Hey Ryk, would you consider the Frontiers Saga a success from your point of view? Of course those of us who follow the series do, but I wanted your perspective since we are coming up on the whole "part 1" ending with the 15th book. What, if anything, would you have done differently if you had the knowledge you do now, back then? Anything you plan on doing differently on the next 15 prior to the last?
Thanks
Interesting question, and one that I've thought a lot about lately.
From the most basic perspective, yes, I would call it a success. It has a large enough following to support my family in relative comfort, possibly even for the rest of our lives. (If the following parts sell as well.) But more importantly, it has brought me satisfaction, and a feeling of accomplishment that I have never before experienced. Feeling like I could write entertaining stories is one thing. Knowing it to be true, and being able to do it again and again, is amazing. Knowing that people enjoy my stories, that they read them over and over, and long for the next episode to be released, (while pressure) is equally amazing.
Before, coming up with stories, making outlines, drawing ship designs, designing futuristic cities and civilizations, laying out star charts, and FTL routes, calculating travel times, communication times, population growth rates, etc... It was all just a hobby, a dream, and for the most part, a waste of time that I could not afford. The success of the first book, and all the books that followed, changed all of that. I get to do all those things now, the things I love to do, all the time. And I get paid for it.
More importantly, I have managed to create a story-universe with near-infinite possibilities. I will never be able to write all of the stories I have in my head that are set in this universe, not even if I live to be 200. But at least I get to try.
As to what I would have done differently, probably not much. The only thing I know for sure that I would do differently is that I would have kept better track of all the little details that I made up on the fly as I wrote. Because I didn't, I waste a lot of time having to skim through previous episodes to look up the name of a planet, or some character, or city, whatever.
As to what I plan to do differently in the future? I want to tighten my stories up a bit. I do a lot of plotting on instinct, without formula. That was because I didn't really know what the formula was, I just knew what I liked. However, I have learned, and grown, and I have come to understand those formulas much better. Because of that, I think I can get my stories out quicker, hopefully every two months.
We will see.
Is there anything in particular we can do to help boost your ratings?
Are you using any particular tool, method, or formula in your world creation?
