Michelle Sagara

I don't count the subconscious effort as a WIP. It is so deep that I often don't know it is there.

I don't count it as a WIP either, but as a part of the necessary process of writing a novel.

So I wouldn't count BLACK GAUNTLET as a WIP, but I often think about it while I'm working on HOUSE WAR. I'd agree with dancinghorse that the series gestalt changes the necessary subconscious time, for me, often shortening it because it's all part of one long story, with appropriate breaks and arcs.