I got an e-mail that triggered a philosophical crisis. That might sound like an exaggeration, but it’s not. I had to think longer and harder to come up with a response, and I’m still not sure I got it right. Also, the character Gerhard Wimmer continues to be difficult to write, but not impossible. And, of course, Real Life Family Events (RLFEs) continued to be a thing. Let’s talk about all that after we look at the key performance indicators.
Last Week’s Progress By the Numbers
I wrote fewer words this week. But I’m still making progress, and I still hit my target of at least 10,000 words!
A RLFE took the place of one of my writing time-blocks. For a couple others, I was so exhausted that I had a hard time maintaining focus. However, writing is one of my coping skills. Even if I’m dragging so badly I can barely type, it’s in my best interests to write. So I wrote.
I really hope it’s to the delight of my readers!
Marketing: Facebook Audiences, Blurbs, and Opening Chapters
You Don’t Like What?
I received my first viciously negative review a couple of weeks ago. Even the best writers are not immune, and I’m not part of that august group. But it got me thinking. What about my novel could provoke such a visceral response?
If my experience is any guide, then I think the most likely candidate is I showed a character either doing something or showing a certain way of thinking that clashed with that reader’s politics. Sure, I might be as terrible a writer as the reviewer suggested. But poor grammar or even poor execution wouldn’t provoke that kind of Gamergate-style response.
Only politics or similar subjects do that.
I consider The Sword of Sirius (the entire trilogy) to be merely a middle-of-the-road entry in the military science fiction/space fleet genre. I didn’t think I pushed any boundaries. But another review — not the hyper negative one — mentioned something that got me thinking. That other review, in part, said, “Having read many sci-fi stories, I don’t recall there being any written with characters from a woman’s perspective.” To be clear: this was not the negative review. That review gave me four stars out of five.
The Sword of Sirius told its story from three points of view (POVs): Owen Payne, Ira Malhotra, and Louisa Brunner. One man, two women. To me, that was nothing special. Not even worth noting. I have read a ton of books by Elizabeth Moon, and loved them all. To me, strong female characters are a draw.
I think the evidence suggests that to others, they are not.
It would be nice to use the audio book cover that I paid for! More on that in a minute.
Writing is a Business
Saying that might incline you to suspect I’m going to try to justify not liking strong female characters. Or that I’m going to try to change my writing to appease people who think that way. Good Lord, no! I’m way too set in my ways (i.e., I’ve decided I think this way and that’s just how I’m going to think). But I do think this was my fault.
Thinking back over the science fiction military/fleet genre books I’ve read, I do see (in retrospect) that strong women are not the trope. My advertising doesn’t mention gender, but my blurb focuses on Owen Payne. Earlier reviewed suggested he resonated with readers, so I wanted to showcase him.
Now, imagine you’re a person who hates strong women characters. No judgement; let’s just acknowledge that some readers have that particular inclination. My blurb likely misleads those readers. Even that four-star review seemed surprised. That’s not the kind of surprise I want to inflict on a reader. I want the advertisement, the cover, the blurb, and the opening chapters to build an expectation, and then I want the book to deliver and exceed those expectations.
If my blurb had done its job, and if I’ve correctly guessed the reason for that visceral one-star review, then that reader would have snarled at my ad and moved on — without leaving a one-star review. Admittedly, I’m drawing a conclusion from scant data, but I think one thing’s for certain: I need to attract readers who like strong characters (male and female) who work together in the face of challenging odds in the context of a science fiction military/fleet setting. If I can get that across, then I think my ads will be more successful. As an added bonus, I expect I’ll see stronger reviews.
Honestly, this is stuff that’s well known, even to me. It’s just that this experience really drove home in a personal way.
An AI-Induced Existential Crisis
A New AI Audiobook Service with a Very, Very Low Entry Cost
Without going into details (contractual obligations and all), a major ebook retailer offered me the chance to produce audiobooks narrated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Other writers apparently received the same opportunity, because the topic came up in the Facebook group 20BooksTo50K. The poster tried to think through the implications of the offer.
As you can imagine, there was a very vocal segment who said that indie writers should know better, and if they use AI to narrate their books instead of a human, they were depriving human narrators of income and were therefore horrible people.
The 11Labs interface is easy to use, and the results are state-of-the-art.
Generative AI is a complex topic. I’m adamantly against it to write books or draw pictures. I only use AI as a proofreading tool (I use ProWritingAid) and I still hire human alpha readers, beta readers, and proofreaders. I hire human artists for my covers. But the temptation (and calling it that is prejudicial) to use AI for audio narration is strong. It’s hard to frame the question.
