I won’t give a personal update this week because quite frankly this week has been pretty much the same as the last, and the one before that. I’m sure you all know what I mean. If it wasn’t for my writing I think I might go mad. However the pandemic means I’m in a great space when it comes to my author work.

One thing of note, but I won’t go into detail, this week we did have some news that means going full time in the next ten years (or less) is very much achievable!

WORK IN PROGRESS

CAPITAL ACTION – The novella came back from the copy editor and I’ve turned around the edits and dealing with the suggestions within a couple of days. I’ve learned more from the editors feedback, as I always try to. The book has now gone back for proofreading and is due to me around 20th February. I think I’ll be going for a release date on the first Friday of March. I won’t be doing any pre-orders as the book will first be going to my mailing list for free.

The next challenge will be formatting the MS for Kindle and other e-formats, paperback and for the ultra-low cost print I’m planning, which I talked about a few weeks ago.

The blurb is completed and I’ve included it at the bottom of the page. That’s also with the proofreader to make sure I haven’t done anything stupid.

BEGINNING OF THE END – This novella is due back to me around the same time as the proof-read copy of CAPITAL ACTION and hopefully it will be as quick a turnaround back to proofread. The blurb for this one is also back from mentoring, again with some great feedback I was able to make use of. This is also included at the bottom of the post for you to check out.

As soon as both novellas are ready I plan to put them into production for the free audio. I think I’ll have to find a new narrator for BOTE. I’m not sure I want to use Jim who voiced Logan’s POV as he is associated with Logan.

LESSON LEANED – The audiobook is STILL ‘Headed to Retail.’ It’s coming up to a month since it was first submitted so hopefully it won’t be too much longer.

AFTER THE END – Audio production is well underway, with all of Jessica’s parts completed and waiting for my approval. Logan’s parts are still in production and account for most of the book. From what I’ve listened to so far, Sarah has done a great job. Reviewing my audiobook is still one of my least favourite things related to producing books!

FROM THE DEAD – I’m about a sixty percent through my latest edit and I’ve decided because of the amount of changes I’ve been scrawling across it in red pen, I think I should do another complete read-through before sending it off for manuscript evaluation / professional beta read.

NEW PA SERIES – The first draft is still going well. With 17,700 words completed so far, that’s 20% of the first draft target. What’s great about this is that as I come across new possible directions the book could go in I just write them down as ideas for the second or subsequent books

SALES AND MARKETING

Sales figures are still steady with only advertising using AMS, but now I have a better idea of a date of release for the novellas I plan to put more effort into the marketing strategy. Below is my thinking so far. I’ll be replicating the process for each of the two series.

• Novella on sale for 99p and free to the mailing list.
• Keep AMS ads for IN THE END (Not too sure about this. It will depend on how the rest of the aspects of the campaign go).
• Update OPERATION DAWN WOLF to paid, perhaps £2.99 again.
• Create new email sign up landing pages, one for each campaign.
• Create new Facebook ad using similar imagery as before but for the free novella and with the aim of getting newsletter sign ups. Tag all new incoming subscribers according to the book ad they signed up on.
• Periodically follow up new subscribers with information about the other books in the relevant series. I will send a set number of emails, perhaps two or three. If I piss people off with my sales emails then there’s nothing lost. I don’t just want to sign up people who want only free books.
• After a set time I will reduce the price of both novellas to free and then use third-party newsletters to giveaway the new books as well. I will still give away the novellas on my mailing list but they won’t be exclusively free to subscribers. I don’t think my list will grow enough for this to be worth it. Currently it is at 1,000 subscribers.

As with all of these ideas, I need to keep a close eye on how they progress and make adjustments if I’m not getting the minimum results. I expect I’ll launch this at the end of March.

I’ll leave you with the final blurbs for my two novellas. As always please feel free to let me know any questions or comments.

If you’re new to this blog and want to check out how this journey started, the blog goes back to when I first released IN THE END in 2018.

CAPITAL ACTION BLURB

After two years of clandestine operations, Agent Carrie Harris doesn’t know why she’s been attached to the Metropolitan Police. Could it be, as her superiors say, to hone her skills at breaking down doors and catching bad guys? Or is it to become accustomed to working as a team when she’s been so used to operating alone?

Putting her uncertainties behind her, Carrie leans into her new role, taking pleasure as part of a special task force targeting organised criminals, until during an early morning raid, her colleagues lay dead and dying around her.

After saving those still clinging to life, she can’t do as she’s told and sit around while others hunt down those who gave the order to murder her colleagues. Determined not to let their deaths be in vain, can she rally against those up high who want her to have nothing to do with the investigation? Can she make the right choices to bring justice for her friends when everything, even the people she should trust, seem to conspire against her?

BEGINNING OF THE END BLURB

Sixteen-year-old Jordan dreams of excitement, hoping something would happen to make his tiny Cornish Village more interesting. During his school holidays, left by himself with nothing but pixelated zombies on the Xbox for company, he wished for a life where the adventures were real.

Then one morning, he gets more than he planned for when unexpectedly, a mysterious affliction descends, sending his brother and the rest of the village into a murderous rage. Despite his panic, Jordan finds temporary sanctuary, shutting himself in a cupboard to await rescue. Soon the sirens come, but quickly fall silent and no one arrives, leaving him no option but to fight against his fear or face dying by the hands of the infected villagers.

Once out of hiding, the joy at seeing soldiers with guns soon falls away when he realises they’re not there to save him but to eliminate the risk of the disease spreading. With a huge new wall erected around the village where he’d grown up, can Jordan conquer his fear that the soldiers are hunting down everyone, not just those that are infected? Can he summon the courage to fend off those who had been his family and friends, those who have lost all sense of being human? Can he get out to the safety of the big wide world before the same fate falls his way?