Rapid Release or Releasing Rapidly?
Two different publishing strategies
For a while now, the idea of “rapid release” as a way to make money in self-publishing has been pushed forward by many industry gurus.
This means writing a set of books quickly, all in the same genre, often with the same tropes, and then publishing them one after another, usually a month or less apart.
Many heavy-duty readers will read a book a day—I know my mother used to read a Harlequin romance each day, between her morning commute on the train to New York, her lunch hour, her evening return, and then at the end of the day in bed.
If readers like your book and want more, you want those books to be available to them. And that rapid pace can help Amazon introduce your books to more readers.
But that can lead to burnout. Years ago, I was offered a three-book contract for the Angus Green series by Diversion Books. They wanted to do this kind of rapid release, perhaps two or three months between books.
I worked steadily, writing book after book. By the time I finished, I was exhausted. The pressure to keep writing was tough, and I had no chance to replenish my creative well with anything else.
That taught me a lesson. Rapid release wasn’t for me.
Bless Our Sleep is a finalist for the Shamus Award for best paperback private
eye novel. I’ll know September 4 if I won!
After I retired from teaching, I looked at all the books I had started, abandoned, finished. With lots of time on my hands, I began to whip those into shape. That’s when I started “releasing rapidly.”
The books were all different. A golden retriever mystery, a historical MM romance, a private eye novel set in 1969 (Bless Our Sleep, above). The first Smiling Dog Café. Because I had so much in the pipeline already, and I had the time, I was able to get a book out every month.
That was 2024-205. A year later, I’m starting to wear out again. Self-publishing isn’t just about writing the books. It’s about editing them, publishing them, and promoting them. That’s where I start to wear down. With a new book every month, especially as they’re all in different genres, I have to come up with different promotional strategies and then carry them out.
I heard an interesting quote today on a podcast. “Traditional media builds credibility, while digital media builds buzz.” Since it’s not likely I’ll get any traditional media coverage, I hope the digital world takes notice of The Big Race, my next contemporary MM romance.
The subtitle is An MM Second Chance Adventure Romance, because adding all those words as a subtitle gives potential buyers a thumbnail look at the tropes in the book. The guys on the cover are in their 40s, and they’re fully clothed, so that indicates a low level of sexual content. The background shows the romance of travel.
The Big Race is about a couple on the brink of divorce who decide to compete on an Amazing Race clone to see if their marriage is worth saving. It was a whole lot of fun to write, and I worked hard on deepening the emotion while creating fun challenges for the racers. I was particularly happy to write a section set in Nice, where I have spent a lot of time.
I haven’t published a contemporary romance since 2017, so I’ve had to get familiar with all the current blogs and Facebook groups.
I have high hopes for this, because my editor loved it, and reviews from my beta readers have been great. One wrote, “Spectacular! I love your work but this was exciting, emotional, breathtaking and so much more. I've been to Luang Prabang, Vientiane and been caught in that torrential rain. I've been on the Mekong River, seen the lotus flowers, the Water Hyacinth and smelled the forests. Your writing has brought it all back, vividly!”
Another wrote, “WOW! YOU DID IT AGAIN! I loved the characters and their development thru the story. I also love how you embrace other cultures.”
If you’ve enjoyed the Aidan and Liam adventures, or any of my romances, I hope you’ll give The Big Race a try. It’s up for pre-order now, for a release on September 8.
With love and gratitude,
Neil
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