Fast Writer? Slow Writer? Somewhere In Between?

Ahh...he's cute!

In a world where authors publish new titles at the same rate in which hamsters produce babies, how does someone like me, a slow writer, fit in?

As authors, we've been told to build our catalogs as quickly and rapidly as we can, because often times (more like 99% of the time) it takes several books under our belts before we can really see the fruit of our labors. True, there are a few chosen ones (lucky ducks) who've experienced a great deal of success with their very first published book, but these people are considered anomalies. Yes, they are. We can hope this would happen to us (we're allowed to dream, now aren't we?), but we definitely shouldn't count on it (please don't count on it).

In fact, we should busy ourselves writing our second and third books and so on to create a larger fan base and to create a greater success for ourselves verses becoming frustrated and depressed when that first book doesn't sell into the millions as we'd planned. This is the best writing advice I have ever received--keep writing and don't worry about what that first book is doing.

But does that mean we should plan on producing a full-fledged novel every month as the publishing industry seems to deem necessary? Have our attention spans become so depleted that if we don't produce a new novel every month or at least every quarter, we stand to lose our growing fan base? Oh, the stress I feel! Do you feel it?

Now, before I delve into how much we should be writing, I want to point out that I'm going to shy away from the debate as to whether or not writing a new novel on a monthly basis equates a crappy book (that's a topic for a whole different blog). Because really, one man's crap is another man's golden treasure, so the whole debate is almost null, really.

Still, that doesn't mean there aren't books being fired into the universe by the same authors on what feels like a daily basis, causing my writer brain to want to wilt and die in response. Whether those books are badly written or seem to be produced by the finger of angels, I still feel the need to write faster than I'm physically or mentally capable (I shouldn't have even been writing this blog. I should've spent my time writing my next book....ahhhhhh!).

I don't write fast (well, if you ask those who produce a new book every ten years I'm a freaking cheetah), but I want to believe there is a place for me in this ever changing publishing world. Different writers work at different paces, and what might be considered normal for one writer will not work for another. And THAT should be okay.

I would like to believe that if we write a good book--whether we publish it this month or two years from now--readers will find us. There will always be a need for good books, regardless of how fast or slow those books are published.

Yes, the standard over the years has changed. It used to be that publishing one book a year was the norm, but that standard no longer applies. Not really.

But I'm writing by MY standard, and for now, one book a year seems to be all I can do. Someday, I would love to advance to writing TWO books a year, but until then, I will do my best to put out a quality book at a pace that doesn't make me cry and twitch.

To my readers and fans, I hope you'll understand, and in turn, I will do my best to give you a great story that will make the wait worth it.