The Emotional Pitfalls of Writing A Book Series \\ How To Plan and Write a Series, #5
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- Опубликовано: 28 июл 2024
- Today’s video is #5 in our exploration of How to Plan and Write a Series. The emotional challenges and pitfalls of writing a series of books is something that isn’t discussed enough, so I wanted to make sure to highlight this here on RUclips.
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Heart Breathings - Episode 188
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About Me: My name is Sarra Cannon, and I've been indie publishing since 2010. In that time, I have published 26 books and sold well over half a million copies.
I've made some mistakes along the way, but I've also learned some valuable lessons that I think will help you reach your goals. I can't wait to help you learn to make money writing what you love.
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Хобби
Writing a series will challenge you on so many levels. Today, let's talk about some of the emotional pitfalls of writing a series. I hope you find this video helpful! Thanks for watching!
All I could think of with the pitfall of disappointing your fans was Stephen King's Misery. I've always wondered if the idea for this came from a specific personal experience. :)
Saving this for every time I need a reminder to be nicer to myself and stop the cycle of self-doubt and self-sabotage!
I know right it’s a hard cycle to get out of and so easy to dive into. Never give up this community roots for ya 🙂
I didn’t even know how much I needed to hear this, but I really did. Thank you Sarra! ❤️
Sarra, I don't know how you do it, but it seems like every time I need to hear or learn something, your next video or course is always the perfect fit. Like back when I really wanted to write a book, but just couldn't get myself on track to actually write it, I found your HB90 course. Or when I was about to start editing my first book (because the HB90 course works, lol), you started your "How To Edit Your Novel" video series. Or when I was struggling significantly with figuring out this indie publishing business, you started your Publish and Thrive course, which I'm still blown away by.
This video series, and this video, in particular, are just more prime examples of this feat, and I can't thank you enough for it. I needed to hear it today.
I have published three books so far, in two different series, and every time I hit publish, I have gone through a period of time where it seems like I'm just frozen, as you mentioned in this video. I literally go to start working on the next book, and somehow, I end up just staring at a screen, flipping through social media, or just procrastinating in some way, shape, or form for long stretches of time with nothing solid to show for it.
But, like this video says and I can recognize now, all of that is just my fear of failure manifesting itself in procrastination and keeping me from moving forward.
I've also learned through what you've taught me, and I know that the way I've come out of this frozen funk in the past is by setting myself up anew. Planning and organizing are ways that have proven successful for me in the past to stop focusing on the mountain of work that sits in front of me, and really helps me focus on one task at a time, and in the process, I have found that I actually get more excited about what I'm working on this way! I just have to remember that in the future, and when I catch myself being fearful, I need to go back to set myself up again and force myself to tap into that creative well.
The emotional toll of writing a series is real, and I had no idea it was something I was going to face, much less, knew how to prepare myself for emotionally before I started writing.
I am really glad you made this video. I needed a good dose of perspective, and I already know I'm probably going to watch it a few times, lol. So, thank you so much for making it. I truly appreciate it.
What an awesome video Sarra I can't get over your generosity and how much you give to your fellow writers.
WOW! Amazingly powerful video! I'm speechless! I could hear your past struggles in your voice and how you have overcome them, and continue to move forward, and it nearly brought me to tears! I will be watching this again as the content was incredible and nearly every bit of it resonates we me on deep levels. I AM SO VERY EXCITED FOR PULISH AND THRIVE on Monday the 10th! I just registered and I can't wait to start! Sarra, thank you hardly seems like enough! You are an exceptionally gifted person! Thank you again for such wonderful content!
Wow, that was really useful. I can't even remember anybody else addressing these issues. I already know I will rewatch this video many times. Thank you, Sarra!
Ay, me encantan todos los títulos que publicas, suenan muy interesante, pero no entiendo muy bien en inglés. Me pondré a aprenderlo para ver todos tus videos, gracias por compartir todo esto 💞
Great video!!! We're always talking about craft and productivity, but creative spirits need to take care of their mental and emotional health to keep giving. Wow! Thank you so much for being so open and sharing your experiences.
I have been impressed by the series so far, but this installment blew me away. This is exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you.
I really needed to hear this. I write mostly for myself, but I'm still hoping to sell at least 10 books per book I've written once I'm actually done with them and publishing them. My self doubts already got the best of me for multiple books I started and you gave me the motivation to continue them, because I still love the stories.
