Hello one and all!
So this month we've got Memories of the Reborn releasing on audio on 4/27.
Book 6, Champion of Deania, is going through editing right now. Book 7 is mostly drafted as well, save for the ending, but it's still completely in rough draft form right now and will need another draft before I'm even ready to start showing it to people on Patreon.
Book 7 will wrap up our current arc and set us up for the next one. I think there'll be a bit of a break between this three book arc and starting what comes after it. It's past time I reworked my plans for the ending of the series given all the changes I've made to the story as I've written it, and I need time to figure all that out. Fortunately I'm a bit ahead of schedule, and short of a complete disaster I'll be able to get 3 Spellheart books out this year, each spaced a few months apart. (I hope to have Champion of Deania out this summer, then book 7 in the fall).
So now is the best chance I'll get for a break to do that thinking. My current notes are essentially the series notes I wrote before I even finished Zeal of the Mind and Flesh when I was a much less experienced writer, and some of the stuff I in those notes is just not going to work.
During that time while I'm pondering the future of the Spellheart series, I'll probably start a new, smaller-scale project. Three or four books in the 70-100k word range seems to be the norm for this genre, and going shorter means I'll be able to play around with hiring an editor and whatnot while also getting books out faster and more consistently, both of which are keys to future success.
I know you'd all prefer if I kept completely focused on the Spellheart series, but I've got to yield to practical concerns eventually. More experienced authors are telling me that having just one open series for so long is setting myself up for disaster, and I believe them. My book launches are getting smaller with each new release, so it's time I put a lot of serious thought into the ending so I can properly set up for that while the books can still pay their production costs. I don't want to be in a situation where I'm forced to end the series early or put it on endless hiatus because of money issues.
You do what you need to do to sort yourself out. We will be with you all the way.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteReally enjoying the series and looking forward to seeing what else you create in the future,
ReplyDeletePs. Would you put the other books in the series on paperback also.
Keep up the amazing work.
Paperback is definitely something I plan on working on. I've been delaying until I can figure out how to bring the price down. These are big books, and print on demand is expensive enough I'd make even less off them than the ebooks while still having to charge ~$20. There's a better way to format them, I just need to take the time to figure it out.
DeleteHello, may I recommend you take the route that Logan Jacobs, Eric Vall, Daniel Schinhofen, MSE and all the most successful authors with long series do and put the series into a rotation after you finish the first arc, Daniel has 4 books in a rotation that he writes and Logan has 8 series ( a bit much for me) he writes a new book in each series after the last one gets 100 reviews. I love your writing and I want you to keep this series alive for like 20 books because this is great epic saga, but it is a unique setting so it wont reach everyone, what I feel you need is a few more series going so it can generate interest in your writing as a author, not just a single story. I feel you write well enough that you can be infinitely successful if you put out a few new series people will see how awesome your writing is and you will get renew interest in Spellheart Saga.
ReplyDeleteThe rotation system isn't unique to harem fantasy. It's a time-tested technique authors use to keep their income secure and stable. You're right that I should switch to something approximating it, though I want to do it with 2 series first and see if I can handle that. I fear it will take a bit of effort to switch gears from one series to another and go back and forth but there's definitely something of a symbiotic relationship between having multiple active series.
DeleteThe goal for me is that starting a new series lets me pick up more new readers, who will then check out the Spellheart series once they finish that new book.
Good Night Marvin. There is something I see wrong with the upcoming audiobook. They have it listed as book 4 when it's book 3. Don't know if you can rectify this with your audio publishers. It will cause confusion when book 4 drops in a couple months.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.audible.com/pd/Memories-of-the-Reborn-Audiobook/1666103306
Thanks for letting me know! I just sent them an email.
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