Published: January 2nd 2025, 5:09:38 pm
Hi all!
As I've been writing over the years, I've found my cadence has changed as my situation has changed in various ways. Over the past few months, I've fallen into a different cadence, and I'm finding myself needing to change the schedule to better match my writing pattern.
Short version: BTDEM is going to move to 2 chapters/week, with NO admin week during the month. It's what I'm currently doing these days anyway.
Long version: Between trying to stick the landing with BTDEM (Holy shit, finishing an epic is SUPER HARD! Starting a story is easy mode, sticking the landing is far, FAR harder than I ever imagined), and a mix of burnout with other mental stuff, I'm finding it super hard to get three chapters a week done. I keep writing two a week, and finding more pushed into my admin week. I don't think I've had a 0 chapter admin week in months - I've always been writing, trying to stay on top of it. Heck, I spent a lot of the Christmas vacation writing and working on stuff! It's clear I need to rethink my approach.
Starting in February I'm going to 2 chapters/week, Monday-Friday, but I'm cutting out admin week. I do most of my admin work every Monday as-is, and spend the rest of the week writing. January's admin week is going to be the week of the 13th... in which I fully expect to be writing the entire time anyway.
This does change the total number of chapters per month, but not by much. 2 chapters a week x 4 weeks = 8 chapters. 3 chapters a week x 3 weeks = 9 chapters. One only chapter difference on months where there are 4 effective posting weeks.
2/week x 5 weeks = 10 chapters
3/week x 4 weeks = 12 chapters
Two chapter difference on months where there are 5 effective posting weeks.
I've been deeply worried about the immediate cry - "This is just extending the end of BTDEM to milk more money out of Patreon!" - I can promise you that's not a factor. If I wanted to milk BTDEM forever, there are SO MANY ARCS I could just throw in for shits and giggles. I could write endless stories, and just keep the ball rolling. I'm not doing that. I've got a book and a half left, I've got all the plots laid out, I know I want to reach the end. I don't want to rush it. I don't want to leave hanging plotlines - except deliberately (CoughPASTOScough) - and I don't want it to be low quality. I also don't want to torture the end too long. I want people to look at BTDEM and say "Yes, it landed in a solid way". (Unlike, say, GOT....)
As much as I'd love to start writing the next project (I'm super excited for it), BTDEM comes FIRST. Which unfortunately means there might be a modest, to significant delay after BTDEM ends before the first chapter of 'Song of the Giftgiver' is posted. Or maybe an entirely different project. (I've got a fun magic school rattling around in my head...). I feel like sitting down and writing those projects though, when BTDEM isn't done and I'm not posting THE BEST on it, would be a betrayal of you all. To me, that's more important than being excited to write a new project. And I don't have the gas to write ALL THE THINGS, unlike some authors.
The last note! I really hope I don't need to go back to admin week, but it's entirely possible I will need to take the occasional week off for my mental health. I wish that wasn't the case. I wish I could sit down at my computer and write 20k words a day. Could you all imagine? We'd get so much story so fast! I just... can't, and it's upsetting. I love nothing more than sharing my world and story with all of you.
Thank you all, for being with me every step of the way.
Cheers!
Selkie