Usually around this time of year, I take a moment to breathe:
I’ve cleared my desk of certain projects that have lingered for the time being,
and I’m doing a bit of a cleanse, shall we say. I also take a moment to take
stock in what I have accomplished in the year, and I also re-assess the goals I
have set for the next 12 months or so.
(You can take a look at what I’ve said I would do in past
years
here and
here. Some of it, I've followed through. Other stuff, not so much.)
We are slightly halfway through 2016. I’ve attended my first
convention, and I’ve released two books so far. Through seven months, I’ve sold
459 books. Sixty-six books a month is a decent average, but not outstanding; to
compare, my friend Daniel Arenson announced this morning that he sold “tens of
thousands” of books in July. While I am incredibly happy for Daniel’s success,
I want to have that success, too. I am desperate for that success.
In addition, my mailing list, after a thorough cull of spam
accounts earlier today, is at 37 subscribers. In all, those are not great
numbers.
The crazy thing about this: I know I can do better.
I am determined to
do better.
That said, here’s what I’m planning to do over the next year:
First, everything I’ve written needs to be in print, via the
old fashioned ink-and-paper delivery system.
As
I explained Sunday, I had hesitated in bringing a great
variety of physical product to the convention, not knowing how much I would
sell, for starters: I didn’t want to be burdened with loads of stock, and I
didn’t want to feel like the old “self-publisher selling books out of the trunk
of his car” adage. But when I was asked, “Where’s the rest?” by several
attendees on realizing I have 24 novels out, it makes me look inward and say, “maybe
I really should have had more of a variety with me.”
The problem is this: the first four AGENT novels have the
old covers on them, not the newer covers from two years ago. Also, The Lone Bostonian and several other
books are not in ink-and-paper. Why? For me, my thinking over time is that I’d
make them available if there’s a demand for them. I’ve only sold 180ish ink-and-paper
books, and only 16 ink-and-paper books in 2016; most of my sales come via
ebook. Suffice to say, there hasn’t been much call for ink-and-paper books.
But if I want to do more conventions, if I want to get out
and meet more people—more potential readers—I need to have the books on hand,
and in order to do that, I need to dedicate time and energy to making sure the
books are formatted for ink-and-paper, and are formatted properly. I also need
to release single versions of the books in The
Obloeron Saga in both digital and ink-and-paper, and those need covers. I also need second-edition AGENT
paperbacks for the first four books, a second-edition for Zombie Showdown, and I need to put the novella in print,
too. I need all of this done by November, in time for Christmas.
Secondly, I need more ebook bundles.
I’m seeing loads of authors having success with ebook
bundles. Right now, the only ebook bundle I have is for The Obloeron Saga, and that is six novels with three short stories
woven into the prose. I need to get the Small Town PI mystery series into an ebook
bundle, as well as the first seven Jaclyn novels into an ebook bundle. That
needs to be done ASAP.
Third, I need to write a new series.
At present, I just don’t know what that new series will be. My next book
is a follow-up to a book I released last year, The Long Crimson Line (ebook and ink-and-paper, and hopefully we’ll
be in audio soon), and I plan on starting to write that book next week or the week after. That will
make TLCL a duology instead of just a standalone. I’m going to try and stay
away from writing standalones for the foreseeable future; they just don’t sell,
at least not for me. That gives me a few months to come up with something, another series, before I start plotting out JJ9.
I’m also considering writing that new series under a pen
name. I did it with Jaclyn under my real name after sales under the John Fitch V name slumped.
Fourth, I need to get Furball and Feathers back out, with
new cover art.
This one isn’t as imperative as the others, but one I need to
exercise patience.
I’m not the best artist in the world. I admit that. I did sketch
out and color the horse cover for the third book in that series, but it needs a
massive overhaul, art-wise. I bought a sketch pad a few weeks ago, and I’m
hoping to ferret some time away to design a whole new set of colorful covers. I
miss that children’s world!
And finally, do better convention prep.
Better signage, a Square credit card reader, book stands…
and more product. Yes. My next convention will be better.
Simply put, I as an author need to be better.
You as my readers deserve better.
