REACHING THE END

by June Shaw

I'm breathing. Just breathing. And actually moving my fingers over the keyboard right now to pen this blog. The reason I'm allowing myself time to just breathe--actually, relax and do whatever I want to, even if it's nothing--is because I just finished writing my newest book.

I finished writing it!

Okay, not really. What I've done is complete my second book in the upcoming series, and then I rewrote and revised and edited three times. Day before yesterday I sent it to an excellent beta reader, so it's in her hands now. I need to get it to my editor at Kensington by October 1. Soon after that I'll have to start on the third book in the twin-sisters series they want.

Once book number two, called DEAD ON THE BAYOU comes back to me from my sweet beta reader I'll need to revise it again before the 1st. 

And of course once my editor gets the book at the publishing house, I'll need to do bits of revising again.

In the meantime, I'm going to just breathe. Maybe take a nap.

What do you do once you finish a book?

juneshaw.com

Starting a New Series

by June Shaw

Hm, starting to write a new series is much more difficult than I'd expected.

Of course the characters are different and so is the tone -- to some extent. I'd thought I wouldn't put quite so much romance in this one, but relationships jumped in. Oh right, I think most lives are enhanced with having a loved one, or even a really important person in your life.

My first series features a spunky widow of a certain age who'd trying (without much success) to avoid her hunky dude, and all of those books are fun.

The series I've begun now features divorced sisters--one's hot, one's not--in the interest of romance I mean. This is also fun to write, although parts of the books are darker than those in my Cealie Gunther series.

Yes, I do have ideas for at the second book, and they're wanting to draw me into that one before I complete a final rewrite of the first. I guess that's a good thing. It means I care enough about the concept and characters to stay with them. Yay!

What about you? If you're written more than one series, how do you feel about the characters and plot for the next one? I'd be interested in hearing your ideas. Thanks!

www.juneshaw.com

Writing a Series

by June Shaw

If you're writing a series, how do you know when to continue with it or conclude it?

Much of the answer lies with sales. If you write books that readers keep buying and wanting to read, the response is normally to write more of them. You'll probably also write more books in a series if your publisher wants more and will pay you a decent advance.

Another decision in writing more books in a series is the genre in which you write. Some mystery authors continue to pour out stories through numbers or all the way through the alphabet. Their readers love them, and series authors find knowing their main characters well gives them a boost. The only need to plot (okay, none of writing fiction is really easy) and create additional new characters.

Romance readers LOVE series. They snag one book, and if they enjoy it, will grab all of the rest, anxiously waiting for the next one to be written. These readers often want stories that bind the characters. Notice all those that share the name of a place. The (whatever) Brothers is also a popular hook.

Do you like to read a series of books? If so, in what genres? If you write series, have you known when it's time to step back and change directions? I'd love to hear from readers, including authors.

http://www.juneshaw.com