Some lucky people simply write one book at a time and publish it. Others, especially in Sci-fi or Crime, may have one or more books in one or more series going at any one time, but at least they’re working in a single genre. What happens when you are working across several genres at once?
My children’s book The Priceless Princess is at last readily available in the print version for Australian customers and it is definitely time to make more of a marketing push with it. But everyone who reads it wants to know what is coming next? I have the next Priceless Princess adventure in the wings, but should I take time out from other projects right now to pursue it?
My main focus this year has been on the Memoirs. Two volumes are finished but both need re-editing and a third volume is half-way written. Every new volume seems to mean the others have to be changed in some significant ways. And writing Memoirs is so psychologically punishing. Will write more about this soon. Suffering perilous bouts of self pity and sometimes self-loathing, it is not surprising that I keep on wanting to run with the Cat Chronicles again.
Suburban Gigolo was the lead-in but the whole project will involve at least three more volumes, all around 20,000 words or more. Have been having fun drafting some cover-art for the first one. There are so many options but I need to get my Photoshopping done.
I love writing in different genres! My two WIPs couldn’t be more different—one’s an epic fantasy series, the other a YA contemporary standalone. Perhaps the rules are different if you’re actively publishing material, but I’ve always found it easiest to work on whichever project takes my fancy on a given day. That way, even if you’re struggling with one, you can still be productive by working on the other. Good luck!
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Thanks Rebecca for your thoughts. I think what is doing my head in at the moment is the switching between fiction and narrative non-fiction. Memoirs require constant checking back in TRW. My Cat Chronicle stories are based on historical “fact” as far as it can be known (maybe I didn’t mention them yet… oh well). The two short story volumes are pretty much entirely fiction but even so there are still “facts” that need to be established. Epic fantasy must be great! Look forward to reading your work…
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Thank you! I can see how switching back and forth there could be tricky. On the other hand, it might be good to give your brain a break from fact-checking every now and then and dabble in something else… 😊
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