Okay, I’ve had a brief holiday and recharged the batteries a bit. Here’s some news on how things are going and the outlook for the Inheritance of Magic series in general.
Inheritance of Magic #4 is now with my publishers. It’s now at the “Waiting for Edits” stage that I wrote about in my “The Process” series (that was written back when I was still writing the Alex Verus series, but the basic pattern hasn’t changed). I’ll probably hear back from my editors somewhere around the beginning of the New Year, at which point I’ll find out what changes they’re asking for and how much work they’ll be.
According to my UK editor, they have Inheritance of Magic #4 pencilled in to be released on 3rd November 2026. So assuming there aren’t any massive delays or issues with the edits (which there weren’t for book #2 or book #3) it’s pretty likely that you can expect book #4 to come out around then. So we’re still keeping to a 1-per-year schedule . . .
. . . at the moment. Unfortunately, this is where the problems start to come in.
In the case of book #3 (A Judgement of Powers), I started it around the beginning of 2024, and sent the finished manuscript in to my editors around the beginning of September (so, about 8 months from beginning to end). I got the edits back mid-late October (so about 1.5 months later) and sent off what would be the final edited version around beginning of December (so about another 1.5 months). Then it took me another month-and-a-half to do the preliminary planning for book 4, which I started about halfway through January 2025.
For this book (book #4) I sent the finished version off to my editors two weeks ago, roughly halfway through November. If we’re using book #3 as a model, I can expect the edits back in 1.5 months (New Year), the finished version to go back to my publishers midway through February 2026, and for me to start book #5 around 1.5 months later (beginning of April).
Now, these numbers might not match exactly. It’s possible that it might go a little quicker. If my editors take only 1 month to get back to me then I might be able to get the edits done over Christmas break, in which case starting the new book around February-March is possible. Also, Inheritance of Magic #4 turned out to be unusually long – I usually aim for around 90,000 words per book, but this time my final draft came in at a bit under 110,000. So it’s possible that future ones might be a bit shorter/quicker.
But no matter how optimistic my projections for how many months each part of the book will take, and no matter how I add them up, it seems clear that the final sum is going to be greater than 12. In other words, at the speed I’m currently going with the Inheritance of Magic series, it doesn’t look as though I can keep up the rate of one book a year.
I’m not happy about this, for a variety of reasons. The first is purely mercenary; I only get paid for books I sell, and I can only sell books once I’ve written them. So each extra month that it takes me to write a book means a hit to my income. There’s also the concern with retaining readers; a year is already a long time, and after waiting 12 months for a sequel, there’s a good chance a reader will have forgotten a lot of what’s happened in the book before. The more that gap stretches out, the harder it becomes for readers to keep track of the story.
The final reason I don’t like this is more personal. Fantasy authors these days have kind of a bad reputation for not finishing their series. It’s a bit unfair since the majority of fantasy writers do finish their series, but there are a small handful who don’t, and they’ve done a lot to reduce goodwill towards the others. So partly as a result of this, I’ve tried to be consistent/reliable with my own writing, so that if someone finishes book #X in one of my series, they can be pretty confident that there’ll be an #X+1. Dropping below the 1-per-year rate feels like it’s going to harm that.
Unfortunately there’s not that much I can do about it. While I’m not 100% sure why I take longer to finish a book than I used to, I think it’s probably a couple of reasons. First, my books are just more complicated these days, with more moving parts and a more involved ongoing storyline (this started back in the second half of Alex Verus and hasn’t gotten any simpler with Inheritance of Magic). This isn’t something I can change easily and I’m not sure I would even if I wanted to, since I quite like big long involved stories. The second reason is that my personal life is a lot fuller these days: in the early days of the Alex Verus series I was single, whereas nowadays I’m married with several small children (which unsurprisingly is also not something that I’m looking to change). So I simply don’t have as much time as I used to!
So if current trends persist, while Inheritance of Magic #4 will be coming out in November 2026, it feels very unlikely that Inheritance of Magic #5 will be coming out in November 2027. Or in 2027 at all, for that matter. Spring 2028 is probably more realistic.
On the positive, side, I can pretty much promise you that it will still be coming out, just a few months later than I’d like. I’ve got no plans to stop writing the Inheritance of Magic series any time soon and fortunately it seems to be selling well enough that there’s nothing forcing me to do so. So the way things are going, I should be able to write it all the way to its conclusion.
Maybe I’ll just make the series a little bit shorter. If I make the series 1o or 11 books instead of the Alex Verus series’s 12, that would be kind of like giving myself an extra few months per volume, right? (Well, maybe not.)
Anyway, this has gone on for a while at this point, so I’ll bring it to a close here. Just to reiterate, none of this is going to affect the release date for book #4; it should be coming out in around a year, in November 2026. This is more a matter for far-future plans. But, if you’re writing a series that’s projected to last 10+ years, that’s kind of what you have to plan for!
