Creative work at any pace is still creative work.
In 2020, following a few fits and starts, I buckled down and completed the work to publish 3 novels. This included the first two Void Incursion sci-fi/sci-fantasy books and the standalone Infamy Ascending fantasy.
For 2021, I had a much more ambitious plan. I would publish 6 books in total. There would be the 4 planned novels of my Forgotten Fodder clone sci-if series and two more of my Void Incursion novels. Writing took place until about mid-2021. Then it was all about the editing, assembly, publishing, and marketing.
By the end of 2021, I had published 9 books in 2 years. I was thrilled. Look what I did!
For 2022, the plan had been to write and publish at least 2 more novels. The final Void Incursion novel and the 3rd of my Source Chronicles fantasy novels. Additionally, I had plotted another 4 books for Forgotten Fodder and 6 novels for a new sci-fi series called Savagespace.
Unfortunately, I had to face a troubling truth. The cost of editing and having covers made for 9 novels in 2 years didn’t make for an acceptable ROI. Which meant my attention turned to alternate sources of income and new marketing means to garner more sales of my books.
This meant that my creative work slowed down. A lot. Instead of completing my edits to Check and Mate – Void Incursion book 5 – I am still slowly working on getting through it (necessary before I send it to an editor).
What’s more, though I decided to start work on the first Savagespace novel – it’s slow going. And that can be distressing.
But slow creative work is still better than no creative work.
We set out own pace
One of the challenges I know other writers and artists face is pacing. Where is the line between doing enough work and not doing sufficient work? How do you judge if you are creating enough in a timely manner?
Traditional jobs tend to have a set pacing. Sometimes, it’s incredibly specific – like the process of constructing a cheeseburger at Mcdonald’s. Other times, it’s vague – you go to a cubicle at an office where you work for 8 hours between 9-5. During those 8 hours, you do your work.
Unless you have a deadline – you’re setting your own pace. We choose how fast or slowly we work. Indie authors and other artists without deadlines or commissions work when and how we work.
Not long ago, I sat in on a talk at a con by author Timothy Zahn. When he explained his process, I got to see that my process – at its peak – was the same.
Do the work. Write at least 1500 words a day. With that process, I completed 9 novels in 2 years.
Well, no, that’s not entirely true. More than 2/3 of the Void Incursion books were written. That’s because I started to write that series in 2015. I wrote it as I have written most things – by the seat of my pants. I determined that the overarching work could be broken into books. When I began that in 2020, there was enough material for the first 3 novels.
Thus, over 2020/2021, I wrote 5 books. Still ambitious. But that pace has not followed me into 2022.
Still doing creative work – slowly
I have made some excellent headway into the first Savagespace novel. There will be 6 novels in this series.
But for this series, I am debating if I will start promoting things in advance of publishing – or look into finding an agent and going the traditional route. The jury remains out on this at the moment.
That, too, has slowed me down. Since I am uncertain how this is going to turn out and which direction to take it in, I’m less sure of it and myself. So, the writing is happening – but slowly.
Still – slow creative work is better than no creative work.
Why? Because there is so much joy in what I create. I love to write these stories, And the Savagespace series has me super excited.
It may be slow going, and it might not be at the pace it was before. But I am still doing the creative work. And slow creative work is better than none.
Creating is empowering. And the feeling I get from the work I do and the art I create drives me to do more.
If you are concerned that you are creating too slowly – don’t be. Just work on your creative projects as joyfully as you can, whatever your pace might be. And don’t be afraid that it’s not good enough, fast enough, or anything else.
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