Have you tried to work on multiple book projects at the same time?

Hi, everyone. :o) 

Lately, I've been busy editing book two. My kitchen table is covered with many handwritten notes that need slipping into place in the manuscript, to ready for typing up. This task has been made more difficult as the pile of scribbled notes dropped and got mixed up. They usually live in Ikea box files but I left them in a pile overnight on the living room table, yup, big mistake. But, all is well as I mentally prepare myself for the paper battle. :o) 

While writing book two, another story flowed from the muse. I tried to ignore the visuals that played over in my mind, but they refused to remain silent. So there it is, I got side-tracked for a while on outlining 'Shining Sword', a story that will compliment the series and follow the future path of book two, so it is in fact, very relevant. I'm itching to start the manuscript but must stay focused on editing 'Awake in Purple Dreams'. It has been tough ignoring the temptation to start writing, though. Has anyone else had this experience?

I decided to google the question of writing two books at once. Below are what other authors have experienced. 

“I’m currently working on two novels – one is the sequel to a finished book that is currently looking for a publisher. The other is a project that is very much in my mind at the moment and won’t wait its turn! The first is about 42k words done and the second is only a couple of thousand words written, but I’ve been making extensive notes and plans. As the 42k project is the sequel to something currently before publishers, I’m making that my priority, and trying not to be too distracted by the other one. But when ideas won’t leave you alone, you have to at least make notes and rough outlines of scenes. So I would say that I’m working properly on one novel while working part-time on the other!” Alan Baxter, dark fantasy author.

Write them all. I have two I’m working on now. I’ve had as many as 4 at a time in my head. You have to let the ideas out.@lynnleite

Make an idea book where you can take a little time to put down info about the ideas you aren’t ready to work on. @druchunas

Plot them all, write chapter-by-chapter summaries and then go back to writing just one. That or work 24/7 til they’re done. @graywave

Keep feeding all 3 until 1 takes the lead (attention, energy). Then focus on that one, get to others afterwards. Good luck!@MsMartha_writer

What I always do in that situation is write down key events, maybe write a full scene, so you can go back to it later. @NatashaMcNeely
Source: HERE

The strategy of writing one book in the morning and revising another book in the evening is intriguing.

It usually takes me four months to write a first draft. For the last couple of months I grow wearing of writing and pine to revise. Then it takes me about a year to revise. After a couple of months, I yearn to write a new story. I wonder if working on two books at once would be more satisfying. It will then take me eight months to write a rough and two more years to edit. Yeah, I'll have two books done instead of just one, but the long time spans are intimidating.

I have several books currently in progress. In fact, I've found I'm usually working on multiple books at the same time. I usually don't work on more than one in a day, though. I'll work one for a while, drop it if I have to work some issues out and pick up one of the others.
Sometimes it works wonderfully and sometimes I have to completely re-read things and get back into the saddle of one of the ones I've set aside for a while.

I used to be a one-book-at-a-time writer, but gradually I'm shifting into having multiple projects going at the same time. This can be beneficial for a variety of reasons. One is simply that you'll have a variety of things to work on and hopefully won't get bored as easily. Another reason is, inevitably, you'll have projects at different stages of completion. Say you get a book published; if you only do one at a time, well, your readers then might have to wait a looong time to see another one from you. But if you've already been working that project, maybe the rough draft is done and you're already well into the revisions. They won't have to wait as long for it to be published.

One book about writing novels I read suggested that you should have at least three projects going at any one time. Ideally, once you've been working for awhile, one should be querying for an agent or with an agent; another in the revision stages; and a third in the rough draft/first draft stages.

One of the positive things about having several unfinished works in progress at the same time is if you get bored or blocked with one, you can work on another. You don't have to risk poorer writing if you're just not into something, or risk dropping it and not writing for a while.

I've got two novels that I'm writing at the moment, another that's requiring significantly more planning and research that I'll hopefully start once these two have first drafts finished. The two I have going at the moment have such different voices and genres that the chances of me not wanting to work on at least one of them is slim to none.

This is a really good point. I usually work on one project at a time but like others have said, I'm in the mood to write when I'm revising and to revise when I'm writing. I might start thinking more about the future and try to find a way to juggle that second project.

