A Painful Calculus, or Should I Delay Publication by a Year?
The last two days of Worldcon have been wonderful, but I’m going to hold off on a recap because I need your help. Probably.
Last post I mused about the price one pays for an interdisciplinary life. In the spirit of embracing that sacrifice, I’ve spent the last days of Worldcon brooding over the difficult and painful calculus of timing three books and an MD. I’ve had wonderful conversations with authors I respect and with my editor. The results are a bit surprising. So rather than explain the dilemma to friends and family over and over, I’ve posted the situation below. If you have any advice, please *please* pass it along.
Prime Directive: NO BOOK CONTRACTS DURING INTERNSHIP AND RESIDENCY.
Medical Rules
- Both pre-clinical years of med school must be completed without interruption.
- The clinical years may be split and/or be delayed.
- Only after the first clinical year can medical students become fairly certain what type of medicine they want to practice
- Research conducted in a field helps one to match in that field.
Publishing Rules
- The first book has a flexible publication date, the second and third do not
- The second book should come out a year after the first, the third at least two years after the second
- From submission of a final manuscript to publication takes roughly nine months
- Polishing and promoting a book help increase its sales
My present circumstance:
- Book one, Spellwright, is more or less in the bag. It needs a few days of work, but I’m certain I could submit a finished manuscript by the end of the month.
- Book two, Spellbound, is shaping up nicely—15k words of solid prose, another 30k of soggier drafts that need to be reworked. I’ve a strong, detailed outline.
- Book two will have to go through one maybe two rewrites.
- I begin my second pre-clinical year in late August, finish the next July or August (depending on when I take the medical licensing exam)
- I can produce little during the year (~1k/week).
- I plan to take two years out to do part-time research and write. I’ll graduate in 2013.
- During my years out, I must work part time (likely in clinical research) to keep benefits and stop med school debt from crushing me.
If I submit Spellwright for immediate publication, it will hit bookstores Fall 09. If I took the next year out, it would take me about nine months to write book two, nine more months for Tor to get it on the shelves: giving me a book two pub date in Winter 11. A two year delay between books one and two: not a deadly situation for a young novelist, but a dangerous one.
However, if I delay Spellwright publication until Spring 10 and take a year out, book two comes out only a year later in Winter 11.
After this point things become exceedingly tricky. When should I take my second year out? Right after the first so as to ensure all three books are published close together? Should I take my second year out after my first clinical, allowing me to do research in the field I will apply to? Etc. etc.
The current favorite is a on-and-off approach: take a year out to do part time general research and write book two, sprint through first clinical year, take a second year out to do research in my chosen specialty and write book three, and then finally undertake residency application and the second clinical year. That would see Spellwright published Spring 2010, Spellbound Spring 2011, Disspell Spring 2013.
If you’re still reading this, I love you dearly and welcome your advice.
Comments
8 Responses to “A Painful Calculus, or Should I Delay Publication by a Year?”
Kei
4:13 pm Aug-11-2008
Ah, Blake, I wish I had some advice on the subject. Alas, I don’t but hope that whatever you decide leaves you with peace on the decision. That said, didn’t Eragon have 2 years before book 1 and book 2? Still greatly successful!
Kendall
8:52 pm Aug-11-2008
Knowing little about any of these topics, I hesitate to comment.
But…as much as I’d like to read your debut novel, delaying may be best. Eragon aside, I feel that having books 1 & 2 not more than a year apart is good. A delay before book 3 isn’t as big a deal, IMHO. Just speaking as a reader.
But my head spun reading this post, so take with many grains of salt!
blakecharlton
11:43 pm Aug-11-2008
Thank you both for the support.
It’s funny about the need for books 1 and 2 to be within a year of each other. There are plenty of counter-examples (I’m sure Pat Rothfuss is about to be the next one), and yet, I still am wary of it.
I think it’s because when I read a debut novel, I’m not really ‘sold’ on an author until I’ve seen the second attempt. Which is maybe not fair. A lot of writers and musicans I know worry about a “sophomore jinx”. As one friend put it “You have your whole life to write your first book, and only a year for the second.”
I’m not sure if Eragon was a counter-example or a special case: Paolini was only 14 when he started it (right?). I think we’re likely to give him a little extra time for that. And the fact that he was carried by a mainstream house that threw their full weight behind him might have helped also.
Jack Kincaid
9:20 am Aug-12-2008
In your situation, I would probably lean toward the off-and-on approach you mentioned. Probably. I’m not too intimate with having a life outside of composing fiction (in one form or another). Thus the allocation of time has never been an issue. My only advice would be: once you make a decision, do your best to stick to it. Otherwise, you might end up with future dilemmas. Of course, you might anyway, as life is inherently a complicated mess. Welcome back.
blakecharlton
10:12 am Aug-12-2008
Thank you sir, and a welcome back to you. I think you’re very wise about sticking to a decision about priorities (writing vs. medicine vs. sleep) and not looking back. But what someone else pointed out the other day, is that i’m probably obsessing a little too much about life three years hence when my life changes so radically from year to year. I’m guessing that over planning can be as dangerous as under planning.
Jess
8:01 am Aug-13-2008
This makes my head hurt. No idea what the right choice is.
For what it’s worth, another consideration: every grad student I know hit a major wall at some point — either their brain needed a rest, or they got seriously physically sick (the body’s way of slowing us down?). Give yourself a little wiggle room if you possibly can, because the odds are really high that you’ll need it.
Kei
8:52 am Aug-13-2008
[QUOTE]For what it’s worth, another consideration: every grad student I know hit a major wall at some point — either their brain needed a rest, or they got seriously physically sick (the body’s way of slowing us down?). Give yourself a little wiggle room if you possibly can, because the odds are really high that you’ll need it.[/QUOTE]
Great point~ just know Blake, that what ever you decide, you’re going to have people cheering you on.
blakecharlton
9:42 am Aug-13-2008
[quote] just know Blake, that what ever you decide, you’re going to have people cheering you on. [/quote]
oh, i know it. in fact i just bought some pom-poms online. they’ll be showing up at your door in a few days
thanks so much for the support!