Novellas within a series? Advice wanted. :)

The Short Version:

I'm working on novellas that take place prior to the first full book in my series. It (the full book) is in heavy stages of re-write. Should I go ahead and release the novellas as I complete them, or should I wait to release them until after I release my first full novel?

The Long Version:

Hey guys!

I've had a lot on my mind in the last month when it comes to my Sealer Saga, and I'm hoping that by sharing it here, I can get some thoughts outside my own head about which way I should release it / what makes the most sense.

I started working on a set of novellas set in my story's "universe" about two months ago. I'm not sure if they are "prequels", per se, since I haven't released any of the main books yet. What they are, however, are novellas of roughly 25-35k that tell important stories that I've come to realize I want / need to tell.

Writing these is proving to be a blast. Figuring out how in the world to categorize, market and release them? Not so much.

After I got a bunch of feedback on Sealer's Promise during the winter, I set it aside to let everything kinda sink in. I've come to the conclusion that what I'm trying to write probably *isn't* YA--it likely works better with the characters slightly older. (There are a ton of other things I know I'll change in my next draft, but that's besides the point.)

As I started getting ready to work on the Sealer Saga again, I was telling some friends some of the stories that happened to characters prior to Sealer's Promise and I got a lot of interest about them. So I sat down and started thinking about those stories and I realized I want to write them.

What this has lead to is that I have six novellas, either written or in progress, and I need to figure out what to do with them.

1. Do I release these one at a time?

2. Do I release these as two three novella collections?

3. If I release them separately, can / should I release them later as a three set to offer readers a deal? (Say each novella was $1.99--meaning 2 x 3 = 6--and you could get the anthology for $2.99)

4. I realize that not everyone cares about POD, but to me it's really important. (I write to hold my work in my hands; I may as well be honest!) ... Should I offer each story in this form, put out the print editions as 3 story pieces, or do both?

5. Depending on how I decide to release these, I also have to consider that I am still working on *actual* Sealer's Promise, as well as my contemporary novel Sweet Rebellion. (which is a totally different genre)

-- Am I going to confuse / disappoint my readers if I bring out the contemporary before I finish all the novellas?

-- Should I wait until all the novellas are done before I release Sealer's Promise? (I've organized the stories in the novellas so they move forward in chronological order leading up to Sealer's Promise.)

-- The core Sealer Saga novels are urban fantasy romances. The novellas are more widespread--some are stand alone romances about characters who get together before Sealer's Promise; some are "how they originally met" adventure type stories. Heck, one is even about a pre-carnation of one of the main books' heroines. Have I totally lost my marbles here?

***

For the sake of honesty, I will say this: I am going to write these no matter what. That's a given. They are determined to be told. (Might sound dramatic, but if I don't feel that way about something it generally doesn't get finished.)

What I'm mainly coming to you guys about, I suppose, is what to do with them. Will having these be my debut pieces work for or against me? (In theory, obviously. You haven't read them so I can't expect you to answer "Are they any good?") I'm just curious to see what people think, because I keep switching my mind this way and that and I'd like to actually have a plan.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this. Have a great day!

Thanks so much guys. Here are a few thoughts:

The only time I would have considered putting them together was debating over a multi-story release for print. The reason I mentioned a potential bargain price for an eBook addition is that I noticed doing this seems to be popular. But hey--easier on me if I don't need to, since it's one less thing to worry about formatting.

I'm in no rush to get a story out just yet. I am working on making sure the first novella, Promise Me Forever, is actually ready for readers and likely won't release it until July or August--and only then if it meets my standards for quality. (If I wouldn't buy my own work, I won't sell it. FWIW, I've ran a book blog for two years--I know how wide the spectrum runs for quality within self publishing.)

I was mainly concerned with whether readers would be upset at the way I'm choosing to present things; but then, I was inspired to go ahead with the novellas because of the stories leading up to the release of Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. My situation is slightly different since I do have multiple protagonists and I am self publishing, rather than going through a trade publisher. Still; I liked the fact that the reader got things from the beginning and (bottom line) I'm enjoying what I'm doing.

On the plus side, at least it doesn't look like I've lost my mind. Nice to know.

As for my contemporary, I suppose I need to treat it as a completely different animal.

And I will keep that in mind about the $2.99 thing ... It would be nice to get the higher royalties from Amazon, and it's not like it's set in stone forever. I've got time to figure it out.

Anyway, thanks so much for all the feedback. It's given me a lot to think about and helped clear up some of my confusion / uncertainty about this.

Hopefully I'll be able to join you all soon in sharing what's going on not only with what I've written, but also with what I've published. But first, of course, is the time needed to ensure quality.

Sure, go for it. If it's connected in any way, might as well have it here since this thread is already going.

Here's what I got when I looked that up on writing.com . Of course, this is only one site so opinions may very.

Novelettes: 7,500-24,999 words

Ask.com gave a slightly different count of 7,000 - 17,999 words.

Alas, I couldn't find more detailed information about what genres, imprint types, etc. actually use these. (I think I read Ask.com that fantasy and SF recognize them?) I was looking this stuff up the other day to make sure I had a rough idea what I was shooting for on my story projects. I hope that helps.

Cathy C said:

Is the book also self-pubbed? If so, then I agree with the others. If the book is coming out with a print or epub publisher, then have you checked with your editor to make sure you're allowed to do releases apart from the books? Every contract is different and I've seen some people get into real trouble by stepping on the toes of their own release.

Just something to think about...

Click to expand...

All my stuff is currently planned as self pubbed. I haven't released any of it yet. (Which was part of my debating in the longer part of the post: should the novel come first because it's a novel, or the novellas since they happen prior to it. It could be done either way; I just wonder which will work better.)

As for your concern (and thanks for it. ) if I had signed a contract with someone for one of my series, I would likely assume (trying to keep it simple--there may well be far more to it then this) that signing that would mean they own the rights to those characters, that world, that particular mythology, etc. for the length of the contract and that, therefore, I wouldn't want to (in a legal sense, not a creative one) want to write something within that series unless I was intending to / offer the chance to / etc. publish it with them.

If I'm mistaken on the above I'd love to know.

And thanks for the link to the Mark Coker article, Dave. That was very interesting stuff.