What a year 2022 has been so far. I made new friends, started a long-distance (soon to be close) relationship, and rewrote a novel I drafted at the start of last year. My upcoming book “The Varcross Key” is currently in the beta phase, and there will probably be one more smaller beta phase after all the revisions. People really seemed to enjoy it when it was up on Wattpad, and the beta questionnaires have been encouraging and very helpful. There’s still a lot to do with it before I get the cover designed, but I hope to do a reveal sometime either by the end of the year or early next.
People have been asking about my plans for the next book in the Amulii series, and I’m actually going to be outlining that soon. Usually I don’t outline stories, opting to write up small summaries and details while letting the story write itself, but book II is going to need it. Writing a series is rather daunting and terrifying, because a writer’s worst nightmare is completely destroying a story with a bad sequel. I’ll need to be extra careful, and I want the next book to be ever better than the first. Sometimes I feel like I’ll never write anything better, but I suspect that’s how a lot of authors feel.
The Mark of Amulii has been picking up in sales lately. Before I was averaging anywhere from 15 to 25 sales per month. Between the May 19th and today (June 12th), over 60 copies have sold, and that’s only what I have reports of. IngramSpark’s ebook sales stay hidden until other stores like Apple or Barnes and Nobel release the report, so it may end up being a lot more than that. Right now, I can only go off of the analytics of this website to the different stores.
I’ve been very fortunate to have the support of people with more influence who enjoyed my book and are promoting it. I can never express enough gratitude for that. As authors, we can’t get our work in front of enough people without a network of support and friends/editors/agents who believe in our work and want us to succeed. Writing is not a solo journey, and a good book is never the result of just one person. I’ve been very fortunate to find good beta readers and critique partners who have helped me get better. I’ve had to do a lot of reading and studying. I’ve even gotten to learn what not to do from indie authors that have been there and have been awesome enough to share their experiences.
There have been many times I’ve wondered if anything I’ve written is really any good, or if I’m just fooling myself. However, the results haven’t lied, and the reviews and feedback and private messages I’ve gotten have only helped bolster my confidence. My debut book is a good book, much better than a lot of debuts, even though when I read through it now, I can see flaws that I couldn’t then. I know how to tell a story, and I get better with each word I write and each mistake I make.
It may take years to ever get to the point where I’m writing full-time as a career, but hopefully I’m on the right path to get there someday. I love what I do and I hope many more people will enjoy the worlds and characters I create as much as I do.
Also, congratulations to all the giveaway winners! I’ve already gotten some messages from those that have received their books. I hope you all enjoy it!