As I worked on plotting The Fissure Kings Book 1: Semele’s Lament, I realized that some of my processes had strayed into non-productive territory. What did I realize, and how did I fix it? Speaking of plotting Semele’s Lament, I said that I had to restart efforts last week. Did that pay off this week? Or did I have to restart yet again? Finally, how’s advertising going? Let’s look at the key performance indicators before getting into those questions.
Last Week’s Progress By the Numbers
Still no words. But, God willing and the creek don’t rise, that might change next week.
You can infer from the zeros in the key performance indicators that I haven’t finished the plot yet. But I’m close. On Sunday, I finished the first Plottr version of the outline. I had created another version using Scrivener’s cork board feature. The cork board helps me move beats around freely. It also makes it easy to update character notes, build sets, and lay out entire cities. Part of me wishes I could just sit around building worlds!
When I started transferring the beats into Plottr, I discovered that somehow, I had repeated certain beats for certain characters. I mean, there are only so many midpoints that a character can experience without it seeming weird! It skewed pacing and it threw off the timing. That was a rookie error. I’m not a rookie. I had to ask myself: how’d I mess that up?
A combination of Real Life Family Events (RLFEs) and bad habits wrecked my concentration last week. It might be more accurate to say that the RLFEs made a bad habit worse. I’ve spent too much time on Instagram and Threads over the last couple of months. Worse, I’ve wasted time on those apps before writing. I know better than that. But my self discipline slipped.
Sure, the RLFEs took their toll. Many of them leave me unable to concentrate well. But I’m a dad. RLFEs are just part of my life. They don’t harm me; them draw my energy in a way that’s human. They leave me tired but mentally screwed up. I took up anime blogging so I could write in small increments around RLFEs. I can write a post in 15 minute increments, and RLFEs usually allow me to work like that.
But social media’s designed to be addictive. That blunts my edge. It makes it harder for me to focus. Harder to concentrate. Even if I have a three hour chunk to write, reading too much social media leaves me unable to engage. I spend the first hour just getting into the flow. And even when I’m in it, I’m not as effective.
The bottom line is that I need to lay off social media, and maybe even news, before I write. That’s nothing new. I knew that. I used to follow that rule. After last week, I’m going to follow that rule again.
Preparations to Write Semele’s Lament
The effort to convert the plot elements I’d sketched in Scrivener into Plottr helped me refine the pace. It also helped me key in on the plot points/events that I needed to foreshadow. I mention this because while I wrote Wayland’s Hammer, I had to spend too much time going back and adding foreshadowing and adjusting previous events in light of future developments.
That cost time on two fronts. First, it costs me the time to go back and make the changes. Second, it cost momentum. I’d hit a plot point, realize I need to make an adjustment, contemplate that adjustment, then go back and make the change. During that time, I wasn’t writing forward.
I write best when I can write like I read: in total immersion. Every time I need to stop and figure something out on a macro level, it breaks immersion. I’m not saying I have to figure everything out. I am saying that I want to beats clearly planned so I can spend my writing time on character details and finesse.
I’ve finished the first rough Plottr draft of the plot. Now, I want to go back through and tighten it. Maybe add a twist or two.
At least, that’s where I think I am right now. With Wayland’s Hammer, the more I plotted, the better I wrote. So, for The Fissure Kings, I’m trying that approach. The first Plottr draft feels almost like the final Plottr draft for Wayland’s Hammer Book 3: Lines of Operation. I’m hopeful the final version of the plot for Semele’s Lament will be even better.
The Week in Advertising
Another week, another under performing ad. Kind of. Maybe? Last week, I upgraded the graphic to improve the look of the indication that the book was in Kindle Unlimited. This ad, as if to reward me for that, showed a dramatic increase in Kindle Unlimited page reads. The ebook sales numbers were down, though.
Does this suggest that I need an ad that focuses on ebooks and an ad that focuses on Kindle Unlimited? That could get expensive. Unless I figure out how to do it right. Since my sales income remains below my ad expenditure, scaling only means greater losses. I still need to fashion an ad that’ll put me in the black.
This wasn’t a failed experiment, though. Knowing that changing one element drove a dramatic boost in Kindle Unlimited sales was very interesting. It made it clear just how much the graphic matters.
It still too early to tell how much read-through I’m getting from Dreams of Deucalion book one to two. But the numbers are encouraging. And book two to three? It’s still hovering around 100%. I like that.
Progress Against Last Week’s Goals
Here’s how I performed against last week’s goals:
- Complete a comprehensive review of the draft plot for The Fissure Kings Book 1: Semele’s Lament: Done
- Review ad data for Dreams of Deucalion to determine if I need to retire the existing ad: Done! This kind of analysis is going to become a weekly thing. I can’t let ads sit longer than that without review.
- Experiment with infusing visual tropes into my ad graphics: Ongoing! I’m going to fold this into the weekly ad review.
- Brush up the Amazon blurbs for Wayland’s Hammer: Done! I have a draft of each. I’ll refine these as we get closer to publication.
- Release a newsletter that reveals the cover for Wayland’s Hammer Book 1: Duty of Prisoners: Not done. I don’t have the right relationship yet with my newsletter. The list isn’t growing. I’m not consistent. I need to think of a new way to approach it, because a newsletter is key to success.
Goals for the Week in Progress Report 2026 Week 17
Here’s what I hope to accomplish this week:
- Finalize the plot for The Fissure Kings Book 1: Semele’s Lament
- Write the first chapter for Semele’s Lament
- Review ad performance for the week and make adjustments as needed
- Review the approach I’ve taken to newsletters and look for ways to amp it up
What Do You Think?
Do you have a newsletter? How do you approach it? How often do you send it? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments!
