keep moving forward on them and finish them, rather than have a file of "almost done" stories.

What I do notice is when the books get to a certain point, I focus on only one to get it finished and off my plate.
 
#3 ·
I'd rather not write two books at the same time, but here's why I do:

After I finish the first draft (or soon before finishing it) I run the book through a critique web site at a rate of 3K words per week. Thus, a 60K-word book will take 20 weeks! Also, I need to reserve my proofreader (FreeRangeEditing) in advance, and I like to give myself some cushion.

So, while I'm revising book 1, I work on book 2.
 
#6 ·
I worked on Book 2 in my series and the prequel at the same time, and I also had my Channillo spin-off serial going every Tuesday. I didn't care to have that much going on at once, but it had to be done. Now I just have Book 2 finishing up and my spin-off serial, and then I'll have Book 3 and my spin-off serial. I've outlined later books in branching series from my main, and I'm so excited to write them it's hard not to sometimes.

It might burn me out, but they probably wouldn't interfere with each other. I have a lot of parallel universe and multiverse stuff going on, so not all of the elements interact so much as they mirror each other between series. Only the main series is really chronological. Hard to explain, but yeah. :p
 
#7 ·
I write two at a time; if I get bogged down on one, the other gets worked on until my muse stops being a *****.
 
#8 ·
I have 3 on the go at the moment, and two I won't let myself start (although I'm working on ideas/background stuff.) It's how I keep myself going, because when I'm bored with/stuck on one I can just work on another. You have to be the kind of person who will go back to the boring/stuck story sooner or later, though... But being able to get a little distance from a novel while still being productive somewhere else is really good for me.
 
#11 ·
I've got any number of things going on at any one time. Sometimes I get caught up to the muse, and so I work on something else. Sometimes I'll make a cover, or put stories together for a collection, or make a new project in Scrivener for something I know I'll want to work on at some future date. Mostly, I try to finish the sequel I'm working on. I need that to be done this month.

Some can't do more than one project at a time, and that's fine. Don't worry about it. Maybe you can do the write one, have one in edits, be plotting the next thing. It's all good. Just focus and don't fall victim to "oooohhhhh shiny", also known as "SQUIRREL!". It's really easy to let yourself move on to something new and exciting when you really need to put nose to the grindstone and finish the current project. How you cope with that may take some practice, perhaps even a firm "one thing at a time" law.
 
#13 ·
I've never written more than one book at a time, but I frequently work on more than one at different stages (writing one, editing one, formatting one, etc.).  I used to alternate series and prioritize writing by the deadlines, but I'm finding I work more efficiently when I marathon.  I don't just write one book at a time to completion--I write the whole series until it's done. 
 
#14 ·
Last autumn I tried working on two books at the same time, one in an existing series and the other planned to be the first in a new, historical series. I got bogged down in the historical series book, so had to put it aside while I finished off the entire novel for the existing series. Now that it's out, I've picked up the historical one again and it's going much more smoothly. I think it's great to be able to write in different genres, but for me, it didn't work to split my concentration that way.
 
#15 ·
Over the past few years I've always had several different books underway at the same time. Mostly I switch to one when I need a break from another, or when a sudden inspiration for a particular work rears its head. Doing it this way seems to maximize my productivity.

However, as completed books are a top priority for me, once a particular project gets lots further along than the rest, I will tend to put more time into it exclusively, in order to get it out the door. This system has allowed me to publish quite a lot of books over the past 2-3 years.

One reason I prioritize the book nearest to completion is that (for me) the final stretch on any book is the toughest, so that you'll naturally want to avoid it like the plague. But you must face up to the task, or else risk never getting it done at all.

I currently have at least a half dozen different books in the works, but tend to concentrate most on only 2-3 of them for lengthy periods.

I published my latest one March 24th. The one before that, around Halloween of last year. Prior to that one, another in the summer.
 