I find that the very act of writing lets me come up with more things to write about. I'll be working on one story, I'll hit a dead end and the process of deciding where I want to go next creates alternative ideas. These ideas often broil together into entirely new plot ideas or story premises.
Just from the act of writing my last two novels, I have about five new stories in several different genres, including ghosts, pirates, sci-fi, fantasy, romance and general fiction.
Source: HERE

Uncle Barry’s Formula for Writing Multiple Books at Once 

• Your projects must all be vastly different from each other: If you’re working on more than one book at a time, it’s deadly to have them be similar. Look at it this way — say you’re writing a dystopian novel. And at the same time, you’re working on another dystopian novel…but it’s just a different kind of dystopia. Well, I think you see the problem. When you get burned out on one, the other one is no safe haven. They’re different books, but they’re too similar. They use the same psychic muscles. Make your projects distinct from one another and each one will act as a sort of safety valve for the others. Bored with that thriller you’re working on? Skip over to the romantic comedy for a little while!
• Always be at a different stage on each project: Again, this is about overworking muscles. Starting a book uses a different set of mental abilities than editing one or cruising to the end of one or researching one. So stagger your projects. At the beginning of 2010, I was revising my graphic novel script. At the same time, though, I was deep into the first draft of The Book That Will Kill Me. And I was researching I Hunt Killers. Later in the year, I was halfway through the first draft of Killers when I started writing the second Archvillain. Simultaneously, I was overseeing Colleen’s art on the graphic novel and headed toward the end of a draft of The Book That Will Kill Me. Once again, each book acted as a pressure release for all the others. No matter what I was working on, it was different and varied from what I had just been working on earlier that day or week.
• Turn everything in early: This is a tough one for many authors, who have difficulty meeting their deadlines already. But I swear to you, it matters. When you have so many projects on your plate, it’s inevitable that two or more deadlines are going to overlap or conflict. This means that if you slip on one deadline, you’ll put multiple projects in jeopardy. And if you think being in the weeds on one book is bad, try it on many! In order to keep yourself honest and to prevent a total meltdown, turn in everything early. Set your own deadlines that are well in advance of the official ones and follow your deadlines, no one else’s.
• Let no one else dictate your schedule: Closely linked to #4, obviously. But it’s important enough to call out on its own. In addition to not letting anyone else dictate a deadline to you, you also can’t allow anyone else’s whims to stall you in developing a project. Here’s an example: Say you have just turned a new book to your editor. You have another project you’d like to get started on, but your editor has told you that she will get back to you on the first book in a couple of weeks. You think to yourself, “Well, I won’t make much progress on the new project in just a couple of weeks, so I’ll wait to hear from my editor and THEN I’ll start on the new one.” No! Odds are, it will take longer than a couple of weeks for your editor to get back to you. And even if it IS just a couple of weeks, that’s still time you’re wasting, time when you could make at least some progress on the new project. So plunge into the new project and let your editor get back to you whenever she can.
• Be flexible: When I work on multiple projects, I tell myself, “OK, by this point in time, I need to have made X amount of progress on these three projects.” And so on. I manage to stick to that pretty well. But writing a bunch of books at once isn’t the easiest thing in the world, so you need to be flexible. Allow yourself to spend an extra few days on something if you’re really feeling it. Give yourself a week off to play Xbox if you’re starting to feel dangerously loopy. If you work on comedy in the morning and drama in the afternoon, switch it up every now and then in order to give yourself a break. Flexibility will keep you from cracking up entirely.

Source: HERE

Love and light,

Trace

xoxo

A creative mind....ponders

Openly sharing words...dare to dream

It has been quite an unusual journey on my path to writing. I never started with the intention of getting published, so everything was fun and totally carefree. I would stay up (still do) until the silly hours of the morning. Normality ceased to exist, as I wrapped myself up in a blanket words instead of a cotton quilt.

A new adventure was beckoning me, asking me to listen, so I did. 

I started scribbling the images down that played through my mind as a film. From these scraps of thoughts I created a little visual book of the story and presented (nervously) to my family and close friends. 

It can be quite daunting putting a piece of yourself 'out there' to be scrutinized, but via the beautiful artists I have met and had the pleasure of making friends with - I learnt to publicly share, to be brave, and I want to thank you all for helping me on my journey xxx

The little visual book was well received in my small supportive circle, and so my writing journey began. I wasn't ready to face the one/two finger typing just yet, so I wrote everything down using the good old traditional way - with pen and paper.

Finally, I prepared myself to get on the laptop and type. I looked at all of the paper and wondered if I would ever get to the end. I took a deep breath and cleared my mind - I can do this, I told myself and so continued to press one key after another. Characters came to life, and the story started to grow as I typed. 

Once I finished the manuscript, I printed it out, wrapped a silver ribbon around it and took a photo - there done I thought. Lol, I look back at that moment now and giggle to myself. I was very naive, and eagerly sent it off to publishers to see what response it would receive, if any. Of course I received some rejections, and I honestly didn't mind. They were not cruel or crushing, but polite and courteous. Some even encouraged me to resubmit, and a couple of smaller eBook publishers, even offered me a contract. I sat back and contemplated as to whether I should accept the offers or work harder to improve the manuscript as the rejections suggested. I longed to get my work out there, but knew that I had to make the story the best it could be. It was important to give the initial vision that I had, justice.  I didn't want to just publish for the sake of getting published, however tempting, so back to the manuscript I went. 

