A couple years ago, I set crime fiction aside to work on science fiction. I was sick of dealing with agents and publishers, and I wanted to do something that was all me. So I created a science fiction series I would do by myself. Hence, the Compact Universe.
Now, there is a whole community around self-publishing. And I heard all the arguments. You keep all the money. You control the entire process. Traditional publishing is dying. Agents are all useless. Here’s the thing.
I haven’t made much money off this. Why? Because I have to do it all – covers, arrange editing, and…
Marketing.
That’s hard to do when you have a 40-hour a week job and other responsibilities. Yes, it needs done, but in the grand scheme of things, a lot of the grunt work a publisher does is not the most effective use of my time.
“But it is. You won’t sell books if you don’t.”
That’s half right. The second half. If I have to neglect my family, my job, and other things I’m involved in, then it’s not the best use of my time.
But I want to at least complete The Amargosa Trilogy. It’d be silly not to at this point. But beyond that?
I’d like to do some novellas that explore different worlds of the Compact and visit some of the alien species besides the Gelt. I also would like to do a trilogy on the Compact-Gelt War. I eventually want to do a trilogy called The Embargo Trilogy, about Earth being cut off by the rest of the human race.
But will it be worth it?
Maybe. Maybe not. Holland Bay, the crime epic I put aside as my last try at traditional publishing, is getting another shot. Do I put all my effort into that? Or do I use it to finance editing, covers, etc. for the Compact Universe.
It’s hard to say. When I switched to science fiction, it was so I could write for the helluvit. So maybe it doesn’t matter how much I sell.