Hard Landing series after-show thread

[BrokenSpokes]

Hello, LitE forum. This is just a thread for me to post some thoughts about publishing the the last chapter of my eight part series, Hard Landing, before I head off into a long sabbatical from writing. I have no expectations posting these thoughts, I just want to send them out into the internet. Over the last five months, I've written and published eight chapters, and I just want to muse about the journey a bit.

I had been bouncing the fantasy of Jo and her Blue Girl around in my head for about three years, when, after a binge reading several super heartfelt and romantic stories from Salandar (my hero), Carey Thomas (my idol) and a few others, I thought "I could maybe make this an okay story." I tossed off the first chapter in a weekend, and posted it. After it went up, and I was able to see it actually out there for people to read, and started getting responses, I thought "Hey, I think I could really like writing this story," and I was off to the races.

In retrospect, this was entirely the wrong approach. If you've read my series, you know it's pretty emotional, with lots of the heartstrings being tugged. I like that in a story, but it's can be tough emotionally to write a long story that's like that. At least, it is for me. And the fact that I published the first chapter before I'd even started writing the next. Whooo boy, that was stupid.

Especially as I started to gain some people following the story and clamoring for the next chapter and the next and the next. Adding the emotional impact of the story on my own brain to the pressure of having to write and write and publish and publish was a foolish combination. So, should I ever return to writing, I think the way for me to go will be to write my next entire series prior to ever publishing chapter one. It will likely mean it takes me much longer to finish a series (pressure is a way to increase the speed of cooking, after all) but I think it's a healthier way for me to work. I'll be interested to see if any other authors have an opinion on this.

Add all that to the fact I was in grad school, and working during the writing of the series, my writing process actually caused me to have a mini-breakdown during the process. Which, of course, I felt pressure to work through because "Oh my god, It's been four weeks since I published the last chapter!"

Apart from the logistics of thinking up and typing that much story and dialog, my writing process causes me to imagine myself in my story; it's the only way I can keep my narrative and dialog real to me. And there was such a roller-coaster of emotions in this tale... as I said in my post-script, pretty much anytime my characters shed a tear in the story, so did I. Except I did so during the writing. And then again, during the re-read. Then again while revising. Then again while editing. And I wondered if any other authors brain's put then through that kind of wringer.

As for the series itself, I ended up being very happy with the final result, even though I had several moments that I thought "Wow, this chapter is CRAP, what are you even doing? (This happened to me several times in Chapter Six, should you be wondering.)

The final word count for my entire series was 119,902, making it about 30,000 words longer than the average romance novel, which... holy shit. That's about my only reaction. I just added up my word count this morning for the first time and then sat there staring at my screen, thinking "holy shit" over and over. I wrote a novel, a lengthy novel, in five months, while working a full time job and taking three graduate level courses. I mean, no wonder I screwed up my brain.

I will say that the only reason I was successful in my endeavor at all is that from the very first chapter, the readers on this site were positive, helpful, and kind. The emails and comments I got were almost overwhelmingly positive. I only got two comments that made me mad during the whole series. (One said "The story is good, but maybe don't focus on the music and flying so much" which, if you've read my series, would make you laugh a lot.) So, just know if you are one of the ones who sent me a kind comment or email, I was able to finish because of your encouragement. Thank you.

I can't lie to you, I already have another series planned out. In fact, since I'm on Christmas break from school, I've finished the first chapter already. But as I said, this time around I won't be publishing anything until I have the series entirely completed, and as I have one last semester of grad school ahead of me, I can't imagine possibly getting it done before then. I can't do that to myself again. And while I DO want to write this next story, I can't predict what's in store for me between now and then. I might finish this series and post it someday. I might lose interest during my sabbatical and never return here. Heck, I might take my next series and submit it for publication somewhere, if it ends up being as long as Hard Landing.That's why in my post-scrip I promise nothing, because I don't want to disappoint anyone.

And with that, I'm going to disappear now.

Farewell, friends.

 

[OneAuthor]

It's great that your "Hard Landing" series was so well received.

I probably should have also waited until my series was fully written to begin posting it, but I became impatient.

Wishing you the happiest of holidays, and all the best in your studies as well as your future writing.

 

[yukonnights]

BrokenSpokes, Your story sounds interesting. I'll have to put it on my to 'read list'.

To your question about writing all of a series first; I've written a few long series, and yes, I wrote the entire story and submitted all chapters/parts on the same day. This is the best way to do it since the chapters get published out every few days. It makes readers happy, keeps the story on the new list for a long time, and most importantly allows the author to write in a more controlled and cohesive way.

I've also written a couple of longish one-shot stories. Both ways have done well for me.

