Tag: publishing schedule

Back in Utah

So! It’s been a while since I updated this blog, and there’s actually a good reason for it. I quit my day job in Iowa a couple of weeks ago and just moved back to Provo. In other words, I made the pioneer trek in the wrong direction and repented.

Driving across Wyoming, I got a small sense of what my pioneer ancestors must have felt as they made the trek to Utah. Compared to Iowa and eastern Nebraska, Wyoming is a lonely, windswept wasteland. It’s not quite as empty as Nevada, but wow, is it a forlorn place. Beautiful, but lonely.

After passing through Evanston, route 80 descends from an altitude of about 7,000 feet into the mountain valleys of northern Utah. I have to say, the stretch between Evanston and Park City is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. From there, I came down the eastern side of the Wasatch mountains through Heber and Provo canyon, which is also gorgeous this time of year. Fall foliage, with just a little bit of snow on the highest peaks.

It’s good to be back. I’m renting a room from my friend and cowriter Scott Bascom, who is letting me pay him back in labor to clean and improve his house. He went through a series of major life crises in the last couple of years, and a back injury prevents him from getting the house back in shape. That’s where I come in. It’s a suitable arrangement for both of us and I think it will work out quite well, especially once we get a virtuous cycle going with our writing.

That’s my going to be my focus for the next several months: writing. I have a very aggressively release schedule for the first half of 2018, and a much better business foundation after taking a small business class in Iowa. I also saved up enough money from the old day job that I can afford to focus exclusively on writing and publishing for the next several months. So that’s the plan.

In 2014, I had my first 4-figure month and thought I was doing well enough to go full time in the near future. But looking back, I can see that I didn’t have the foundation set up to sustain a profitable business. The market shifted, the things I was doing to sell suddenly didn’t work anymore, and I made some stupid mistakes that drastically hurt my business. But I learned a lot from all that, and now I’m coming back with a much better foundation, a detailed plan for how to build on it, and enough experience to know how and when to abandon that plan as circumstances change.

Lots of stuff to talk about on that end, but I’ll leave it there for now. One thing you can definitely expect, though, is for the Sons of the Starfarers series to be complete before the end 2018–hopefully before the summer. Also, Gunslinger to the Galaxy should be out next year as well. And if you’re a fan of print books, I hope to put out a paperback of every book that I’ve written in the not so distant future. Audiobooks too, in the long run.

So if you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for my email newsletter, since that’s the best way to stay abreast of my new releases. I’m not always as good at posting about them here as I should be. Also, now that the big move back to Utah is complete, expect to see more on this blog.

So long, and thanks for reading!

SSF-V: Captives in Obscurity 2.0 is complete!

Yesterday I finished the second draft of Captives in Obscurity (Sons of the Starfarers: Book V). I’m extremely pleased with how it turned out, and I think you guys are really going to enjoy it!

Unfortunately, writing the book is only the first step. Publishing is going to take resources that I don’t currently have, so it’s going to be a few months before I can get it out. Right now, it looks like Captives in Obscurity will go up for pre-order sometime in April/May, for a release date in July.

In the meantime, I plan to start working on Book VI: Patriots in Retreat right away, in order to release it soon after. With luck, there should be three Sons of the Starfarers books published next year, with only two left to complete the series.

I’ve got so many awesome ideas for stuff to fit into the next few books. Captives in Obscurity and Patriots in Retreat fall squarely into the midpoint of the series, where the characters hit rock bottom right before the plot twist. In other words, this is where I really get to twist the knife, and if you’ve read my other books you know that that’s the part I like best!

So yeah, it’s going to be a while before these books come out, but they are really going to be awesome when they do. In the meantime, I’ve got some short stories coming off of submission in the next couple of months, including a Sad Puppies inspired piece that I want to have up before the Hugos are in the news again. So even if it takes some time for Captives in Obscurity to get out there, I’m definitely not going away!

Why SSF-V: Captives in Obscurity won’t be coming out in January

Okay, so here’s the deal.

Back in May, I made what might possibly be the worst mistake of my entire publishing career: I severely underpriced all of my Star Wanderers books. For the year and a half leading up to that decision, sales had been declining rather steadily, and I was getting rather desperate for some way to reverse that. By lowering my prices from $2.99 to $.99 for that particular series, I thought I would bring in some new readers who would go on to buy my other books, and that that would offset the loss in income.

