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Progress Report 2023 Week 08

Reality’s on a tear. Real Life Family Events continued their string of attacking me for three weeks running! How much impact did it have on writing Evolution’s Hand Book 5: Split Infinities? Have I made my peace with marketing? Let’s talk some numbers first.

Progress Report 2023 Week 08 By the Numbers

Any writing week that scores over 10,000 words is a good writing week, right?

Yes, Real Life Family Events (RLFEs) continued their string. But, my family is still alive, and as of right now at least, we’re still healthy. Plus, I was able to write around those events, so I’m going to declare the week a success. In more ways than one.

Success One: Negotiations Continue with the Marketing Camp

Since launching Evolution’s Hand Book 2: Dying Breath, I’ve tried to expand my marketing skills. I’ve learned more about advertising on BookBub, Facebook, and Amazon. I can’t be certain about the conclusion I’m about to share, but I’ve gathered a lot of anecdotal evidence that supports it. And here it is:

Most writers will see sales improve in proportion to the number of books they have in print.

There are a ton of assumptions behind that. But it boils down to this: I buy into the philosophy of the Facebook group 20BooksTo50K. I’ve seen some writers strike gold on their first book, but the data I have suggests they are not the majority. So, here’s the strategy I’m going to use for the rest of Evolution’s Hand:

  1. Finish writing Evolution’s Hand Book 5: Split Infinities and Book 6: Unnatural Crypsis.
  2. Keep the Amazon ads running throughout
  3. At the launch of Evolution’s Hand Book 3: Primary Target and at each subsequent launch, invest in BookBub and Facebook ads. Experiment with one or two new techniques. Give myself time to analyze the data and incorporate the results.

I can’t sell books I haven’t written. So I’ll write the first series and see what I can learn from it. And I hope I can delight the readers along the way!

Progress from Last Week

Here’s how I did regarding the goals I set in last week’s post:

  1. Write Matsushita Sachi’s Plot Turn 1: Done!
  2. Finish Porter’s hook (or write Plot Turn 1; I’m not sure exactly how to classify it, and I need to give it some thought): Done! I ended up splitting his hook into two chapters.
  3. Write Leon Weber’s hook: Done!
  4. Write Mariam Al Khatib’s Plot Turn 1: Done!
  5. Start Jadwiga Janczak’s Plot Turn 1: Done!

It might be too early to tell, but I think Plottr is helping a lot. It helped me visualize the plot to the point where writing each chapter feels natural. Or maybe I’m getting more used to writing novels. Heck, it might be both. But so far, the characters and plot are speaking to me, and the writing is coming along.

I really like how Plottr integrates into my workflow. It both helps me visualize the plot and its flow. My characters seem to like it, too! If that makes any sense…

Goals for the Week in Progress Report 2023 Week 08

Fingers crossed that my family will be RLFE-free this week! And I wouldn’t mind a less stressful week. In that spirit, here are my goals:

  1. Finish Atticus Porter’s Plot Turn 1
  2. Write the second half of Jadwiga Janczak’s Plot Turn 1
  3. Write Leon Weber’s Plot Turn 1
  4. Write Matsushita Sachi’s Pinch 1
  5. Start Atticus Porter’s Pinch 1

What Do You Think?

What do you think of the philosophy from the Facebook group 20BooksTo50K? I’d love to hear your perspective in the comments!

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