So . . . Be right with everyone. *watches son run back up the stairs for more toys and wonders what happened to his breakfast* It’s going to be one of those days, but that’s par for the course this week.
Let’s start with Crossing Bedlam. It got into the 50,000 rankings for a bit, but has stayed in the 100,000 region for the most part. No Top 100 Lists and it’s only had 9 sales as of this writing. The promo stuff is still coming out and I’m tweeting it alongside Mercenary Prince. Some people have given their opinions on why it hasn’t taken off like Windemere. Others have suggested that being a new series, it has to reach 3 books before it does anything amazing. I’m actually rather confused here because it felt like I did the pre-release hype better than I usually do. Then again, I’m probably also used to coming out of the gate stronger than this and I could be looking at what is supposed to happen when you start a new indie series. Keep in mind, Beginning of a Hero exploded on me soon after I released it and I never figured out why. All I was told is that it wasn’t common, especially in fantasy. As far as Bedlam goes, it’s been suggested that this is more of a male-oriented story and that might have to be taken into account.
This does bring up the question of if I should do a sequel. I’ve routed one from Texas to Florida and am setting up encounters. The ideas are flowing and I really love the world and characters. Yet, there’s that issue of viability that I comes to mind and makes me feel dirty. I love writing because I have fun and it makes me happy. Yet, the current situation (i.e.- My wife still can’t find work and keeps getting the rug ripped out from underneath her.) means I don’t have a lot of funds to work with. Legends of Windemere is already established. Crossing Bedlam isn’t. Yet, I don’t want to be the author who has a great idea that he tosses aside. Especially since I came up with such a great plot outline for the sequel:
“The Jeep gets stolen. Cassidy gets pissed. Lloyd is along for the fun.”
I guess we’ll see what happens when reviews start coming in. If they do since I have no control over that.
Beyond all that, this week was Winter Break for the kid. I spent the first half with a really bad cold and recovered in time for Thursday. The plan was to take my son to a ‘Free Play’ thing at a nearby fun zone type of thing. Got there 5 minutes after it opened and couldn’t even get into the parking lot. Birthday party. Same with the place across the street that had ‘Free Play’. So I drove off to another place that had something like this and found ‘Max Capacity’. Dang it. Well there was a little carousel that he could ride for 50 cents . . . I only had 25 cents. Going to the desk for change would make the kid think we were going inside, so we trudged back to the Target parking lot. He got a plush Woodstock out of the whole thing.
Plus side is that Friday went better:
That is a Plush Deadpool and Plush Woodstock in his hand
Before you say anything, we saw ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’. A lot of fun and he had a blast. He does know who Deadpool is, but is also aware that it is a ‘Mommy/Daddy Superhero’ and he isn’t old enough yet.
Other than all that, I finished editing The Spirit Well, which I hope will be out this December. This means I cleared the way and have things in my head to start writing Book 13: Ritual of the Lost Lamb. This is going to be a tough one because the system has changed a few times on it. Best way to explain things is that the champions got a kick to the face and they’re trying to recover. It’s actually been nearly 3 months since I wrote a new novel. Reminds me that I need to find a time to put that Ichabod Brooks story up here. Might do it after Tribe of the Snow Tiger comes out since I have March posts prepped and that book might be April. Sorry about the rapid fire releases, but I’m feeling like my time is running out.
What are the goals for this week?
- Start writing Ritual of the Lost Lamb.
- Finish doing early prep for Chasing Bedlam.
- Laundry.
- See if I can jump start Crossing Bedlam.
- Get back into biking because it simply didn’t happen this week.
- Watch more ‘Falling Skies’.
- Tomorrow is day with the kid, so #2 might be done if he’s playing on his own.
Legends of Windemere 
Charles, I don’t have any experience in publishing to make a good suggestion. I wish you all the best of luck in future sales. Regarding what to write, follow your instincts. Good luck.
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Thanks. Stepping back into fantasy for the next project, so maybe that will help. Going back to the comfort zone so to speak.
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Understood. Best of luck.
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Sometimes it takes a while for the series to JUMP for readers. It was like that for me with the Harry Potter series believe it or not! I loved the first book. The second book I loved. The third book? The third book was a chore and I simply had to force myself to finish it. Re-reading it later on I couldn’t figure out *why* I had such a bad time with it. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban isn’t bad. It was just me and the time I read it. I understand also what you’re talking about with the feeling “time is running out”. It hits me every other month seems like. Keep writing, sir. It is your passion. It is what you were born to do. Even if you have to get a part-time job, don’t give up. I did once. I am only now recovering from such a reckless, hopeless decision.
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Well, I’m going back to fantasy for a month or two. After that I might write up the next Bedlam book and think about when to release it. I’m needing to prioritize my projects now because the big goal is to get the last 3 books of the fantasy series into first draft stage.
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Forward ho the wagons! 🙂
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I agree you did the best job on prelaunch. I still say the build is slower in this genre. There are so many other books launched at the same time. Think slow but steady.
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Just have to keep promoting it. Bedlam might need a few volumes out before people pay attention to it.
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The reviews will prompt some.
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As long as they’re positive. Sensing a niche audience for this for some reason.
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They will be positive.
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i believe in Crossing Bedlam and it will make it perhaps more slowly but it will.
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Thanks. Hoping it just needs to find its stride.
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Good luck with your goals.
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Thanks. Good luck with yours too.
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I’m sorry Crossing Bedlam isn’t taking off the way Legends did :-(. That’s got to be discouraging. That said, I’m still jealous of how prolific you are!
I also have to say, it’s encouraging to see the list of goals for your week. I often feel “less than a writer” when my goals for the week include things not related to writing.
Good luck with heading into the week!
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Thanks. It finally hit 10, but I’m out of marketing ideas. Makes me wonder if any of my future series will have better luck. As for the goals, I always try to get some writing done even if it’s only one part of an outline. Figure a little progress is better than none. Good luck with your week.
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