It’s been a while since I’ve updated the status of my various projects, so I thought the time is right for doing such.
The Brotherhood is in the final stages. I’d hoped to start sending out submissions this fall, but that was not to be. A second round of Beta Reading just started today, so it’s going to be at least a month before comments will be returned and processed. With Christmas so close at that point, shopping for publishers and agents will be on hold until next year. That might be for the best, though.
The Archives is on hold. I was asked to read through a couple of books and comment, so my time is going to be used for that in the next couple of weeks (or more). When those two are finished, I’ll be splitting my time between The Archives and Ravid.
Ravid is going through another revision, in case you missed that notification. There are aspects of the story I thought were a good idea at the time, but upon reflection perhaps weren’t wise. Other narrative sections will get fleshed out a bit more so it’s “not so boring” (as Nick and John pointed out).
One of the things I’ve heard editors and agents do is ask new novelists, “What else do you have?” If you have something else to show them they can determine if an author is a One Hit Wonder. They try to select authors with their career in mind. If Ravid is nearly ready to shop around, I can give them an example of what else is coming up.
Since Ravid is the first of three, I’m kind of torn about what to do after that. I’d like to work on the sequel, Aviel. Then there’s a prequel for The Brotherhood I’ve been toying with for years called, The Wizards of Ephesus. Another project with promise is Siba, which would kick off an entire series (Tome` is the planned sequel to that).
The writing I really want to do, though, is The Archives. That series could reach thirty books all by itself. If, somehow, I’m able to write a complete Archives novel every year, I doubt I’d live long enough to finish the series.
One of the authors I used to read had a system where he’d finish four books every year. I kind of remember what he described in the Author’s Note of one of his novels, and it could work. But when I look back at what he wrote it seems simplistic compared to what I want to accomplish.
“What is it you want to accomplish, Mark?”
That’s a fair question. My main purpose in writing is to introduce people to concepts they might not otherwise be exposed to. To do that the books have to be entertaining enough to hold a reader’s interest, and simply cranking out four books in a single year won’t have the depth I want.
Ravid and the sequels used to be a single book. When I began that project I thought of it as my career’s crowning achievement. The decision to split it into three was a tough one, but I think doing that was the right thing to do. After that the concept of The Archives blew that out of the water.
Now I see Ravid as the starting point of my career as an author - the spark which ignites the tinder, so to speak. But where does that leave The Brotherhood?
Only time will tell. But that time is coming soon.
