[WFMeyer]

I'm writing a trilogy. One is written, the second is a WIP and the third in in the outline/planning stage.
Is it best to release them one at a time or all at once?

If one at a time, what should the pacing of the releases be?

Thanks.

 

[Daniel Arenson]

Up to you. For what it's worth, I'm releasing my Song of Dragons trilogy one book at a time. The first one (released two months ago) costs $2.99. I'll release the second one in the fall, and it will also cost $2.99. Seems to work.

 

[Carradee]

You're going to hate this answer, but… it depends.

I think what matters more is "When will they be ready?" Do you need to finish all 3 to be able to be certain book 1 is right, or will book 1 be ready before the other 2?

A Fistful of Fire is the first book of a planned quartet, and next month I'm releasing book 1 in an entirely different series. Those two "Book 1"s will try to build recognition, word of mouth, and fan base for the rest… but if I'd waited to complete more in the series before releasing them, it would be easier to make sure all 3 were coherent.

Another factor to consider when planning out your schedule: How do you plan to market 'em?

I plan to focus more on marketing when I have more titles out. Right now, I'm aiming for 3 months between novel releases, but I intend to release a new something each month in one of those two worlds, even if it's flash fiction.

 

[Todd Russell]

I'm going to release book one in a series in the next few months and likely put a somewhat vague 2012 as the release for the second book. I don't know how many books will be in the series yet but it will be more than three. I'm shooting for a minimum of one per year but...we'll see.

As I said in an earlier thread today, I put quality ahead of quantity and would advise others do the same. It's unwise pushing out something that isn't the best quality you can make it.

There are people here though like Jason Letts who have published almost a book a month type pace. I think Amanda Hocking put out something like 6-8 books in 15 months, so she was at a clip of publishing one book every 2-3 months.

Hope this info helps

 

[Carol (was Dara)]

I like the idea of releasing one every month or two. No real reason behind it, I just think it'd make it easier to promote.

 

[Victorine]

I'm releasing as I'm writing and getting done with them. Why wait, if you know it's ready? It usually takes a while to gain momentum. If you wait a year and then publish them all, and then it takes a year to gain traction, you'll wonder why you waited and didn't start gaining traction right away.

If the first one isn't ready yet, that's different. Keep working on it until it's the best it can be.

Vicki

 

[Sarah Woodbury]

I released all of my After Cilmeri Series within two months of each other because I had them done--effectively my backlist. I have two more books that will be part of a series that are both up as first books, the second of which I hope to release in July, and the third before the end of the year (all part of The Last Pendragon Trilogy). The After Cilmeri series took off right away, in part I assume because I had them all up. But that's not to say that having The Last Pendragon up for 7 months is somehow going to harm sales once I get the second one up. I would have had no sales if I'd waited!

 

[Alain Gomez]

I'm releasing as I'm writing and getting done with them. Why wait, if you know it's ready? It usually takes a while to gain momentum. If you wait a year and then publish them all, and then it takes a year to gain traction, you'll wonder why you waited and didn't start gaining traction right away.

If the first one isn't ready yet, that's different. Keep working on it until it's the best it can be.

Vicki

I'm with you on this one. If it's ready, why wait? The more material you have "out there," the better. Besides, I don't think it will result in a loss in sales by releasing several books all at once. Especially if they're part of a series. Readers usually want to find out what happens next.

 

[MGalloway]

If one at a time, what should the pacing of the releases be?

As others have said, the timing is really up to you. It's important, though, whatever you do, to try and do as much "pre-promotion" as possible...especially if the books are coming out individually. For example, publish/promote book #1, promote/finish book #2, release book #2/promote book #3, etc.

 

[ThatGurlthatlife]

I released the three books of my trilogy within a month of each other.... basically when I was certain each one was finished I put it up. Tried to create as much traction as possibly as each book came out!

 

[Amanda Brice]

I'm releasing as I'm writing and getting done with them. Why wait, if you know it's ready? It usually takes a while to gain momentum. If you wait a year and then publish them all, and then it takes a year to gain traction, you'll wonder why you waited and didn't start gaining traction right away.

If the first one isn't ready yet, that's different. Keep working on it until it's the best it can be.

What Vicki said. My book is the first in a series, and I released it in April. I hope to have the next one out in November, and then the third sometime in 2012 (probably the summer). I may not actually gain any real traction on the first book until the time the second one is out, but at least this way I'll have had those 7 months worth of sales (money!) and the chance to get a good Amazon algorithm.

Would I have liked to release them back-to-back? Sure. But only the first one was written as of the time I released it. I would have had to wait another 7 months (at least) before releasing it if I wanted to release back-to-back. Actually, much longer than that, because that would only allow kme to release the first two. It would be probably a year and a half until all 3 were written. That's a long time to sit on a book if it's ready to go.

 

[IndiaLeeBooks]

I'm writing a series as well and in a similar boat as you are in terms of progress.  If your first one's ready, I say release that and start marketing/building up a fanbase.  When you've reached what you deem a successful amount of sales (and some time has passed so your readers have finished your book), you should have a group of people eagerly awaiting your sequel - so in a sense, you're getting a twofer when it comes to promotions.  That's not to say you shouldn't promote the second one as well, but what I am saying is that it should be easier after the first one's out.  Good luck!

 

[WFMeyer]

Thanks for all the great input everyone. You've all given me good ideas of what I need to do and incorporate that with John Locke's business model (from his ebook: How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months)

 

[RobynB]

I tend to agree with the others above -- why wait, if it's ready? -- but Bob Mayer had an interesting perspective on this very topic on his blog the other day (there's also a KB thread floating around with the same info). http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/if-i-were-an-unpublished-author-would-i-self-publish/

Always good to consider all sides, methinks!

 

[telracs]

please, please, as a reader I beg you, do not publish the first one until the second is in final draft stages and the third is in the works.  even better, wait until all three are finished.  i really dislike reading one book and then not knowing when (or unfortunately, IF) the rest will be out.  so, i've reached the point where if I know the book is part one of a set, i don't buy until all are available.