Too Many Ideas

I’d bet that every author I know can sympathize with me. I have more ideas for books to write than I can get to. AND, I know it’s not smart to write willy-nilly anything that interests me.

I’ve learned over the years that when readers like a series, if I stall too long between one book and the next, I’m risking losing readers. I can see that right now when I look at my numbers for books sold. It’s been too long since I wrote a Nick and Laurel book. I wrote a short story with them for the anthology A Word Before Dying, edited by TG Wolff. https://www.amazon.com/Word-Before-Dying-Mysteries-Die-ebook/dp/B0B99BRBNL/ref=sr_1_1?crid=124L680R5NOGT&keywords=A+Word+Before+Dying%2C+TG+Wolff&qid=1673733937&s=digital-text&sprefix=a+word+before+dying%2C+tg+wolff%2Cdigital-text%2C72&sr=1-1 It takes me a while to write a short story, usually longer than writing a few chapters for a book, because the entire story has to be told in a short amount of time, and that actually makes me work harder than usual. So, I got my Nick and Laurel fix when I sent that story in, but most readers don’t buy an anthology just because I have a short story in it, so most of them never saw the story. And they’re losing interest in the pair. I get it. I hate waiting between books in my favorite series, too.

Some of the writers who are my favorites are pounding out books really fast to meet the demand as long as readers like their books. I understand that, too. When I finished a Savannah Martin mystery by Jenna Bennett, I wanted to read the next one. Now. Immediately. And as long as I was behind in the series, I flew through one book after another. But then I reached the last one. And I had to wait. So I turned to other books, other authors. Thank goodness for BookBub sending out new releases by authors I like, because it was so long between books, I gave up. But guess what? There’s a new one coming out soon, and I pre-ordered it. But that doesn’t always happen. Readers move on. They find new authors, new series.

My problem? I have an idea for a new Karnie and Matt mystery. And it excites me. But I also have an idea for a new Nick and Laurel I really like, and then….I have an idea for a brand new series that keeps calling to me. And I really want to write it. BUT, I only have so much time. And I’m a slow writer. So after I finish Jazzi and Ansel 10–which has a ways to go yet–I have to decide which book to write next. And that’s HARD.

I wish my brain and fingers were faster. But that’s not going to happen. So, I guess I’ll make that decision when I get there. And try to write faster than usual.