October 20, 2021
Day 374, Week 54
- Emotional State: Locked & Loaded
Writing Life
Annnnnndddd… Book 2 is complete. I’ve written the not-so-very-good rough draft, with a shift in last part of the book when I decided how it was really going to go. And it doesn’t have a mystery in it right now as well. Well, it does, but not one she solves in this book.
Again.
I did the very same thing in the last book, although I had a better plan for the story than this one. I know I can bring it around, but it felt nice to finish the second book. Even if I need to completely rewrite all 71,426 words. Ahem. Because there’s not snark from Angwyndith and only a handful of literary quotes. Those are a requirement and I am lacking them.
I also woke up this morning thinking about a few things not appearing in the book, (SPOILERS AHEAD… tiny ones) like a Big Bad fight with an Angwyndith showdown. There are a few Angwyndith moments, but no Big Bad. And I’m wondering if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I don’t want to make the Big Bad a common thing in her world. Common enough that she’s still needed but not common enough that it requires a Judgment every few months. Like a TV series.
Does it need to be like a TV series?
In any case, I’m gearing up for Nanowrimo. I logged in last night to set up my project and be ready for go time on 11/1. And I found the project I set up 4 years ago for book 1 of my series. I only logged 11k in words that November. This time around I’m aiming for a full rough draft. 70k in words. I’ve done no prep: no outline, no plan, no prepping in Preptober, like many others going into Nano.
Buckle up, buttercup, it’s about to get bumpy.
But in a way, I already have. I’ve had scenes in my head from book 3 for at least a year. I know what’s going to happen, although it has shifted a bit from what has happened to what will happen. There will be a Big Bad showdown. There will be a Judgment. And lots of family drama. Because…reasons.
The one thing I need to focus on in both of the newer books, though, is the larger theme of the series. I know what it is, I know how it ends, I just don’t know how to get it there. I will be tackling that in rewrites, along with a lot of other things.
My world builder needs to read book 2 and tell me what he doesn’t agree with. He’s already making faces when I tell him what’s happened in it. Faces that usually mean he’s going to tell me I can’t do it that way. Faces that mean it’s not going to be consistent with the world.
I want to get on the floor kicking and screaming. Yelling, ‘It’s my freaking book, I’ll do what I like!’, but that would be childish and counter-productive. Because he’s right. Dammit.
But don’t tell him that.
Life & Other Marketing Things
With the ending of writing book 2, I’ve taken a break. A big break for me. So far, two three whole days of no writing. No blog posts, no book reviews, no posts of any kind except those I can dash off on Twitter.
And it’s been wonderful. But I’ve also seen my book drop off yet another cliff and that can’t stay that way. So, I have a plan. Not a good plan, but a plan. First, I’m testing Amazon ads right now. Baby steps and all. Little daily budgets, low bids. The point of the campaign is to get a sense for what works and then refine from there.
I only have one book out, so spending a load to market it doesn’t make a lot of sense. But testing a small amount does, because I’ve netted 2 sales from those ads. While I am upside in spend vs profit, it is working and I’m going to celebrate that.
Also, on November 15th, I’m doing a big holiday season push on the book. The plan is to drop the ebook down by 50% in price. I’m pushing a deal on two free sites – Overdrive and Book Monkey. It’s cost me a grand total of $3.95, plus the loss in royalties, but since I make about $1/book for the ebook, I’m not really worried about that part.
It’s more about driving a fan base and brand awareness so that when I do drop Books 2 & 3 next year, people will be waiting to buy them. I have moments where I worry that I only sold less than a hundred books in my launch. And yet, I am also calmly okay with it all.
I’m still figuring it out. I am in a saturated genre, with no romance and a good story, so it’s hard to get eyeballs on the book. I don’t have some of the bigger draws for it – romance, mainly – and don’t plan to. I’ve done no local outreach, mainly because I know no one locally. And I worry about that, all of that.
But you know what? I’m still moving forward. I have a plan, I’m going to publish my books and if they aren’t profitable until the series is complete, then that is okay. I’ll get there. I’ll deliver the goods. I need to stop competing with the Jones’ and just do me.
Speaking of, I’ve also spent the last week, but mainly weekends and the last few days, gloriously playing a new video game. My gamer friends were hyped about New World, the MMO from Amazon, so when it launched we all piled in and quested like mad.
The game is good. It has some issues, some annoyances, not a great story line, but enough of one to keep me busy. I’m not sure what happens once I hit level cap. Crafting maybe? Not sure. It’s been so fun just getting consumed by a video game. And my toon wields a gigantic war hammer and war axe. So maybe not loaded, but definitely a force to be reckoned with.
It also means I haven’t been reckoning with anything else. Like reading the books on my TBR, finalizing the mess that still is the garage and the basement from the flood. Getting the yard prepped for winter. Writing the posts I need to do or getting my promotions ready to roll for November.
Because November is going to hit hard. New set of writers to work with. Full book to write. Still need to promote the first one. Finish early praise for a few writers, do a bunch of book reviews, maybe find a cover designer and an editor…
Later. I’ll think about it later. I’m still on my break.
To read more of my weekly whine fests and writing journal journey posts, click here.