One of the reasons I like being an indie publisher is that I get to create my own SF universe and never have to worry about whether I’ll get to publish anything new in that universe. I know that if I write a cool short story set in the same universe as Starstrikers, I can put it out there and my readers can read it and enjoy it as much as I did creating it. I don’t have to sweat over whether or not some magazine will publish it. Sometimes, as with “Rock Collection“, I will reach more readers than many magazines can offer by putting it on Scribd for free.
The end result is that I can fill out my universe with short stories, novels and literally anything else I want; art, songs or movies and not worry about keeping my rights to that universe. That does not mean that I won’t try and get a few things traditionally published here and there. But it does mean that you will always get to read stories set in my universe. Nothing will be trapped in publisher rights that forbid me from continuing to write in that universe.
For this reason, it is very unlikely that any novel I write for the Starstrikers Universe will ever be traditionally published. And I’m cool with that. Because over the next five years or so, I will have an impressive back catalog that will all be set in the same universe. How cool is that for a potential new fan of my work?
As I’ve stated before here and elsewhere, I am not opposed to traditional publishing. If that is the route you are most comfortable with, then go for it. I will eventually get around to writing a novel not set in the Starstrikers Universe, and when that time comes, I will certainly send it out to agents and publishers. Hopefully by then I will have made a bit of a name for myself selling on my own.
This fall I will have two novels out set in the Starstrikers Universe – Starstrikers and Tyrmia, and one anthology of short stories. I’m writing a third novel – Starforgers for release in 2011 and will follow that up with a fourth novel named Starveyers to be out in 2012. That will bring the novel total to four and one anthology, all set in the same universe. In 2013, assuming we are all still here (humor), I’ll probably be putting out a book about the founding of the Votainion Empire, called Voton. It’s more of a Fantasy title, but it’s in the same universe.
What I’m eventually going to have is a trilogy of Space Opera – Starforgers, Starstrikers and Starveyors and a series of books set on planets within that universe – Tyrmia, Voton. Pretty ambitious but I think it’s doable.