#16 ·
I do only one first draft at a time. But I have many completed works that are in various stages of seasoning, editing, beta readering, proofreading, formatting, publishing, marketing, and publishing in additional formats at any one time.
 
#17 ·
I've recently begun revising one project and writing another at the same time. I didn't find it as exhausting as I thought it would be. I figured it must be because we're using different skills and different parts of our brains to do those two different tasks. This has since increased my productivity. Before, I aimed for at least 2,000 words revised or 1,000 words written. Now, even if I underperform at, say, 1,000 words revised, there's maybe 500 words written to meet my 'quota' for the day. At my best, I could revise 2,000 words then write 1,000 words. Furthermore, on days I didn't multitask, say when I'd finished up my editing, I found that I could do far more than 1,000 words written. It's good training, I guess.
 
#18 ·
Some interesting differences, here.

I generally only have one book in the first draft stage at any one time. I usually have at least one other in the resting/editing/pre-release phases, but only one being written. The writing and editing stages are completely separate, though - different computers, different rooms, even different times of day to work on them. It seems to work fine for me.

I'm finding that my two genres need very different approaches, however. The fantasies are more mentally intensive (all that world-building to keep in my head over 150K words) whereas the Regencies practically write themselves. So I'm experimenting with writing a little bit of the next Regency on the editing machine while my usual writing time is absorbed by the next fantasy. Maybe I'll get a bit ahead of myself, who knows?
 
#19 ·
I'm generally writing one, working on revising based on copy edits of another, incorporating beta reader feedback or proof edits on another, and outlining a fourth. Sometimes I'm outlining 3 or 4 books at a time. This has worked well for me so far with editing, between copy and proofing, taking waaaay longer than writing it seems.
 
G
#20 ·
Camille Langtry said:
What is your personal modus operandi when it comes to writing two (or even more) books? Do you always try to write them one after the other, i.e. dont' start on a new one before you finish the previous one? Or do you write several at a time? And if you do, do you prioritise one of them still?

Any advice on this very welcome!
I'm actually writing two books and am about to take on a third. Not by choice. It's difficult to keep your thoughts in order, so make notes. And there are times it's too much, so I focus on one project that day, so I don't burn out.
What I do is set a word count per day for each book - 1500. One in the morning, the other in the evening. I need the time in between to clear my head of the first project. When the third comes up in two weeks I'll prioritize and write 1000 on the two least important and 1500 on the most important.
 
#22 ·
Long time mystery and western writer, Robert Randisi writes two books at the sane time regularly. Note: His back list is over 600 books long.

What's a work day like for you?

Long. I'm tempted to leave it at that, but I get some work done in the afternoon between 1-5 and most of my work done at night between 11-4 a.m. Most of the time I'm working on two books at a time, one in the afternoon and one at night. Then I have to live a life around the work. That means the post office, grocery store, bank, restaurants, malls, book stores, casinos, movies, all have to be scheduled around the work. And trips (usually road trips) usually involve the work.
Source: http://larrydsweazy.blogspot.com/2011/07/monday-interview-robert-j-randisi.html

Another Interview
http://tomrizzo.com/storytellers-7-robert-j-randisi-the-secret-to-writing-600-books/
 
#23 ·
she-la-ti-da said:
Some can't do more than one project at a time, and that's fine. Don't worry about it. Maybe you can do the write one, have one in edits, be plotting the next thing. It's all good. Just focus and don't fall victim to "oooohhhhh shiny", also known as "SQUIRREL!". It's really easy to let yourself move on to something new and exciting when you really need to put nose to the grindstone and finish the current project. How you cope with that may take some practice, perhaps even a firm "one thing at a time" law.
This made me giggle for two reasons. One: because I have fallen victim to this very thing in the past. It can be tough to discipline yourself to forge ahead and not get distracted by something brand new.

And two: because we have a small family of squirrels that love hanging out in our front yard tree, and my writing time has on occasion literally been interrupted by my husband saying, "Squirrel." I'll drop a couple of nuts on the porch to our visitor then ;D
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top