Midlist Writer: Starting on book number 11

Monday 30 May 2011

Starting on book number 11

Last week I finished the page proofs for my tenth book, a title for Osprey Publishing's new Raid series. Ride Around Missouri: Shelby's Great Raid 1863 continues my research on the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi Theater. There'll be more to come! It's available for preorder if you want to be nice to me.

This week I'm starting research on book number 11, another title in Osprey's Raid series. Osprey is good to me so I keep writing for them. The Last Ride of the James-Younger Gang--Jesse James and the Northfield Raid 1876 is taking Osprey in a new direction with Wild West books. Mine is the first and I'm sure it won't be the last.

This is what it's like to be a midlist writer. You finish one project and start the next one. Year in, year out. Eleven books is small potatoes compared with some midlisters. In an article I wrote about midlisters, I interviewed half a dozen midlisters about their careers. Three stood out. Jane Toombs has published more than 80 novels, the majority of them romance, with big names such as Silhouette and Avon. Lawrence Schimel has published more than 90 books and almost 200 short stories. Sally Odgers beats them all with about 300 titles in virtually all genres.

I'm only 41, so I figure I have at least thirty years of active writing life ahead of me. When I think of the number of books, articles, and blog posts I'll do in that time, sometimes I get really excited, and sometimes I feel exhausted!

Ah well, back to writing!

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