At the time, I kind of had an impression in the back of my head that it was a bad idea. And for a while, I listened to that impression. But when you feel desperate, there’s a temptation to shift strategy and just do something, especially if it’s easy and produces immediate results.

So from May to October, I severely underpriced my books. In October, I went through all the data I’d collected, and realized that I’d categorically failed to accomplish any of my goals. Sales had increased by only two or three copies a week for the books I’d discounted, and sales for the non-discounted books hadn’t increased at all. Meanwhile, my writing income had fallen precipitously, to the point where I could barely cover costs.

At the same time, my personal expenses started to become a problem. I’ve always been frugal, but a couple of unexpected expenses combined with poor planning and lack of work meant that by the end of the summer, my emergency savings were drained and I had to make some hard choices. Long story short, I had to pull most of the money out of my business account in order to avoid going into debt.

I’m doing okay right now, so don’t worry about that. Work opportunities have picked up with the Christmas season, so I should be able to get by for the next couple of months just fine. And as for the writing end of things, business is still profitable, so if I just let it sit for a couple of months I should be able to replenish the money I had to take out. It’s not like I’ve eaten my seed corn.

At the same time, though, it kind of is like I’ve eaten my seed corn, because I don’t currently have the money to pay for editing and cover art. In a couple of months, I will, but not soon enough for a January release.

I had originally planned to release Captives in Obscurity (Sons of the Starfarers: Book V) in January. And on the writing end, I’m still doing pretty good: I’ve heard back from my first readers and should have the revisions done by the end of the month. But the actual production isn’t something I can do right now, so I have to put the project off until the money comes in.

So that’s what’s going on. It kind of sucks, but lesson learned.

As for Captives in Obscurity, barring any more problems, it should come out in March. And I do still plan to publish some short stories between now and then. The nice thing about short stories is that they’re small enough that you can do most of the editing/art yourself. It’s kind of like the difference between planting a backyard garden and planting several acres of farmland. In fact, if things go well I should be launching a pen name soon, potentially as soon as December.

And for the future, I will be careful not to underprice my books. If I could, I would love to give away all of my books for free (in fact, I actually do: on Smashwords, my books are available on a “reader sets the price” arrangement), but that just isn’t practical. Lesson learned.

The next few months are going to be CRAZY

I knew that back in March, but with Brothers in Exile about to be published, I’m right in the thick of it! Fortunately, it looks like everything is proceeding more or less according to schedule, which is good for my readers because it means a steady stream of books all summer.

First of all, I’m just about ready to publish Brothers in Exile–in fact, if all goes well, I should be able to hit “publish” tomorrow (it still takes about 24 hours for the book to actually go up for sale, but yeah). Yesterday I got the cover art, today I went through all the edits, and tomorrow I’ll write up the author’s note, format the thing and put it up on Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble.

The second book, Comrades in Hope, is coming along quite well and should be ready in six weeks at the latest. I’ve gotten enough feedback from my first readers to do a quick revision draft, probably in about a week or so, before getting the publishing gears ready to grind. My first readers ate this book up–many of them said they finished it in one sitting. It’s short, but not super short–about the length of a 60s sci-fi novel–so that tells me it’s just about ready to go.

The third book, Strangers in Flight, is going to be a bit more tricky, but I should be able to get it out six weeks after Comrades in Hope. I’m still writing the first draft, and am maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of the way through it, but the story is coming along well and shouldn’t hit any major snags <crosses fingers>. I know exactly how it’s going to end, and I predict a lot of you are going to squeal at the cliffhanger, but don’t worry–I’ll try to throw in at least some resolution, since it might be a few months before book IV.

Right now, I foresee at least nine books in the Sons of the Starfarers series, perhaps as many as twelve. Like Paul Atreides, I can only catch a few fragmentary glimpses of what will happen in the next few books, but the overall direction is very clear. These books are going to be a lot of fun to write–if you guys enjoy reading them as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them, you’re in for a real treat.

The books are fairly short–not as short as the Star Wanderers books, but not too much longer. They straddle the line between novellas and short novels, kind of like the long-form science fiction from the golden and silver ages. Unlike those books, though, these are more character-driven than idea-driven, with the overarching galactic conflict tying all the characters together, rather than the other way around.

