Shared world has done some world building and brings (in the case of FR and SW) a big audience. With your own work, you're more creatively free. In a way, the shared world stuff has a high floor but a ceiling.

My goal is to write stories that are connected, but not sequels in any meaningful sense. Like Howard's Conan tales or Leiber's Fahrrd & the Great Mauser stories.

I'm unstuck in time. Also, I juggle like mad and have made myself efficient.

Original work has no floor and no ceiling. You can reach essentially zero readers or millions.

I always work from outline and almost always write out of sequence. It just works for me.

Shared world has done some world building and brings (in the case of FR and SW) a big audience. With your own work, you're more creatively free. In a way, the shared world stuff has a high floor but a ceiling.

The Disney deal created some wrinkles. I'm under contract. But I'm on standby.