To Write Quickly or to Write Well

To write quickly, or to write well?

That is the question that every self-published author must answer at some point. Any generic writing forum will tell you that the key to 'making it' in self-publishing is to write, publish, rinse, repeat. And many authors do just that. Too many.

If you take a look at publication dates of various authors, some prominent, others not so much, sooner or later you'll be gauranteed a shock. Some churn out a book every three weeks. Two weeks. A week? Yep. It doesn't take more than a quick glance at the 'Look Inside' feature to assess the quality of the writing. Even if the author has talent, there just isn't time in two or three weeks to come up with an idea, write it, rewrite it, edit it, fix it, and finally publish it. Yet many do. And in some cases, their fans don't seem to care. They gobble them up and ask for more.

I've battled that question for some time, and have settled pretty firmly into my answer. I prefer to write well.

Hopefully that is starting to show through. From the first couple books I published- Back to Hell Country and Rustlers, to my latest- Balum's Harem, there is a marked difference. And I only want to get better.

So that's the good news. The bad news, obviously, is that the rate at which I publish won't be as fast as a rabbit trying to outrun a fox. But the quality will be there.

The 'Weird West' novel I'm currently working on is shaping up to be larger than anything I've written before, and by a long shot. It's the first in a new trilogy and I want it to be spectacular. So I'm at it, trust me, but the timeline is pushed out. Most likely it will have to wait until this winter. I also have the 9th Balum book in the works, and this is slated to come out early next spring.

Speaking of Balum, any requests? By this I mean certain tropes you'd like to see, situations, shootouts, themes, etc? I love to hear suggestions. The river bathing scene in Balum's Harem was actually a reader request. So send them over!

Orrin Russell