I’m 100% dedicated to the rough draft of Treasure on the Trail from now through January. I have a lot of journal notes, outline information and ideas recorded for this book. I know where I’m going with each scene, so it’s just down to writing the words, which I find to be the easiest part of writing a book. My typical rate is around 1,000 words per hour, and I usually dedicate 2 hours on weekday nights and 3 to 5 hours on weekends. I should be done with the rough draft near the end of January. I might even be able to edit the book, perform the Read-Out-Loud, and then fix and publish the book before February. I’ll post an update here when I get closer to the end of the rough draft. I usually know when I’m going to publish the book as soon as I complete the rough draft.
As soon as I finish this book, I’ll start Murder at Outlaw Cabin. I already have some journal notes on that book. I should be able to put together the outline for the scenes in two-days time. Then, I’ll plow ahead on the rough draft for that book. I treat book writing like it’s a factory. Keep working on the current book until it’s completed, then start the next.
As I’ve mentioned previously, I have plans to write five books for this series. Then, I’ll pause and focus on the marketing aspect of this series. If it looks promising, then I’ll add five more books to the series right away. If it doesn’t sell, then I’ll start another series. There are so many factors that contribute to selling books. If this series doesn’t sell after the fifth book is complete, then it could be due to the fact that my pen name only has one series of five books. So, the strategy of writing another series (probably another 5-book series) is to increase the number of books under my pen name. By then, assuming that was the cause of low sales, the Q Mysteries will start to pick up. If that happens, then I can switch back to writing more Q Mystery books.
Daphne Blazefire
As a reminder, Elliot is my pen name to separate my mystery series from sci-fi. I publish sci-fi under my real name (Frank DeCaire). You can click on the link and go to Amazon or search my name on Amazon for a list of my sci-fi books. The Daphne Blazefire series is similar to Cozies. They lean more toward sci-fi, but they are humorous and light-hearted, with an adventure. I wrote five of those books just to practice my craft when I was new to the writing gig. After I completed Supercomputer, I poured a ton of time into my education on the craft of writing a book. I took a lot of advanced courses, and two years later (after writing two other series), I came back to the Daphne Blazefire Chronicles and wrote RUSTY’s Memories. I wrote that book to demonstrate what I learned between 2022 and 2024 (and I plan never to stop learning the craft). I also wrote that particular story because it was something that I left hanging in the five-book original series. There was one other thread I left hanging, and that was Daphne’s family (she’s an orphan). I ended RUSTY’s Memories with the start of that adventure, so now I’m committed to another Daphne book (at a minimum). So, between the last Q mystery, which should be published by the end of April, and anything new, I’ll write that Daphne book. I already have a title for that book (Shadows in the Bloodline).
As you can tell, I’ve pretty much mapped out my entire 2025 year. I have other books I want to write, too, but hoo boy, I don’t have enough hours in the day to get them all done. The stories for these books pop into my head every now and then, and I add a journal entry of ideas that I want to apply.
Q Mysteries Ultimate Goal
I’m hoping the Q Mysteries take off, giving me the opportunity to add five more books to the set. If that happens, then the total set will end at 10 books. That doesn’t mean that Q and Bolt’s stories will end there. I would most likely start a new series as a spin-off of the Q Mysteries and write another set. Since I can write a book a month, I could easily put together a 10-book set in a year. This is my production rate while working a full-time job. If I retire (don’t know when that’ll happen yet), then my production rate would increase significantly. When I write from morning to late afternoon, I’m able to get more words down. Not just because I have more hours in the day but because I’m more productive in the morning hours. I’ve had my best days when I’m on a bank holiday. I get up early (since my wife works), then sit down and start writing at 8 AM. By 6 PM, I can crank out 10,000 words. That’s about 1,200 words per hour (assuming an hour lunch break). I usually do that by working 45 to 50 minutes per hour, take a break for 10 to 15 minutes, then continuing the next 1,200 words. Sometimes, when I’m in the zone, I wrote until late at night. The best I’ve done was 13,000 words in one day. Not that I could sustain that rate for 5 days a week, but I know I could do between 9 to 10k per day for 5 days a week. 10k per day translates to a book every two weeks. One week for the rough draft and one week for editing and publishing.
Trying to get my head wrapped around that kind of production rate. That’s how some authors manage 26 books a year.
Well, back to my writing desk…