A Hiatus From Blogging

Yep, you’re reading this correctly: I’ve decided to take a (hopefully) brief hiatus from working on the blog to concentrate more on my writing projects. As much fun as it has been, it’s become a distraction and distractions I already have by the truckload. I’ll still pop in from time to time to announce release dates and whatnot but the day to day stuff you’ll have to wait for until I come back.

Advertisement

40,000 Words! Lights and Shadows is Officially A Novel

I’m pleased to announce that I broke 40,000 words on Lights and Shadows today and I couldn’t be more pleased. I could, but that won’t be until The First Draft is done and I start editing. I’ll admit that the lag in getting this beast tamed is mostly due to me being distracted by promoting my other books on Amazon and my soon-to-be-ending obsession with studying the sales rankings to see how they are performing.

I’ve known for a long time that I perform best when I ignore outside advice (which often turns out badly), stop fixating on what others are doing, and generally do my own thing. I don’t write by consensus and never needed anyone to tell me how to write. Point of Fact, selling books (or not) isn’t my main focus. It never has been.

I write because I love to write. Period, end of story. As long as people know that I’m putting out new stories, that’s enough for me. Yes, of course, I’d love to make a living at it, but I’m not a storytelling machine and I don’t care all that much about making money at writing. I’ll worry about the money aspect when I start to make enough at it to make it an issue.

Anyway, back to the grind. I’ve made some serious progress and I want to keep that momentum going. Thanks for your time. 🙂

Why I Decided to Revise The Blog

For the longest time, I kept Word Press’s Editor Theme because initially I didn’t want anything to distract from what I was posting.

And, for a time, it served its purpose well.

But then I started thinking that if the words were good, why not show them in the best light possible? Plus, I had used that theme for almost two years and it was definitely time for a change. I don’t make major alterations lightly so this will probably stay in place for another two years or so. Or until I get that “Change it, Change it now” Itch…hehe.

I hope you all enjoy the new look because I’m going back to The Writing now. After all, they don’t write themselves. 🙂

Wallace

Parallax: New Developments

I’ve learned a lot about self-publishing over the past year and I found a large portion of it to be disillusioning, to say the least. Book Covers, Promoting, when to give it away and how much to charge. But that’s the sandbox I’ve chosen to play in and as the saying goes, when in Rome…

I love all my books, but Parallax holds a special place in my heart because of all the stories I’ve yet to work on, it was the biggest joy and pain in the butt that I ever dealt with in my creative writing history. So many starts and stops before everything came together in its current form. An evolution, really, and I’ve learned from each misstep that I’ve taken along the way and become a better writer and publisher because of it.

A major sticking point with putting Parallax out there was the pricing. How much to charge for the novel? I remember batting around a wide range of prices before initially settling on $4.99 for the Kindle Version. $1 for each 100 pages seemed fair at the time, but I’ve noticed a slump in sales which has forced me to reevaluate that number.

So, in honor of Parallax’s new cover, I decided to drop the price for the Kindle Version to $2.99 for the rest of its lifespan, however long that may be. I know it probably seems low for a 400-page novel, but honestly, I’m not in this purely for the money. If lowering the price means getting it in more hands to be read and reviewed, then so be it. Everything I do in this endeavor is in essence, an experiment. If it works, then I’m doing it right. If not, then another re-evaluation might be in order. I’m a writer, not a salesman.

The next development I am considering is paid advertising. I know, right? I’m putting out feelers to different areas to see what it may cost to run ads. Yes, I believe in Parallax that much to be investing so heavily in its success. It’s a great story that deserves to be read.

In any case, my online time will certainly not be boring for a while. 🙂

The Book Redesign Project: Wrapup

Yes, the flurry of redesigning and uploading new book covers actually had a project name…hehe.

Anyway, now that all the new print cover files have been uploaded to Createspace, the originals safely backed up, the promotional posts, tweets, whatever, have gone out, and the wait begins as Amazon updates the appropriate files, it feels like the aftermath of a huge party around here. I went to a new level with this project and each step adds to my experience of how to do it better. What’s next while the ramifications of what I’ve accomplished sets in?

Well, that’s easy: work on Lights and Shadows and Parallax: Genesis.

You see, The Writing never stops. It may sputter, it may slow, but it never really stops so long as a single idea burns inside the mind waiting to burst out like the proverbial Xenomorph. Without the Face-Hugger Stage…EW.

Print Cover Reveal: Parallax

Finally, the Grand Dame herself, Parallax. Enjoy: