Author Of Multiple Series.

[Discount_Blade]

Authors of multiple series, I want some advice. I'm currently posting one series here, but I have 7 other fully functional and well-planned/thought out ideas that I could very easily write and post regularly too. The problem is time and dedication. Each idea is long, really long, and I know where I'm going with it. So, how to do more than one if possible? I have a series of questions I would like you guys to answer if you would be so kind. It would seriously help me out if you are willing.

1) How many series are you writing simultaneously? It doesn't matter whether you are posting them publicly or keeping them to yourselves. Just that you are currently writing them all right now or have added to them within the last week.

2) How do you do it?

3) Is it difficult?

4) What sort of writing schedule do you have for putting time into each?

5) Do you sometimes get plot points and even characters mixed up and confused with some of the other titles you are writing at times? By accident or otherwise.

6) And lastly, if you are writing more than one, why exactly are you writing more than one? Simply because you can? Because you have an attention span problem and writing more than one series helps you focus and direct that focus issue? Or because you have so many ideas and the idea of writing one at a time seems aggravating/frustrating/mentally restricting?

If by chance you aren't writing more than one series at a time, but feel as if you have some relevant insight, then by all means share it. It's been a very major problem of mine and it almost physically disturbs me when in my writing process.

 

[CautiousTitan]

1. Technically I'm writing three but I'm currently focusing my efforts towards my most popular series. I've also written for two series at the same time but found it to be a contributor to burnout. Having a stash of chapters for each series helps avoid that.

2. By making time instead of finding it.

3. Yes, but it gets easier over time. Doesn't make it less stressful.

4. Usually, I write each series on opposite days. That way, I spend 24 hours on a single series.

5. Hell fucking yes. It's inevitable at that point. You have so many names swirling around your head at all times.

6. I've learned through trial and error that it's best to focus on one series at a time. At least, in my case.

Advice: If you are thinking of launching a new series, make a pilot chapter. See if people are receptive to it before committing more time towards it. If people don't like it, consider it a side project or delete it. If people like it, contribute more 'resources' to build it up. You can also make the first three chapters and gauge the reception.

 

[Deleted member 29316]

1). I got three simultaneous stories being written as of today, with different genre.

2). I'm a spontaneous person. If I feel like doing it, then I do it. But, to avoid getting my characters and plot mixed up, I plan ahead before writing down the details of the story itself.

3). Pretty difficult, but you'll get used to it. One of the obstacles you'd face is the characterization of your MCs, especially if they are of different behavior. It's like you'll be switching personalities from time to time.

4). As I said, I'm a spontaneous person, so I write whenever I feel like it. I exhaust my 'interest' in one story before switching to the next one that I find interesting to write.

5). It could happen, especially with character personalities, but planning and plotting ahead could fix this. Just remember to write those ideas down. Don't just keep it in your head.

6). I write because I wanted to. I don't want to keep my hands and head idle for too long, that's why I also draw illustrations whenever I don't write. It's also a great way to channel my influx of ideas crashing on my brrain from time to time.

 

[Dyrem]

1. I'm currently writing two. I only focus on one, trying to stack chapters on it first so I can maintain daily updates for it.

2. When I want a change of pace from the first one, I write a chapter for the second. They're on different genres.

3. You'll get used to it soon.

4. There's not really a schedule. I try to write two for my first novel and one for the other. So far I'm keeping up with having daily updates for the two.

5. Both of my MC somehow resembled each other. I write in FPP so before I knew it the way they think already resembled each other.

6. For a change of pace. Writing on a different genre than the one you are focusing on is refreshing. At least for me.

 

[TLCsDestiny]

Authors of multiple series, I want some advice. I'm currently posting one series here, but I have 7 other fully functional and well-planned/thought out ideas that I could very easily write and post regularly too. The problem is time and dedication. Each idea is long, really long, and I know where I'm going with it. So, how to do more than one if possible? I have a series of questions I would like you guys to answer if you would be so kind. It would seriously help me out if you are willing.

1) How many series are you writing simultaneously? It doesn't matter whether you are posting them publicly or keeping them to yourselves. Just that you are currently writing them all right now or have added to them within the last week.

2) How do you do it?

3) Is it difficult?

4) What sort of writing schedule do you have for putting time into each?

5) Do you sometimes get plot points and even characters mixed up and confused with some of the other titles you are writing at times? By accident or otherwise.

6) And lastly, if you are writing more than one, why exactly are you writing more than one? Simply because you can? Because you have an attention span problem and writing more than one series helps you focus and direct that focus issue? Or because you have so many ideas and the idea of writing one at a time seems aggravating/frustrating/mentally restricting?

If by chance you aren't writing more than one series at a time, but feel as if you have some relevant insight, then by all means share it. It's been a very major problem of mine and it almost physically disturbs me when in my writing process.

1) I believe I have about 3 series I am currently writing but have thought of another one or two that aren't even being typed. (Typing a reverse fairytale series (Starting with Cinderella, already thought of how to add in Aladin and Little mermaid), a cultivation series (Basically one like all those others on Novelplanet where a girl main character is reincarnated or transmigrated, currently about 400k words including prequel and sequel and not finished yet.) and a series that has several books come together (For instance: Loralle becoming a Vessel is a sister novel to 'Anonym and Switch, Obtaining Power to Retaliate' and they will end up in the same story in a later timeline. Oh and a series about a Phoenix (It'll have 3 Volumes...None of those 'series' are connected. Then, on top of that, there's ones I haven't even started!)

2) Lately I have worked on all the stories that I have started but that does get a bit tedious because I feel like I'm not finishing anything lol. I'd like to work at story to story but for some reason, I think I work better when I work on more then one piece at a time. So, I'm just going to keep doing what I want!

3) It is difficult, especially when not all my characters are the same! That is probably the worst part about typing more then one story at a time, is to fall into the characters and settings. For this I do more then one chapter in the story while I'm in the 'zone' and it does help me get back into the 'zone' when I come back to the story.

4) I used to like doing a chapter a day but things change in the real world and at the moment I don't even have a release schedule! When I start releasing chapters again I will return to one every four days for now, simply because I am still not getting enough time in the real world to keep up with chapters any faster then that for the time being.

5) I'm proud to say that most of the time I'm good and don't get mixed up with my stories. There's a easy step for this that I don't mind sharing with you and that is that the main characters is what I relate to and remember most because they are a PART of me. When I say a PART of me, I mean one is more 'free spirited' and that is what I express the 'most' in that particular book. (Whereas another book may be my 'comedic' part or my 'wants', as the characters main attribute.) And then, when I put my shoes into that character, everything else is remembered easily. It's like linking your story together so that this kind of thing is easier. If you are writing characters that are harder to put your 'feet' into, I do think you will have more of a problem going from one story to another. We are all different though and some people are good at multitasking and what not so until you try it, you'll never know!

6) Haha, I'm writing more then one at a time because I simply get excited about each and everyone of my books! I don't think it's bad I'm like this, it makes me a happy writer and I don't regret it (Although, like i said before, it takes a lot longer to finish a book) That's probably the main answer but yes I do get A LOT of ideas and wish to get them all out!

Life is short to linger on 'what if's', just try it and see what happens, if it doesn't work you stop.
I wish thee good luck!

 

[Nanakawaichan]

1) I am writing three series and still updating here.

2) By writing. What else?

3) Yes, when you are in hype to write one story but you must write another story. But because I already have the plot and the outline so what I need is the mood to write it.

4) My last series 3-4 times / week, My others series 2 times / week

5) I have never been confused with the plot since my three stories are different, so is my character because my three MCs have different characters (cold protagonist, perverted protagonist, caring protagonist). The only problem is the mood to enter each character. But I found that if you could find the 'theme song' of each character / story it would be easier for you to get into your character faster.

6) Because those ideas disturb my mind. Actually I want to write four more (A reincarnation, 2 isekai, a romance) but I'm restraining myself because I'm not sure I can keep up that much.

 

[bigbear51]

1. Right now, I have two long-running story. Honestly, I kind of want to write a couple of ideas I've had brewing for a while now.

2. Writing is fun for me, so usually it's no problem. Of course life gets in the way, but it's not as if publishing chapters is of the utmost importance.

3. A little? There's a decent amount of time spent on writing and editing that is a little much. Especially since I'd like to do other things as well, but I still find it fun right now.

4. Right now, it's Mon-Wends-Fri and Tues-Thurs-Sat for the two stories I got right now. Sunday's a day off because everyone needs a break.

5. No.

6. When I first started writing, I was uploading daily for one story and one story only. However, I knew that it was still a ways away from being finished, and I really didn't want to spend months on just one story. Plus, sometimes other ideas just pop up in my head that I want to explore, so I give them a chance for a bit.

 

[Primate]

1) Writing three at the moment.

2) Writing whenever I can, however I can.

3) Quite difficult, no doubt.

4) No schedule. It all depends on the mood.

5) Yea, sometimes I do.

6) Inspirational ideas derived from writing other works.

Writing a single novel is not easy, talkless of more. But there's a feel to it that put your mental capacity on the intriguing borderline.

 

[LuceLucky]

This post is so reassuring I thought I was the only one juggling 172828+ stories.


1)

Fanfiction wip count: Star Wars/PJO/HP/ASOIAF/Naruto/ATLA/DC Comics.... 8
Original wip count: whooo boy hmm... 6

And these are just the ones I'm actively writing as of right now. I've not counted the wips I'm brainstorming, the ideas I've shelved, the stories I write in Dutch and French...

2) Google docs in my phone, which is the technology I *always* have on hand. Everytime an idea strikes me,I open the doc/wip I think it will most fit in and write it down. I also have a Doc named Random that I regularly come back to when I get writer's block.

3) Is it difficult?

I admit I don't understand this one. Is it difficult to keep up with all my ideas? No. I love my ideas, love working on them. I never start or write things I don't feel 100% invested in. I tend to write for MYSELF first and foremost and moderate laaaaaater on.

4) An average of 4 hours a day. For context, I'm a college student and on holidays where I live.

5) Never. But I notice recurring trends in my writing; plots, characters, writing styles and catchphrases. They usually overlap with tropes I like.

6) "And lastly, if you are writing more than one, why exactly are you writing more than one? Simply because you can? Because you have an attention span problem and writing more than one series helps you focus and direct that focus issue? Or because you have so many ideas and the idea of writing one at a time seems aggravating/frustrating/mentally restricting?"

Yes to all of these. I produce the same way I consume.

 

[yansusustories]

Oh, that sounds like a question for me!

I'm currently writing three longer series (12 volumes planned for one, the other two are about 2-3 volumes in but I haven't really planned them out in volumes so I don't know how much longer they'll exactly be, just that it'll be quite some time) and one shorter series (likely 2-3 volumes). The other project I'm doing will likely only be a standalone novel (I think).

To me, it's not particularly difficult and I normally don't mistake things from one series for another either since they're either related (one is the prequel to my main series so lots of the same characters appear) or vastly different (e.g., the shorter series is a contemporary one while the others are more historical-esque).

The only important thing for me to make it work is having a rigid schedule so I work on all of them consistently. I structure the schedule by weekdays, depending on the overall length of the project and the word count of the chapters.
E.g., my main series is the 12-volume one and the chapters are on the shorter side (~1k) so I write chapters for that daily (because otherwise, it'd take me 2 decades or so to finish ). The prequel has slightly longer chapters and is overall shorter so I only update once a week on Sundays.
The other longer series is updated twice a week (Tue/Thu) since it also has chapters on the shorter side but won't need as long to finish since there are fewer volumes. The shorter series has a similar length of chapters but I'd like to finish it sooner to start something new so I'm updating it three times a week (Mon/Wed/Fri).
Other than that, there are surprise additional chapters on Saturdays for any story that I feel like doing since I recently finished another project and freed that day up to have fun.