I read over the manuscript so much that I couldn't be objective anymore, the next step was to ask a freelance editor for their opinion. It is difficult for a novice writer to know whether their writing is good enough to compete with all of the wonderfully, creative authors already in the business. I needed to know... Did I possess the basic requirements to make a good writer, if not, I would just have to take on the chin and lose myself in art, at least until I healed from the blow, but I hoped with all my heart that I had something to offer ;o)  

So the hunt started for a good editor at a reasonable price range that I could afford. I found someone named Cate, of whom I instantly resonated, and another journey was about to begin. Our first interaction was 3,000 words of the manuscript. To see if we were suitable to work with eachother. I remember receiving her assessment. I was so excited, it was just the type of feedback that I yearned, needed to reflect further. I felt that she understood what I was trying to achieve. 

The initial 3,00- word feedback:

    Hi Tracey, 

Well you can definitely write! You have a good grip of the story dynamics that readers love in this genre. Great work creating a character with depth and back story, facing a challenge right from the start of the book, readers will be hooked. Your writing style is clear, flows well, and isn't encumbered by too many adjectives or flowery prose – perfect for this genre. 

I'm so pleased to hear that you connected with my critique - when I enjoy someone's work I tend to go a little deeper into it. I just can't help myself - and honestly, I'm dying to find out what happens at the party!

Where I think you need work is cutting redundant interactions / copy and focusing more on building tension. You’ll see my notes below. 

It was interesting, well thought out feedback, and very much appreciated.

I worked on these areas, then submitted my complete manuscript for evaluation.

I also found out from various other sources, that for my book to be classed as a romance, the story had to have a happy ending. I was quite astonished, as I assumed, if love was the main element of the story that it would automatically  belong into that genre - I was wrong (naive). This was to be the most difficult decision that faced me since first writing my manuscript. Should my sad, but thought provoking ending be replaced. It was so hard to imagine my character having a different end, especially as the next book in the trilogy was to be a continuation of the first, and I struggled to imagine anything different. 

After much deliberation, I decided to try and rewrite, rethink how my original story could mingle with this new revelation. To my surprise the answer was already written within the manuscript, I just had to look a little deeper. I developed this idea further so that it may have the feel good ending that met with the commercial side of publishing. I commissioned a book to be made by a wonderful book binder Marlene, to savor the original ending, format forever - that made me happy enough to cope with change.

The new ending was written. A couple of new scenes were also added throughout the manuscript  to help with the adaption, and it was finally transformed.

Next, I was advised to further develop another piece in the book that I really connected with. It was a personal, spiritual scene, that played out a little bit differently than one might expect. If I'm honest, it was a part of the book that was one of my favourites, so again, it was  extremely difficult to imagine anything else. I had written the book that I wanted to read, but would it be what others wanted to read - the majority? I thought long and hard about the suggested adaption, but began to see how it might work. Now, the tricky bit was incorporating the two ideas. What should I leave out, leave in, etc. I admit the transformation, for me to write, felt beautifully connected. Hopefully, readers will later connect with it in the same way too, for that is so important to me. For the future reader to grasp the undertone of the love story being presented. It can be frustrating to not fit commercially, because the story is considered too niche, but I was determined to have both, lol, and I really hope that I have managed to achieve that goal. 

At present I have my work with several publishers, and an agent requested that I resend, after revisions. It's funny, as I know that I will find it hard, to actually say - yep you are the one that I wish my baby to go to. I wonder if anyone else has experienced this feeling? Maybe, if it was just a one off book, I would look at it a little differently, but being an intended trilogy, with a fourth standalone, I am quite nervous of making the wrong decision publisher wise. A contract lasts for years, and to me it feels pretty scary. I think after working so hard to produce a piece of work that you and they are happy with, it can be quite daunting giving that baby away - making sure that they are the right people, for the right reasons.

Okay, so now, I'm on the last legs of editing. Making sure everything flows, and ensuring there is enough tension throughout, etc. Then, it will be decision time. I hope that the same muse that inspired me to write, will come to my aid again and help guide the way forward. Maybe, I'm scared, scared of getting this far and failing once published. Selling only a few copies, and possibly receiving critique that will crush a little piece of me that so ardently wants to create magic for others. Then, I remind myself that sales were not the reason that I started, and even if I fail in my endeavor to reach many people, that I have been a part of an amazing journey, which was created from nothingness. That, I possess a  unique piece of writing, that only I could write, projected from my perspective, inside, out. How beautiful is that thought... ;o) 

I take a deep breath, and remind myself to be brave, 

as I complete the journey started via a whisper of promise.

Thank you so much for taking the time to pop by blog and read my post - 

I wish you the most incredible, amazing, beautiful life xxx

and that you always find the strength to follow your dreams...

Why not leave me a message about your dream, 

and let's be brave together. xxx

Love and light,

Trace 

xoxo