Once I’ve finished writing Strangers in Flight, I’ll take a short break to work on some other projects. I’ll come back to Sons of the Starfarers sometime in the fall, though, with the same grueling schedule for the next three books. It’s hectic but fun–I’m definitely not complaining.

So that’s what the next few months are going to look like. With luck, tomorrow will be the day I upload Brothers in Exile–I can hardly wait to get it out to you guys! Definitely look out for it in the next couple of days or so!

Okay, back to work

Well, the Blogging from A to Z challenge was fun, but now that it’s May it’s time to switch gears and focus on other things. I’ve got about a bazillion projects going on, so it’s definitely going to be a full month! Here’s what I hope to accomplish:

Writing

  • Finish the first draft of Strangers in Flight (Sons of the Starfarers Book III).
  • Revise Comrades in Hope (Sons of the Starfarers Book II) and get it ready for publication.
  • Start writing Star Wanderers: Wanderlust (Part IX).

Publishing

  • Finish redoing the covers for the Star Wanderers ebooks.
  • Put all the Star Wanderers books on Google Play, All Romance eBooks, and DriveThru Fiction.
  • Typeset The Jeremiah Chronicles and Tales of the Far Outworlds for print.
  • Publish Brothers in Exile (Sons of the Starfarers Book I).
  • Finalize all the print editions for Star Wanderers I-VIII.

That’s pretty much it. Some of it, like redoing the Star Wanderers covers and putting those books up on Google Play and ARe shouldn’t take more than an afternoon. Others are going to take a lot more work to fully realize.

The thing I’m most excited (and nervous!) about is getting Sons of the Starfarers ready for publication. I’ve had an awesome time writing these books so far, and I think you’re really going to love them. Brothers in Exile is with my editor right now, and I’m working with a new cover designer to come up with some awesome cover art. If all goes well, it should be out by May 15th.

In the next few days, I’m going to post some short 250 word excerpts from Brothers in Exile to give you a taste. I’ve never tried something like this before, so let me know what you think! I’ll probably post the first one tonight.

Here’s the book description:

TO WAKE A LOST GIRL FROM THE ICE, TWO BROTHERS MUST FACE AN EMPIRE.

Deep in the Far Outworlds, a derelict space station holds the bones of a long-dead people—and a beautiful young woman locked in cryofreeze. When the star-wandering brothers Isaac and Aaron find the sleeping girl, they soon realize that they are her only hope for rescue. If they don’t take her, then slavers certainly will.

With no way to revive her, they set a course for the New Pleiades in the hopes of finding someone who can help. But a storm is brewing over that region of space. After a series of brutal civil wars, the Gaian Empire has turned its sights outward. A frontier war is on the verge of breaking out, and the brothers are about to be caught in the middle of it.

They both harbor a secret, though. Somewhere else in the Outworlds is another derelict station—one that they used to call home. That secret will either bind them together or draw them apart in

SONS OF THE STARFARERS
BOOK I: BROTHERS IN EXILE

Pretty cool, huh? Keep an eye on this space over the next few days for more!

Resolutions and such for 2014

Yes, I know this post is a couple of days late.  Yesterday I was busy publishing Star Wanderers: Deliverance (Part VIII), though, and the day before that I was on the train, and today I had to renew my vehicle registration … enough!  On to the resolutions.

1. Publish something every 6 weeks.

One thing I really need to get better about is publishing new work.  So this year, I’m going to do my damnedest to follow a regular publishing schedule.  I don’t know what I’ll be publishing, exactly, but I have a pretty good idea, and surprisingly enough it actually works out to a lot less work than you’d think:

  • WEEK 1: SW-VIII: Deliverance (already done)
  • WEEK 7: SW V-VIII:  Tales of the Far Outworlds (the second STAR WANDERERS omnibus–basically, I just need to write the Author’s Note and get a cover, since the stories have already been written).
  • WEEK 13: Science Fiction from A to Z (a book version of last year’s A to Z blogging challenge, released just in time for this year’s A to Z, for which I’ve already thought of an awesome theme).
  • WEEK 19: Heart of the Nebula (rough draft already written, just need to rewrite/revise).
  • WEEK 25: Sons of the Starfarers Book I: Brothers in Exile (already written).
  • WEEK 31: Sons of the Starfarers Book II: ??? (this one I still have to write).
  • WEEK 37: Sons of the Starfarers Book III: ??? (also need to write, but both of these are novellas so they shouldn’t take too long).
  • WEEK 43: Open slot–maybe I’ll publish Lifewalker in this slot.
  • WEEK 49: Sons of the Starfarers Omnibus I-III (just in time for Christmas).

