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I haven't posted a story in what seems life forever. Sure, I posted a poem a little while ago, but that's not the same thing. Rest assured, I am in the middle of a grand work. It is 180k words and still going strong (I don't look forward to editing).
When I don't post new things, sometimes I go back and look at comments and reviews from old stories. And since I sold a small boatload of God Bless the Child books last week I decided to check out the reviews for smiles sake.
It is an odd thing. The sales, until recently, haven't been there for GBTC but the reviews are awesome (minus one detractor). But there has been a growing sentiment that people want to know more about Jenny and what happens to her through high school. I have a story in mind, kind of. I don't think it is a strong story, but it has a decent message. The issue is my enthusiasm for the story is not as high as I would like it to be. I have so many ideas vying for attention that it is hard to pick what to do next. I want to write a christian guide to transitioning, I want to write a non-tg baseball story, I want to write a m2f/f2m romance and the list goes on. But everyone seems to want to know more about Jenny and I have not one but two stories that include her. One is about when she graduates and another is an appearance in the sequel of the book I'm writing now. With the 4th GBTC book her role in the sequel makes little sense.
So, do I give the people what they want. Do I plod along and go with whatever story shouts at me to write next. I wish the current book would hurry up and finish too. It is too long but it is good and I am at some really good parts now. I might be done by the end of the month.
I think the true answer is giving up my job and being a writer full time. If I could organize myself I can be quite productive. Normally once I have hold of an idea, words fly. Just looking for some feedback.
Comments
Coming from a voracious reader...
Not really much of an author though...
It's a common problem I see many of my favorite authors face, and you're one of them.
It seems that for most, the answer seems to be "yes". Occasionally you need to do your best to give your fans exactly what they want even if you're not nearly as excited about it as they are... And then go right back to writing what DOES excite you most.
Especially if you want to make the majority or even all of your money from writing. It's the fans that pay the bills.
Presently I haven't got any money to be buying any more books right now anyways... But if I did, I'd probably buy anything you wrote, whether it's a Jenny story, or something else.
But I'm an unusual sort of reader in that way. Most readers get attached to things much more and can't just let it go and move on to something new.
Abigail Drew.
I agree
with Abigail. If you're writing for money, then you need to appeal to your fan base. On the other hand, you need to keep your own enthusiasm up so this doesn't become a grind. Space out the purely money-makers with stuff that you really want to do.
My own poor advice such as it is, since I haven't sold a thing as of yet. :)
hugs
Grover
PS: Several commercial writers I follow uses this method. They put their major efforts into the pay stuff, but also write occasional serials which they let their muses have fun.
Let's look at both sides....
From a purely artistic standpoint, I'd say leave well enough alone. As much as I would love to know what happens to Jenny (I absolutely adore the character) I consider the story arc to have concluded quite nicely in the first three books.
From a purely commercial one, I'd bite the bullet and do the sequel(s). The public, when they like something, finds it notoriously difficult to say goodbye to a character or series. L. Frank Baum, to his everlasting frustration, found that to be true of his young Oz fans. I think Arthur Conan Doyle felt the same frustration with fans of his Sherlock Holmes, too. It's why in Hollywood we have umpteen sequels of one movie and untold "reimaginings" of another. In popular fiction, there's no such thing as "The End."
I suppose if I were you, what I'd try to keep in mind is this: every sequel you do takes just a little bit more away from the original work and to some extent robs it of its emotional power. Do you want to risk watering down the impact of your first three stories?
Livin' A Ragtime Life,
Rachel
Agee with everyone else. Once
Agee with everyone else. Once a reader latches on to a character they want so much more and also can be saddened when that series ends because it feels like the character life ends too. Probably why comic strips were so successful for so long as well as comic books
The Concern...
...with writing sequels that you're not comfortable with is that they can disappoint readers and make them less likely to buy later works, related and not.
I've been a lone voice here on several occasions for leaving well enough alone when an author has already clearly given us the most important event in her lead character's life. With genre stories in particular -- TG ones in this case -- there's a concern that the unique elements of the character's story have happened already, and that from here on, the story figures to adhere to an all too familiar plotline.
That's certainly less likely with something as far out of the mainstream as GBTC. But if you're having doubts, it seems to me you'd be better off waiting, even indefinitely, and working on the other material.
Eric