Ask me for anything but time.

Napoleon was once asked during a battle by one of his Marshals for more time to maneuver his unit and carry out his part of the plan. To which Napoleon answered, “ask me for anything but time.” Napoleon knew that the battle was progressing according to many factors outside of his control, and he couldn’t manufacture more time. The same is true for most of us. I know I never have enough time. I am kind of a one man publisher these days. I write, I edit, I revise, I make my own covers, then I format the books to put out online. Then there is Twitter, and blogs, and promotions, and all the things I have to do to actually get some notice. Add to that a full time job, taking care of pets, and taking care of myself, and there never seems to be enough time. The full time job requires my presence forty a week. I can take some vacation days, or call in sick, though often that means I really am sick, and really not good for anything at that time. I have diabetes, and if I don’t take care of myself I can get really sick, so that also takes priority. But I love writing, really almost every aspect of it (though I am not that enthused about reading a manuscript for the seventh or eighth time to make sure I’ve gotten all the errors. And getting all the errors almost never happens to any of us, even those published by big name houses). It is what I want to do as a full time job, and now that dream seems to be opening up before my eyes.
I have a lot of books on Amazon already, the result of years of writing. Seven of those represent three series, which was probably too much to have going at one time, but it is what I have. Exodus is doing very well, and I have received emails, replies to blog entries and reviews calling for more, and as soon as I can produce it. The Deep Dark Well also did pretty good, and several reviews asked for more. More is now out in the second book of the series. Refuge is doing OK, not as well as I want, but it is selling and is generating some interest and reviews, including several who have asked for the next book. The smart business decision would be to concentrate on the two series that are doing so well and just put Refuge on hold (despite the fact that I have an emotional investment in Refuge from developing the world over such a long time, fourteen years). But I feel it is my obligation to continue all the series, so I will be working on the next book this year and hopefully have it out before Fall. From then on all new writing will be on these series until they either end or I need a break to do something else. I have two more books on the harddrive that are first draft finished, and I may work on getting them out as well, but there is also a first book of a fantasy trilogy that will not see the light of day for several years, as I don’t have time for another series right now.
There is never a guarantee that a series will end. Some go on long after they should have reached a stopping point. There is also no guarantee a series will continue to a logical conclusion. Some authors get bored with the characters and storyline. Sometimes other things get in the way. I was a great fan of Robert Adams and his Horse Clans series. He had finished twenty some books, with a developing storyline that promised many more. He died before he could write any more books, and the series just ended at a point where there were so many unanswered questions. Hopefully that will not happen with any of my series.

2 comments on “Ask me for anything but time.”

Hi Doug,

My name is Gary Nelson. I’m an avid science fiction and fantasy reader. I’m also a full-time deputy prosecuting attorney and husband, so I understand completely the feeling that there aren’t enough hours in the day.

That being said, I read both exodus books in two days, finishing each around midnight before going to bed. I made a comment somewhere suggesting to make the books longer and you replied.

I did notice throughout my reading that your novel suffered from a lack of a dedicated editor. There were typo’s that don’t get caught by spellcheck, such as “through” when you meant to say “though.” I write too, but I write to a judge and a court, and my writings must be perfect.

You really need another set of eyes, someone that will read it for you and underline spelling and grammer errors.

That being said, it was done well enough so that it did not detract much from the experience. If you want that crisp, polished finished product that really will put you over the top, you need someone to read these books for you before you publish.

I’d do it for you just for the chance to read the book, but I fully understand the risk you’d take giving over a non-published work to someone you don’t know. My suggestion is to find someone you trust that’ll do it for you. In law school I let my wife read my briefs for me and it probably made the difference of a letter grade for me. I hope this is helpful,

Gary

dougdandridge on February 2, 2013 at 8:28 AM said:

Thanks Gary. And I agree. I need another pair of eyes, because mine are not what they used to be. I’ve always had a talent in finding things I was looking for with a scan, like someone’s car keys in a field with a dozen people looking, I would see them immediately when walking into the field. Or data sets in graduate school. But yeah, I do seem to have problems picking up every mistake in my own work. The problem was money basically, I was barely making it and was putting these books out on a prayer. It was not worth it to pay someone hundreds of dollars to proof something that might make ten dollars a month. With Exodus that is no longer a problem, and I will be looking for a proofer when I finish book three (well actually before that). I live in a town with two Universities and a large Community College, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find someone at a reasonable price. Thanks for the interest in my work. Doug.

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