This video was super helpful! My debut novel is released for sale this Friday on Amazon; some of these issues I came across when writing and some of these issues I am sure I will encounter once the book is published and open for judgment. I struggled with the "I'm not good enough" and "self-doubt" while writing, getting my cover designed, and marketing the idea. Just as you had suggested in the video, I did find that taking action seemed to alleviate the negative feelings the most. Pushing myself to just keep moving forward did the greatest good. I'm a super newbie and am so thankful for your advice! Your vibe is motivational and encouraging and I am so grateful. Thanks Sarra!!!!!! You rock!
Thanks for being among the best!
This was great. I will be easier on myself, now that I know I'm not alone.
I really enjoyed your RUclips video's. Keep up the good work and I needed this today.
omg, I can't believe how good this is. I'm saving this for later when I will inevitably run into these issues!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you thank you thank you!!! You are the best writer guide/teacher on youtube. So many are condescending- your emotional honesty and caring really shine through.
I saw a dragonfly and thought of you today! So glad to find this when I got home.
Well done for overcoming so much yourself, and thanks for sharing that journey, as always, so articulately 😊
I feel it's really important for people to understand that they are not alone with these feelings and that pretty much all writers encounter them at some point or another no matter their level of success. Thank you so much for including this topic in this series!
Thanks Sarra! Because of the series workbook, I was able to figure out which book idea to do first and whether or not it’s a series. I’m even getting started on the plotting notebook.
Plus, I’m so excited to repurpose so many unused planners for plotting notebooks, etc. Loving your channel right now. ❤️💋💋
Oh yeah- and I needed the be nice to yourself message too.
I really appreciate you sharing. I understand how hard it must been for you with your miscarriage my sister-in-law had a miscarriage and I know ups and downs and sideways feelings that she went through. I’m in the process of God’s book and it’s been slow going but I’m still writing something everyday. Even if it’s just a few paragraphs.
Recently catching the "I want to become a writer" bug, I am finding your videos super-duper helpful research! Thank you 🤗
I'm so glad!
Thanks so much. So encouraging. I saw ‘Hello Kitty’ book jackets and thought of you!
Great video. Thank you Sarra!
I definitely needed to hear this! ALL of it! Thank you!
I had a five book series planned. Books 1-3 were awesome and so well received. Then I drafted Book 4 and couldn't seem to finish it. That was two years ago. I'm gonna try again to get through that revision before this year is over. My fans have been really cool about it, thankfully. But I know they want it. So here I go again. Wish me luck.
I understand this. Sometimes it just can't be forced, no matter how much you want to. I'm here if you need me. Just reach out!
👌
@@HeartBreathings So Sarra, I just got back from a Target Run. They had the exact color of sticky notes that I use when I'm revising. AND they had clickable dry erase markers, also in the colors of my revision process. I did a happy dance in the aisle. That reason alone -freaking office supplies- are motivating me to dive back into this revision. I may have a problem ;-p
@@inesjohnsonwrites I see no problem here. 😂
When I was younger I would always start these books with banger ideas. And then I would put them aside and after many years sometimes find an old word document just with the first few chapters and since I totally forgot about them, I would reread them and my god I was hooked immediately about stuff I had written when I was 14/15/16. And once I was at the last chapter I would hate my past self for never finishing this book cuz even I wanted to know what will happen next! And they were so well written. I hope I can finish what I start one day... But self doubt is really really sabotaging every aspect of my life. I just think I am not good enough, and I am scared of failure...
Trust me when I say every writer feels they are not good enough! If you were excited about those stories and enjoyed reading them back, then that means there is an audience like you that would love those books! I know it's scary, but don't give up.
@@HeartBreathings thank you ♥️
Thank you so much for everything you do Sarra. You're awesome!
Love this thank you!❤️
Thank you. Awesome video.
I love your attitude 🌸⭐️
I needed this so much. Thank you, Sarra!
Thank you so much for you honesty. I truly means a lot. Thank you!
I'd love a Part 2! This was awesome. Thank you, Sarra!! 💖
You're so real. I love listening to you. ♥️
That was so helpful. Thank you so much. I love yr videos. 💚
EXCELLENT advice Sarra. ♥
Very, very useful - even in other situations, thank you
Amazing video. Just what I needed to hear today. Thank you!
