I’ve been working on my old serial while I let the novel I just finished writing simmer.
A fair amount of people liked the serial, despite its many flaws. It made me quite a chunk of change for the amount of work I put into it. It still brings in some money, mostly from the UK store for some reason where it hovers around 20k. Not bad for a short serial that’s been out for a couple years.
It’s an okay serial, but nothing special. Looking back on it now, I can’t be too harsh on myself. I pantsed it. I had absolutely no idea how it was going to end, but I just ran with it. It turned out alright, but there wasn’t much depth to it.
There was a lot wrong with that serial. I knew the flaws while I was publishing it, and I saw even more as I read through it again this past week. Weak dialogue. Weak scenes. Lack of sufficient backstory. Plot points that were never closed or explained.
There’s a number of reasons why it didn’t work completely. There’s also a number of reason why it sold well.
It’s fast paced. Cliffhangers and conflict. Sexual tension. There’s a bit of suspense, and even some twists.
Even though it had a lot of things going for it, I’d always cringe when I thought about it. It could’ve been so much more if I had the time to give it a facelift.
It just so happens that I have a little time…
After tearing sections of it apart, redoing large swaths of it, and adding more backstory, I have to say it’s shaping up nicely. In a few more weeks, I might even be proud of it, something I couldn’t say when I hit publish on the last installment nearly two years ago.
It has more depth. It has breadcrumbs that I couldn’t add because I’d already published the earlier parts, before I had a grip on the story.
I’ve reworked the lackluster cover and blurb. They’re so much better, and I know they’ll make copies move.
I’m surprised by how much it’s changed over the course of a few weeks. It doesn’t read like a serial anymore. It’s the length of a novel now and it actually reads like one.
I’m excited to see how it fares with readers. If I can get enough eyes on it, I’m sure it will do just fine. The problem will be getting eyes on it, because I’ll be publishing it on a new pen name.
I want a fresh start. Hit that reset button and go.
I’m going to time it so it’s released at the end of the month. After that, I’ll start editing the other novel I just finished, publish that, and then move onto another project.
I’ll be documenting the process here, and no matter what, I’ll share my results. Even if the book tanks. I’ll use it as a learning experience.
Look out for more entries into the romance research series in the near future as I start researching my next novel. I’ll be posting entries at random as I read through some romances. Some of them will be in my niche, but others not. I like to read wide before I really dive in. The posts will basically show how I deconstruct the books I read. My intent is to answer what’s so special about this book? Why is it selling?
I hope they’re helpful!