I’m in the final stretch for Wayland’s Hammer Book 3: Lines of Operation. How close am I to wrapping it up? Some outlets still have the wrong description for The Sword of Sirius Book 1: Red Flag Warning. What’s the plan to fix them? Is Red Flag Warning selling well (particularly the audiobook)? Finally, what’s the marketing plan for February? Let’s look at the key performance indicators before we get into these questions.
Last Week’s Progress By the Numbers
Once again, I felt surprised that I’d broken 10,000 words! But I’m really glad I did.
Today, I finished writing Gerhard Wimmer’s arc. Most of it flowed; I had a sense I closed all his threads. I think I left the character in the place he needed to be. I think. The alpha readers will let me know. I hope.
Man, writing is not an exact science!
I started writing Wayland’s Hammer almost a year ago (in February 2025). If you’ve been reading here since then, then you know exactly why it’s so late. I’ll say this: I’ll be happy when this trilogy is done. It’s probably the last story I’ll tell about Bilskirnir for a while. Portraying realistic Nazis is a real chore.
Though my stupid brain has already suggested the next cycle. Sigh.
As far as Lines of Operation goes, I have about two chapters left. If all goes well — and we know it typically doesn’t — I should finish this week. Then I’ll do a read-aloud and ProWritingAid pass of the second book, Wayland’s Hammer Book 2: Resistance Movement, then get it into the alpha readers’ hands. And after that? I’ll need to decide what to write next.
Audiobook News
Amazon still has the old (wrong) blurb for Red Flag Warning’s audiobook. If it doesn’t flip soon, I’m going to check with Author’s Republic to see how to get it changed. I still feel embarrassed about why Amazon has the wrong blurb.
In December, 25 kind souls checked out the Red Flag Warning audiobook from Hoopla. In December, 9 more folks checked it out, also from Hoopla. That’s encouraging! There is still only a single two star review on that site. On the other hand, there’s one new four star review on Amazon, though I can’t tell if it’s for the ebook, paperback, or audiobook. Probably the ebook, because I don’t see any sales from Amazon through Author’s Republic.
Overall, ebook sales for Red Flag Warning are stronger than I expected. Even better, ebook read-through rates from Red Flag Warning to Collapse Zone is around 50%. That’s much better than the rate when I priced Red Flag Warning at $0.99. I just wish I would see more Amazon audiobook sales. Though who knows? Maybe I’m getting the sales, but Amazon lags when reporting through Author’s Republic.
Right now, I plan to spruce up the Facebook ads for Red Flag Warning in February. That January ad performed well enough that it’s come closest of any of my ads to making a profit. I’m still in the red, but it’s trending in the right direction. Marketing a nearly full priced book is helping a lot!
Progress Against Last Week’s Goals
Here’s how I did against last week’s goals:
- Write Moritz Lehner’s pinch 2 part III: Done!
- Writer Amaterasu’s helper chapter: Done! I changed the perspective so it’s shown from Owen Payne’s POV, with most of the action being him interacting with Amaterasu when she was on the surface.
- Write Owen Payne’s resolution part I: Done!
- Write Lehner’s plot turn 2: Done!
- Monitor proofreading for Wayland’s Hammer Book 1: Point of Departure: Ongoing! It’s almost done.
- Monitor the Facebook ad for The Sword of Sirius Book 1: Red Flag Warning: Ongoing!
Goals for the Week in Progress Report 2026 Week 4
Here’s what I hope to finish this week:
- Finish Moritz Lehner’s arc.
- Finish Owen Payne’s arc.
- Begin preparing Wayland’s Hammer Book 2: Resistance Movement for alpha reading.
- Monitor proofreading for Wayland’s Hammer Book 1: Point of Departure
- Monitor the Facebook ad for The Sword of Sirius Book 1: Red Flag Warning
What Do You Think?
How do you cultivate your creativity? Do you listen to music? Go jogging? Play video games? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments!