Thank you, this video is really helpful
As someone who is writing three series right now (one with over 20 books), I found this video to be on point. Everything you've said has happened to me at some point. Fortunately, I still like all of my series and, because the books are relatively short, I can still get them out quickly enough to please most of my fans. But, I am sure a day of reckoning -- so to speak -- will arrive at some point. When that happens, I'll watch this video again. :)
You’re so inspiring! I feel like I need to put this video on repeat!
Well, I've felt all of these things HARD. Thanks for putting it into words for us, Sarra! This video showing up for me today is probably a sign that I need to do some soul searching.
Thank you for this, I can relate to many things in this video and even if I know this it's still so helpful to be reminded😊♥️
Awesome video! I really needed to hear that!
I'm so glad I joined Publish and Thrive, because the emotional aspect is honestly the hardest part for me. Excellent video! I'm saving this one to watch again and again.
I love your honesty and your insight into the psychology of being a writer. I relate to everything you are saying in this video. There is definitely a lot of pressure to make things better as a series progresses. I'm so happy I found your videos!
Wise words.
This series has been so helpful in so many ways. I am writing the second book of a trilogy. My first series. I will be referring to these videos many times. Thank you!
As usual, much needed advice! Thank you for your content.
I love the spinoff idea. I planned that from the very beginning for my duology. I know that this POV character's main arc will be done after two books, but there's a larger story arc that she will be a part of, but one of several POVs. Knowing that my series has a set end point makes me more eager to work on it.
Such a good video! And you're right, people forget to talk about this part. I'm at a crossroads right now taking a mini break from a book that is raking me over the coals while deciding which series to pursue writing. This video helped me remember the most important things! Thanks so much for sharing from your experience.
I truly needed to hear this today. Thank you. I m currently writing a series and I have been having self doubt lately that has stopped my flow. I actually had an idea pop into my head as I was watching. A perfect idea for my MC in a future book of the series! You are so inspirational to me and I hope I am even half the author you are 🥰
You entered my brain and spoke to me directly, didn't you? ;)
This series has been very valuable for me. Thank you. I have writer's block & one thing I have to do is just write a little. 5 or 10 minutes sometimes. Hope this helps someone.
Dear Sarra, thank you again so very much for putting all this true and valuable content out into the world, and your very own heart with it.
Best greetings from Germany & you and your family stay safe, xoxo Iris
Thank you Thank you Thank you!!❤️❣️❤️ 👌🏾👍🏾
It’s important to have a meaningful conversation about some tough issues. Thanks, Sara.
Sarra
This is the best peptalk I have heard♡♡♡Hugs
good video. i'm going to start a Fantasy novel at the end of this year & not sure if i want it to be a series or not. you always look beautiful. you put a cliver in my liver. :)
OMG shiny object syndrome 😂😂😂 it’s really a thing! Now I can put a name to it
What I am currently obsessing about is that I'm looking for a theme, a symbol or something meaningful that my series could follow. But my original plan consisted of only 4 books. Now five, I was going for a pentagram. Five points, five books. But there's also an eight pointed star mentioned in the first book and now idk how many books to write for this series😂
I get into trouble from page one of a story. I find writing a lot of fun but hit the pitfall after the introduction.
This is interesting, not many people talking about these things in particular, although many authors do it, specially the shiny object syndrome haha I laugh, but see, even GRR Martin is doing that -.- while everyone is waiting for the rest of a Song of Ice and Fire =/
Hello! I like your content and am new to the channel. Could you make a video on why you didn't opt in to Kindle Unlimited and what are its pros and cons for self published authors?
I find myself studying the craft as a way to procrastinate writing! Lol (hmmm... has Sarra released a new video???)
15 years, 9 books, 5000 years of history... never published. I was only ever worried about whether I was up to the task. Could I do the story justice? Maybe someday I will be.
I have just finished the rough draft of my first book and I’m just completely paralyzed at the thought that people write multiple books! It took so much to write this first book and I can’t even imagine how people write multiple books about anything, much less one series. I’m even scared to go back and reread the draft because I know there are so many things that need to change, and I’m pretty sure I need to add a whole other POV... so, I’m feeling stuck because of loads of doubt I have pressing on me. I thought it would somehow get easier if I could just finish writing a book... it didn’t. 😏
👍👍👍
Immediately clicked on this video because of How i'm feeling with my stories.