A writer named Jay Hall posted:
…professional audiobook narration—especially of high quality—can be prohibitively expensive. I say this with full awareness of the value such narrators bring, as I’m currently in the midst of producing my own audiobook, and it has proven to be an immensely demanding task. Yet, the cost barrier for many independent authors raises a broader question about accessibility and equity in the publishing industry.
A Splash of Cold Water in My Intellectual Face
This really resonated with me. I rarely post anywhere, much less Facebook. But I did respond to Jay Hall’s post. In part, I said:
Your comment helped me realize that abstaining from using AI to create audiobooks will in no way help a human narrator. I can’t hire them anyway. Abstaining’s not going to help that at all. And as soon as I can afford to, I will hire a human.
In fact, if AI audiobooks boost my sales enough, an AI will, in fact, have helped me hire a human. And I doubt it’ll hurt the AI’s feeling — seeing as they don’t have feelings in the first place.
The only reason I can take a stand on hiring human editors is that I have a full time job that gives me a little bit of disposable income. Same thing with covers. But when it comes to audiobooks, sorry. I’m not that well capitalized. I just can’t do it.
A human narrator (at the very low end of the range) would charge about $2,100 to narrate The Sword of Sirius Book 1: Red Flag Warning. To be clear: the work could be fantastic. A human narrator can elevate an audiobook. Human narrators are the absolute gold standard, and readers agree.
The option I’m reviewing will cost $0.00 for the same book. The result is passable for AI. Readers who don’t have time to read an ebook or are blind would benefit. I could improve the AI voice’s quality by paying the AI service 11Labs about $130.00 for Red Flag Warning. In fact, I could use 11Labs to produce all three books in The Sword of Sirius plus its short story lead magnet for about $400.00.
The cost for a human narrator for all four works? About $6,300.00.
A Human Future — in the Future
Do I feel guilty for not hiring a human narrator? Absolutely. Do I feel guilty enough to deprive my family of food, or gasoline, or anything else I’d have to ask them to sacrifice so I could hire a human?
No.
You can level a charge of moral relativism at me. You can judge me to hell and back if you like. I know all the arguments. I would even agree with you. How’s that for being open-minded? I judge myself guilty. But I’ll burn in hell before I allow my family to come to harm. So, light the flames, I guess.
I could just eschew audiobooks. In that scenario, I could puff out my chest and say I stuck up for my principles. But a human narrator would still not get my business. And I’d be father away from being able to hire one.
As I said in my Facebook response, I fully intend to hire a human narrator — as soon as I can afford one. I even have a couple in mind. But I cannot ignore economic realities. So, I’m moving forward with the free options for Evolution’s Hand Book 1: Executive Action. I’m investigating 11Labs for The Sword of Sirius. I’ll keep you updated here on how things go.
And if it all goes well? We can celebrate the day in the future, if it comes to pass, that I hire a human narrator.
Progress against Last Week’s Goals
Here’s how I performed against last week’s goals:
- This is going to sound weird, but I’m not sure exactly how Payne’s next few chapters are going to pan out. So, my goal is to figure it out collectively as Payne’s Pinch 1 part whatever. Done! I think. I finished Payne’s Pinch One, which came together faster than I thought, with more interesting conflict, too. So that’s cool.
- Write Gerhard Wimmer’s Midpoint Part I: Done!
- Write Payne’s Midpoint. Half Done! I finished part I. I didn’t know it at the time, but it turned into two chapters.
- Write Wimmer’s Midpoint Part II: Done!
- Explore submitting for a BookBub Featured Deal for The Sword of Sirius Book 1: Red Flag Warning. It’s one of the major ad avenues that I haven’t explored. Under way. I need a month or two of full price before I can submit the BookBub Featured Deal, which requires me to reduce the price when the deal goes live. If they pick me.
Goals for the Week in Progress Report 2025 Week 14
Here’s what I hope to accomplish this week:
- Begin proof-listening to the Evolution’s Hand Book 1: Executive Action AI-generated audio book.
- Write Gerhard Wimmer’s Midpoint Part III
- Write Owen Payne’s Midpoint Part II
- Write Wimmer’s Midpoint Part IV
- Write Moritz Lehner’s Midpoint
- Send newsletter number 48 to prepare readers for upcoming Dreams of Deucalion
- Review the performance of the ads after I started charging a higher price for Red Flag Warning
What Do You Think?
Do you use Artificial Intelligence in any aspect of your writing? Where do you draw the line? I’d love to hear about your thoughts in the comments!
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