From The Top!

We're getting closer and closer to day one of NaNoWriMo and the start of Volume Three, on which I am ready to take flight! This post itself is a sign of the times, as it will be my last blog post of the month.

I've been thinking about how to boost sales of the previous two volumes, and the best way to go about it is to take it from the top. The Book of Fire was a learning experience for me as a self-publisher. I learned that I have much to learn about the publishing business. I bought a self-publishing guide that has a timetable in it, outlining the steps for putting out a finished product.

The first step is pretty well handled by my print-on-demand service (all of the title registration, ISBN, the fun stuff), so my top step is to get more people involved in the production of my books. That includes editors, cover artists, beta readers, and people who I know own my previous books. Once I get people involved, I need to keep them in the loop.

But I think between now and then, I'll start developing a dice game to go with my series. This will be published if/when I put out a complete collection for Realms Quintessential. I have many ideas already!

Happy reading!

NaNo Countdown!

Today I want to look at three things: what will happen, what I want to happen, and what needs to happen.

First, NaNoWriMo will happen. I plan to write Volume 3: The Book of Water this year. I've been writing down ideas for characters and story twists for this November. Fun fact: should Water win NaNoWriMo, it will be the second Realms Quintessential book to win (Earth was not entered). Another fun fact: it will be my third consecutive win as an author (I lost my first NaNo in 2009, but I have been 2 for 2 since).

Next, I will talk about what I want to happen. I'm still looking for that 10th paperback sale. Once that happens, I'll get my first royalty payment EVER. I'd also like to see kindle sales start up. In both cases, the books need to be polished into the gems I know they can be.

Of course, if there are things I want to happen, there are things that need to happen. My job search has been at somewhat of a stand-still. I applied for five jobs this week, and next week I go into harassment mode. Imagine, instead of a phone on an employer's desk, I'm perched like an owl poking them repeatedly in the cheek. "Hey... Hey... Hey..." instead of hooting.

All in all, I am confident something will work in my favor. After all, I do have that red poster over my desk.

Happy Reading!

Power of 10?

The number 10 is on my mind right now, and probably for good reason. Yesterday was my fourth "Free Book Friday" and I crossed 100 (10^2) total free copies of The Book of Earth. Though I'm excited to have this exposure, it hasn't translated into much else. There are still no ratings or comments on my books. I encourage anybody who downloaded a copy to leave a rating. It will help me by showing where I need to improve as a writer.

Speaking of improvements, I may scale back on Project M, where I make a new edition of my books when they sell 1000 (10^3) copies. Seeing as The Book of Earth is over 100 distributed copies, Project M will become Project C. This way I can work on improving my books between now and NaNoWriMo.

Also, on the note of 10, I need to sell one more paperback copy of either of my books to make royalty. If you buy the 10th copy, I'll make you something out of Perler beads. Okay? Deal!

Happy Reading!

Run Program

I've been very busy with things other than my novels lately. I've been teaching myself to build websites in HTML, Javascript, and CSS. These efforts have been going more so to my professional (read: Meteorology) career. I do have some ideas in mind to host/redesign this site, but I need the funding to do that.

That's where another list item comes in: finding a job. I'm actively searching for an environmental science job, but I have not secured one thus far. Once I get one, I can look into getting a car, buying more copies of my book, and putting in a greater promotional effort.

I feel it is important to mention here that I am planning to build a corner desk in my room/office. It's going to have a separate set of drawers for my novel business. It's also going to have better wire management for more work space.

Of course, these are all just plans. I'll be able to do these once things start coming through on the job front. Until then, I am doing my run program, for which I'm running my first 5K on Thursday.

Happy Reading!