I've just started writing this series as it's something I would like to do just as a hobby; publishing a book feels insanely stressful and since I haven't had a job yet to get money to do any of the publishing at all, then there's no chance I can get at least 1 book published (Also, i'm terrified of getting a job due to my severe social anxiety and depression but that's beside the point)
When outlining my first book, i've been struggling. I haven't even gotten out of planning act 1 because every time I try to come up with an idea to make it appealing it always ends up being illogical or flat out boring. For example, 1 chapter idea I had was "hero saves the day with brand new powers he got" and while sure, that would be entertaining, how in the world would a kid who JUST got new powers he can't control, be able to save the day easily in act 1? it makes no sense (By the way, my story is about a young kid who got bullied in school for being weak and by meeting a time traveler, he's able to obtain powers based on his personality, this being imagination, and join a superhero school to help train and control his powers. The time traveler also begs the hero to save the future all thanks to the future version of his school bully)
There's also a big depression that goes over me every time I do something I like because all the other new things i've tried which I enjoyed at first like drawing, writing video game ideas, trying out a new game or anything like that, I gave up and never continued it because it felt like it was a waste of time for me to do. Since i'm only doing this as a hobby, thoughts appear in my head like "People won't read these stories since you're doing this as a hobby so why bother continuing it?" or "Your story ideas are so bland and uninteresting compared to others. stop trying and do something you know you can do". It hurts me greatly when I hear these thoughts because they're constantly there.
There's also things that the real world keeps doing that makes things for me stressful. "I've got ideas for stories and can't wait to write them" then my laptop starts to break and can't do it. or how about "I'm motivated to come up with something exciting" Has to do things in the real world that I don't like but forced to do and gets rid of my motivation. etc...
Sorry this was a mouthful but I wanted to get this off my chest somewhere and this felt appropriate to put it. Sorry for a lot of the negativity here
I'm so sorry you've been struggling with this, but your idea actually sounds amazing!! Please keep going with it and giving it your attention. Just remember that it doesn't have to be perfect when you first start (or ever). Just allow it to be meh at first and have some fun exploring it. You can edit it later, but the key right now for you is following through and just getting it on paper. You can do this, and I believe in you 100%. Don't give up.
@@HeartBreathings Thank you so much for the kind words and believing in me. I sincerely appreciate that. I'm glad that you liked my idea for a series. I'll try my very best to keep going and create something i'm happy with. Thank you again :)
I think you’re story idea sounds like something young boys would love. And since it’s a hobby, you don’t have to rush to finish it. You have time to get ideas down and change things as you go along. There is another YT writer who hasn’t published any of her work yet. She’s writing the first drafts of each of the books in her series and then she’ll go back and start editing. She’s doing what works for her. You get to do what works best for you. I work all day, not my ideal career, and can’t wait to get home and starting writing my ideas out. I found using a computer wasn’t working for me. I was distracted by the spelling errors, so I turned the red underline off. Then I would come to a point where I would stop typing and get distracted by reading what I’d types and start editing it, so I changed my text to white. But then I’d stop typing and lose my thought and want to see where I left off and....you get the point. So I started handwriting in a notebook. My handwriting isn’t pretty, and I cross stuff out a lot. I’ve even written whole sections, didn’t like the way it went, drew a box around it and started that piece over. No power needed. I can’ bring it anywhere. And I’m not obsessed with word counts. I decided not to worry about how fast I can write. This is the first story I am pulling out of my head and putting onto paper. I also don’t NEED it to make money right now. So, I’m focusing on developing the habit of writing and finishing a story. That’s my goal for now. And once I can do that, I’ll move on to the next goal. And the next. So, keep at it. I can’t wait to see those books somewhere and be all..”Hey! I remember his comment on Sarra’s video!”😊
@@gwenjks-1272 Wow. Thank you for commenting and i'm glad you like the idea. I really appreciate that. You've given me a bit of a confidence boost there knowing that someone I don't know actually liked my idea. I'll consider using other methods like writing on paper to make my stories. thank you for the suggestion. Also, just wanted to clarify i'm a male not a female XD but in all seriousness, thank you for commenting this, it means a lot to me
There's a series that I loved reading where you could tell the last two books the author's heart wasn't in it. I would rather have waited year or two for better books/ending to the series. Instead, I'm left not wanting to read any more of their books after I invested over a dozen books and many years of reading with this author. I never want to do that to my own readers!