In any case, I hope everyone enjoyed book #3, and as always I’ll let you know of any new developments. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving to my US readers!
While I have certainly enjoy getting to read my yearly Benedict Jacka since I discovered you in 2012 delays sure as hell aren’t going to drive me away.
I don’t personally mind delays. I usually reread past books in anticipation of a new one anyway. 🙂
A possible way to speed up the process though if YOU wanted to would be to start working on x+1 while waiting for your editors to finish the first round of edits of x? On the assumption that they won’t want major changes, since they haven’t on the last 3 books, and by now you mostly know what they like. Risky if they DO want major changes, and cuts into your one break, so likely not the best idea? But if a delay bothers you that much it would be a potential way to reduce the delay?
But I think most readers wouldn’t mind a short delay anyway, given your history of reliability. 🙂
Glad you got a holiday, Benedict. I hope you went somewhere fun! Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it!
Just chiming in that the difference between 12 and 15 months or whatever doesn’t feel that huge to me and I hope you don’t beat yourself up about it. Take the time you need and this reader will be happy when I get the next one.
Don’t worry about any potential delays as others said waiting a few months is not that big of a deal and we are in it for the long haul!
Your books and the AMAs you do after are more than enough to keep us happy and the fact that you are bringing this up in good faith is far better then the curt dismissal those authors give to their fans.
Plus the World Building articles you have been doing also keeps us engaged between the books. Keep up the good work and take a well deserved break!
I don’t mind waiting 15 month! I am waiting since 15 years for other books… 😉
Just keep posting every friday. My weekend starts with a coffee or sometimes a beer and reading, what my favorite author has to say. Sometimes it’s only a few words and sometimes it’s a great World Building article!
Keep it up!
Growing up reading Wheel of Time I got used to a release schedule of 1.5-2 years. While those books were much bigger I still feel that was the sweet spot for release. Linger than that you run into issues of reader memory, though personally I’ve just been rereading the series prior to release anyways.
I doubt anyone is going to have an issue with a couple extra months. Especially with how transparent you are about where books are in the writing process. Most people are forgiving as long as progress is made. But it’s still understandable to need to get them out to get paid. That’s always important and you certainly deserve it for the work you put in.
You’re doing awesome and keep up the great work.
Well written books with well-developed storyline? I’m very happy to wait another couple of months especially if they are longer than usual! I’m really enjoying the series and am pleased that you are committed to more.
Somewhat bemused that you consider just a week is a “rest” for you! Family time is very important particularly at this time of year.
Anyway I hoping that Book#5 won’t be such a trial to write as Book#4 proved and (maybe?) you will end up with an annual schedule again – even it doesn’t it certainly won’t put me off buying the next ones in the series!
I don’t think anyone is going to be discommoded by a 15-18 month gap between books instead of a 12-month gap. Sorry your income might take a hit though. Now if only you could have a chat with Pat Rothfuss about Doors of Stone…
IS Door of Stone the 3rd book to his series I forgot the title of the first 2 books thats how long ago I have not read them
At this point, I’m in for the long haul. One of the Inheritance of Magic series books comes out, I’ll read it.
Well, I will be okay until you change your name to George RR Jacka. 🙂
I am still hopeful to complete this series before my death.
Thank you for the chuckle. I had a good laugh at your aside here:
“whereas nowadays I’m married with several small children (which unsurprisingly is also not something that I’m looking to change).”
Glad to here the family is doing well. I’ve been following for years and like pretty much everyone who’s commented here, I look forward to the next installment no matter if it is 12, 15 or 24 months.
Mee too I total Agree with Jason. Hats off to you your family come first
I am happy to wait as long as it takes you to get the books out. I have been excited about this series since reading Book 1 and look forward to reading the series. I will say that the amount of content you add to the series through your blog posts makes it that much more amazing. Take the time you need to get it right. No need to rush – especially with small children at home! I, for one, will be here when each book is published. Thank you for your work!
I really don’t see that you will lose your readers with a slight delays. You have a nice way of developing your characters and the plot overall. It never feels rushed or dropped off. I always go back to reading your books when they come out. Thank you for the updates.
I’m not that worried about the delays you mention, I believe they have just become much more common in recent years. There are quite a few Authors I would read annual releases that have started stretching in the 1+ range.
Also glad to hear that the series is selling well enough to continue it. I think it has a bit of a slower start and is really starting to get interesting with your latest developments. Looking forward to future releases!
First, you have a very good reputation. I look forward to your books and 12-16 months is understandable.
Second, there really aren’t that many authors who I read that are turning out books on a regular basis anymore. I used to have 4-5 series I waited for. It has pretty much dwindled down to you and one other.
Finally, you scared me with the title of this post. I am thrilled the series is doing well. I am not as fond of it as I was Alex, but I enjoy it very much.
Thank you for the hard work you’ve put into it.