I haven’t posted for a little while here. I’m looking at various things about why that might be. Few enough of you read this anyway (I like to think you’re a select group), that likely you don’t miss me when I’m gone. That’s fine, there are many many worthy blogs worth reading, and this one is more about my stream of thought, or else trying to sell you my books.

About that last one, that’s another thing I’m looking at; that my books sell few copies. There are some very obvious ones, such as the only place I mention that they’re for sale is here, that I don’t have a mailing list, I don’t send out for reviews, some of my covers are pretty lousy, as are some of my blurbs, and, yes, some of those early books are probably pretty lame too.

If I want to sell books I need to up my game. I’m competing in a very big competition here and there are many people way smarter than me at the contest.

So, I’m having a quieter year. Fewer publications, fewer blog posts here, fewer submissions. Perhaps it’s just a regathering of energy.

I am still writing about as much. Fifteen hundred words a day on average. And I have taken on writing a weekly blog post for the Professional Writers Writing site, which takes up some writing time. I would also say writing for that is giving me some reflection time too.

I’m writing there for other writers, about things that I see as good ways to pursue writing and publishing. I don’t know it all, by a long shot, but over the years I figure that I’ve learned some things that might help others along the road.

I am also making sketchy plans. Mostly for how I’m going to get this volume of work out to the public in a way that might garner me more than a few readers here and there. I am a slow learner, I guess, in terms of how to attract readers, but I figure I’ll get there.
One way is writing better books. And I’m feeling confident that my books are getting better. When I reflect on my early indie books – things like Rotations or The Tunnel – I really see the apprenticeship things I was doing. But also books from last year – The Map Maker of Morgenfeld or Raven Rising – still feel like steps along the way.
And I have so much more to learn.

A second good thing about participating in the Pro Writers Writing site is that there’s a collective camaraderie happening there (some might say, as my father used to mutter, ‘little more than a mutual admiration society’). I guess that being around other writers has got to be good, right?

You bet.

So yes, a quiet year. Tinkering away on big plans for next year. More books from my series. Maybe a new series. Maybe some new standalone books.

We’ll see.

Oh, speaking of standalone, I must say how much I enjoyed Alan Dean Foster’s novel Relic (not an affiliate link). Foster has been around for a long while now and I’ve read many of his books, both the media tie-ins and from his Commonwealth series, and others. For me this was a real treat. Clever, affecting and powerful. I recommend it.

One thing I am working on is the sequel to my middle-grade SF adventure novel Blue Defender. Red Alliance should be out in a month or two. I will update here when that happens.