The story I'm currently writing started it's life as a multi-chapter idea. In this case, I've now consolidated it into a longer one-shot story. As I began to write it, I did so in separate parts that would have been the decent sized chapters. I always do this on the chapter stories as it seems to offer a more seamless product. However, on this one it just felt better to bring it all into one longer story. So, there's a flexibility to the multi-part approach too. In my view, the greatest benefits of the multi part story are; It gives busy readers smaller bites to take on, and it keeps the story on the new list longer. That all adds up to more readers.

Thanks for sharing your journey on how much you put into this story.

 

[ElectricBlue]

BrokenSpokes, Your story sounds interesting. I'll have to put it on my to 'read list'.

Trust me, it is. It's a powerful jolt of a story, Melissa style, that is fueled by emotion and love. Spokes deservedly got the praise she was given.

And to answer the original question, have other authors put themselves through the same wringer, or write it all first, then publish? I've done both, churning something out the door over half a year, twenty-one chapters, one every week or two. Hectic, fevered and fun; but taught me not to do it again.

When I set out on my big long Arthurian myth thing (that came in at 103k words) I made the deliberate decision to finish it first, however long it took. Taking the pressure off myself was the best thing I ever did, and I think the novel is better for it. I wasn't alone with it though - I sent each chapter off to two readers as it was written, and occasionally took their feedback on board. The big arc was clear in my head from the beginning (the Lady of the Lake), but I had no idea who would arrive to get me to the end.

The downside, though: it meant I only published two pieces that year (both of which I considered side projects at the time, even if one has spawned a second part which I'm writing now, two years later).

 

[yukonnights]

Trust me, it is. It's a powerful jolt of a story, Melissa style, that is fueled by emotion and love. Spokes deservedly got the praise she was given.

And to answer the original question, have other authors put themselves through the same wringer, or write it all first, then publish? I've done both, churning something out the door over half a year, twenty-one chapters, one every week or two. Hectic, fevered and fun; but taught me not to do it again.

When I set out on my big long Arthurian myth thing (that came in at 103k words) I made the deliberate decision to finish it first, however long it took. Taking the pressure off myself was the best thing I ever did, and I think the novel is better for it. I wasn't alone with it though - I sent each chapter off to two readers as it was written, and occasionally took their feedback on board. The big arc was clear in my head from the beginning (the Lady of the Lake), but I had no idea who would arrive to get me to the end.

The downside, though: it meant I only published two pieces that year (both of which I considered side projects at the time, even if one has spawned a second part which I'm writing now, two years later).

I know every person here writes for a different reason — or different priorities. For me, I don't worry about productivity. That's pretty obvious by my small number of stories after such a long ride here. I write for me. Writing these stories is personally rewarding. So I'd say it's not so much of a downside that you didn't publish more in that year because you were still creating and feeding that need.

ETA: I've already added chapter 1 of Brokenspokes story to my Read Later list — looks quite yummy!

 

[MelissaBaby]

Trust me, it is. It's a powerful jolt of a story, Melissa style, that is fueled by emotion and love. Spokes deservedly got the praise she was given.

And to answer the original question, have other authors put themselves through the same wringer, or write it all first, then publish? I've done both, churning something out the door over half a year, twenty-one chapters, one every week or two. Hectic, fevered and fun; but taught me not to do it again.

When I set out on my big long Arthurian myth thing (that came in at 103k words) I made the deliberate decision to finish it first, however long it took. Taking the pressure off myself was the best thing I ever did, and I think the novel is better for it. I wasn't alone with it though - I sent each chapter off to two readers as it was written, and occasionally took their feedback on board. The big arc was clear in my head from the beginning (the Lady of the Lake), but I had no idea who would arrive to get me to the end.

The downside, though: it meant I only published two pieces that year (both of which I considered side projects at the time, even if one has spawned a second part which I'm writing now, two years later).

I'm a genre! It sounds like this series is one I should read.

BrokenSpokes, congratulations.

But 119,000 words? Pfft. Mary and Alvin is at 275,000 with six chapters to go.

 

[BrokenSpokes]

I'm a genre! It sounds like this series is one I should read.

BrokenSpokes, congratulations.

But 119,000 words? Pfft. Mary and Alvin is at 275,000 with six chapters to go.

I’m a newbie though! This was the first fiction I’ve ever written.

 

[EvelynEden]

Congratulations!

That is incredibly exciting! A really huge feat, you should be so proud- I definitely think a well-deserved rest is in order lol It actually astounds me you were able to give so much to a story with all the commitments you had on the outside world, I really commend you!

Good luck with everything and enjoy your Christmas holidays!

 

[ElectricBlue]

But 119,000 words? Pfft. Mary and Alvin is at 275,000 with six chapters to go.

Ha! You're just a dabbler, Melissa.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest_novels