Over the last few months, I’ve been processing my ideas for writing and publishing books going forward. I last published something in 2019, with my short mythology series on Wattpad. I didn’t intend to go five-plus years until publishing my next story, but here we are.

I’m ready to embark on the next phase of my book writing/publishing journey. I say “embark”, because I’m not necessarily ready to publish right now — just to take the next steps. What I haven’t quite decided is how I want to proceed.

I could focus on my duology and try to get those out in 2025, at the soonest. That would enable me to attend a few book conventions or festivals with my duology and my previous novel, The Warden of Everfeld: Memento. I could also hold back, prepare several different stories, and then pursue a more deliberate publication schedule to drive higher overall sales.

So, I need to make a list of the pros and cons.

Publish sooner?

There’s no reason to make two different pros and cons lists, so I’m just going to focus on the most immediate question: Do I want to publish something in the near term, regardless of longer-term timelines?

Pros of publishing sooner

I could get my author name out there again.

• Perhaps have new stories will help drive sales to WoEM. Then again, maybe that will draw unwanted attention to the fact that I have yet to publish my intended sequel to WoEM.
• This likely implies a social media “presence” of some form, something I’m not thrilled about.

It would allow me to attend some book conventions or festivals with more than one book to sell.

• I attended exactly one convention to sell my first book in 2019, and I greatly enjoyed it. It was so much more rewarding to talk to people about my book and meet other authors/creators face-to-face, instead of trying to advertise online.

I could feel like I’m making progress on my writing goals.

• Perhaps a mental hurdle, but sitting on “finished” unpublished works for years could be a detriment to my motivation.

Cons of publishing sooner

I would be left with another uncertain publishing gap.

• I could focus on finishing and publishing my current duology. However, once completed, I would feel the same pressure to identify a publishing timeline for my next work.
• All the book marketing/sales threads, forums, and articles say that you shouldn’t leave too long a gap between publishing cycles. I’m not sure how important that is to me, though.

I’d likely need to establish a social media presence.

• I’m not particularly interested in the idea of producing social media content just to get my name out there. I understand it’s something lots of authors have to do, but it would require additional mental energy I’d need to prepare for.

I’m not decided, but I think I’m leaning towards publishing sooner just to have something attainable to reach for. More pondering is needed.

Steve D