As for why I do this ... I simply have too many ideas that I want to let people read and I don't want to wait until one of them is finished before starting on a new one. I would probably be faster with each project if I did though. Like, I write at least 3k a day so for a volume of a romance novel which would likely be about 60k words long, I could finish that in less than a month so every few months, I could finish a short series. Or I could probably completely focus on my main series for a year and might be able to finish half of it (one volume is roughly about 150k-200k so that takes a tad bit longer).
But the thing is that I might bore myself out if I did this. I can't stand always doing the same thing. I need variety in my daily life so I'd rather juggle five different projects and have something else to look forward to each day of the week. Like, I have these times where I wake up in the morning and think 'Wow, today, I can write a chapter for project x!' and then I'm happy. And then the same thing happens the next day with another project. Seriously, why wouldn't I want to write a different project each day?

 

[mostlyharmfulll]

1) I am currently writing two, but only one gets published at the moment. I plan to start publishing the other one once I have a few chapters si I can start publish the story with a lot of content.

2) I write circa one hour daily, sometimes more. I have my "roughly every four days" schedule for the story I am publishing, so I prioritize this story and I use whatever time I have left to work on the other one.

3) Blunty said, no.

4) See answer 2.

5) Not really. But that could be because my two stories are very different.

6) A mix between "many ideas" and "I just feel like writing two stories, and since writing is 'just' a hobby for me at the moment, I can do whatever I want."

 

[Ace_Arriande]

1) 5 with ongoing weekly updates. 2 stories with 5k-word average chapters, 3 stories with 3k-word average chapters. About 19k words on average every week between those stories, excluding alternating between three new series behind the scenes that aren't consistently updated frequently enough to be counted for the sake of the question.

2) By not having a life nor normal job.

3) The only difficulty I experience is from trying to write different series in the same day. I can write one series a day no problem. I dramatically slow down when I try to write two different series in a day since it requires completely changing my mindset and the narration.

4) Wake up. Don't do anything fun until I write. Procrastinate for hours. Write. Sleep. Repeat.

5) No, thankfully.

6) Because I can, because it's fun to, because it's mentally refreshing to me to start new things, and because I have too many ideas. If I get really interested in an idea, I won't be able to stop thinking about it until I write it. I also have a document with about 60 other series concepts inside of it that I still add to every month or so. If I only wrote one, two, or even three series at a time, then I would die before I could write even a fraction of what I want to write. Also, more stories = more Patreon money. My first story only got me up to $400 a month on Patreon. My second story took me up to $1100 a month. My third story took me up to $3000 a month, albeit only for a short time before lowering back down.

 

[Nanakawaichan]

2) By not having a life

By any mean, you should take a good care of yourself and your health

 

[Ace_Arriande]

By any mean, you should take a good care of yourself and your health

I do, I just mean not having any responsibilities that require me leaving the house other than getting groceries. No work. Already graduated from college. Single, so no SO to have to do anything with. No children. I'm very happily a hermit with no social life outside of the internet. I still take care of my physical and mental health. =P

If I had to work a normal job or if I was still in college full-time, I probably wouldn't be able to even write one story a week.

 

[BenJepheneT]

Also, more stories = more Patreon money. My first story only got me up to $400 a month on Patreon. My second story took me up to $1100 a month. My third story took me up to $3000 a month, albeit only for a short time before lowering back down.

Just curious, what's your avg. daily expenses or is that a rude thing to ask?

 

[Ace_Arriande]

Just curious, what's your avg. daily expenses or is that a rude thing to ask?

Uhhh, daily? I'm not sure how I would accurately calculate that. But I can say I generally put $1000 into savings a month (the majority of which is for saving to pay taxes), which leaves me with like $1200 a month to use on split rent/bills/food (these costs are split between 3 people), after which I have maybe $600 or so of disposable income a month that I either buy things with or put into savings? So maybe like, $20 a day? I can also say I'd be homeless if I tried living on my own here since this small apartment I'm in is considered cheap... at $1,150 a month. I'm not looking forward to when student loan payments resume since that'll be another $300 a month I'm spending, which I didn't account for in the above.