Of course, this is all just a tentative schedule–I could definitely change it depending on which stories you guys want me most to write.  The point is that it’s doable–surprisingliy doable.  I might even break the schedule once or twice to release a surprise project, depending on how things go.

Then again, I might need the extra writing time in order to finish my second resolution, which is:

2. Write at least 2 short stories per month and submit them to traditional markets.

In other words, Operation Short Blitz.  Since I’ve already outlined my goals and objectives for that one, on to resolution 3:

3. Read a book every week

Or at least 50 books before the end of the year.  This is a recurring one that I’ve never quite been able to do, but I really need to read more, so I figured I’d bring it back.  It’s also a good excuse to get more active on Goodreads, which I’ve been meaning to do for some time.

Now for some non-writing related resolutions:

4. Keep a detailed weekly personal journal

I’ve kept a journal off and on since 2nd grade, but in the past few years I’ve been really lax about it.  My excuse was that the blog counts sort of as a journal, but that’s not really true, because there are things in my life that I would never want to talk about publically on this platform.  At the same time, I’m not a teenager anymore–I don’t need to keep a super secret diary stashed beneath my mattress in order to cathartically vent my hormones and thus maintain my sanity.

So for this year, I’m going to completely redo the way I do journal writing.  Instead of free-writing, I’m going to keep it deliberately structured.  Instead of writing it only for myself, I’m going to write it for the benefit of my future kids and grandkids.  I’ll include some private stuff in there, but nothing I wouldn’t mind being read years later.

Honestly, I still haven’t figured out exactly what I’m going to do for this goal, but I plan to at least write in it every week.  In any case, it makes for a good Sunday project–not just writing in it, but figuring out exactly where I want to go with it.

5. Get to the point where I can run a mile ever day.

Writing is a sedentary activity, and I definitely need to get out and be more active.  My grandpa got fit and lost a lot of weight later in his life, and one of the things he told me that was key was to run a mile a day.  Currently, I can’t quite do that–I tried that about a month ago, and I pulled something on the third day that put me out for about a week.  But it’s definitely something I can work up to.

My brother-in-law is a runner, and he advised me to start by walking.  Walk at least a mile a day for a week, then the next week walk two, then the week after that walk for most of the days but throw in a running day somewhere in there.  Gradually work up until you’re running more than walking, then soon enough you’ll be running every day.

So that’s what I’m going to do.  I’m starting out with the two-mile walks, since the one-milers are way too easy.  Maybe I’ll hike the Y a few times before I start running, just to build up muscle strength.  And when the snow melts, I’ll definitely be climbing some mountains.

What I’d really like to do is get a treadmill desk.  Those things are expensive, though, and there isn’t much room for them where I’m currently living.  In any case, the best resolutions are the ones that don’t require a huge monetary investment or a massive shift from your current lifestyle, since those are the ones that are most likely to get done.

And just for the heck of it, here’s a crazy impossible stretch goal:

6. Finish hiking the 7 peaks.

Those of you who have been following me for a while probably remember that last year, I made only one resolution, and that was to climb four of the seven peaks here in Utah county.  Well, I only got to two of them: Spanish Fork Peak and Santaquin Peak.  And guys–they were amazing!  Real adventures.  Santaquin peak especially was just spectacular–without a doubt, the most perfect hike of my life.  But then things got busy and I never got around to hiking the other two, blah blah blah lame excuses.

So this year, I want to revisit that goal, and since four is a lame number to stop at, I figure I’ll just shoot for all seven of them.  It’s going to be tough–Cascade Mountain is a beast, and from what I’ve heard, Lone Peak has some cliffs that are especially harrowing–but by golly, I’m going to do it!

And if I hike Mount Timpanogos this year, maybe I’ll finally break the curse that is keeping me trapped here in Provo.

In any case, those are my resolutions for 2014.  What are yours?