An interesting discussion over at Exploding Cigars still has me thinking about the merits of finishing the book vs. shopping the partial. I see both sides of this. In some cases, writing the full book on spec is the right thing to do. In other cases…maybe not.
While it would be lovely to think any book I finished would eventually find a home, the truth is there are no guarantees. So writing a book on spec might be its own reward creatively and craftwise, but from a practical standpoint, it means tying up potential earning hours for something which may not earn anything. Since I can’t write an unlimited number of books per year, this is significant.
While it might be lovely to think that all my ideas are genius, the truth is that if everybody passes on a partial…maybe the idea was not so good and I’d be better served coming up with something new and stronger instead of investing valuable time and energy in a project nobody wants.
Then again, I have a project on the side that is unlike anything else I’ve done previously and I fully intend to write it on spec rather than trying to sell on partial. Because it IS unlike anything else I’ve done, I think it will be easier to sell as a complete book. And I don’t want to burn potential sales by sending it out too soon, before it’s finished. The complete is a lot less attractive if it’s already been passed on by all the major houses because the partial came from an author who’d never published in X genre before. (Although actually I have, but not a full novel so the reasoning still holds.)
I have another project I’ll write on spec because I love it with a burning love and if it doesn’t sell I don’t care. Sometimes creative satisfaction is reason enough.
Obviously, I can’t afford too many of these in a given year, because I can only produce so many books per year and I have bills to pay. Spec work is an investment in the future, however, and if I’m not investing in my future, I’m not setting myself up for long-term success. It can’t all be about the immediate reward.
I think the ideal schedule allows time for completing contracted work, time for proposals for future work, and time for spec projects which may lead to future income directly via sale or indirectly via building the author’s skills. I’ve learned something from every project I’ve finished. I’ve also learned that there is a point at which the ship sails on a project, so if you don’t finish it while it’s in port, it may never be complete. This could be a good thing if the idea is a dud, or it could mean you let an opportunity slip away.
Good timing, we just put blackout curtains on the kids’ windows and that should help their rooms stay cooler. (The main concern was blocking the light at bedtime, but there’s a side benefit.) I’d better get the kids’ wading pool filled, too.
