I’ll tell you what: it feels good to be writing The Fissure Kings Book 1: Semele’s Lament. It’s been too long since I’ve been able to focus on writing. Does that positive feeling show in my word count? I continue to burn brain time on marketing — how’s that going? And I sent another newsletter with an improved approach. Did it show in the open/engagement rate? Let’s look at the key performance indicators, then talk about those questions!
Last Week’s Progress By the Numbers
I try for 10,000 words a week. I didn’t quite make it this week, but I came close.
Writing Semele’s Lament feels different than writing any of the books in Wayland’s Hammer. I feel like I’m being more deliberate about how I structure the character introductions, and because of the effort I invested in plotting, I’m more deliberate about foreshadowing.
Whatever it is that I’m doing, that characters seem to like it. They feel like they can utilize of more my imagination and just be themselves as I write, since the plotting’s done. Trent Raven has benefited the most, I think. I don’t think I let him shine in Dreams of Deucalion. Now, he feels more natural and in control.
Leah Flores had a traumatizing introduction, but she fought through it. And in doing so, she set the stage for her resolution. I like the first impression she made, and I hope the readers will, too.
I didn’t quite hit my 10,000 word standing goal, primarily because I flamed out on Thursday night. After a long day at work and with my family, I had hit the proverbial wall. Despite that, I still managed 9,986 words, and I’m happy with that.
Marketing Insight for the Week
The Playing Field is Shifting
I’m trying to limit my social media intake, with two exceptions: the Facebook group 20BooksTo50K and the author conversations on Threads. Some of my favorite writers, like John Scalzi, are active there. So is Becca Syme, who thinks a lot about the psychology of writing. She recently posted a thread about developments in the marketing landscape.
Specifically, she addressed the doom-and-gloom that has seemed to dominate the conversation around marketing and market share. If you follow social media at all, you probably see writers lamenting how AI-produced books have muscled out human writers, or how an ever increasing number of human authors had made it expensive and time-consuming to find readers. In some quarters, there seems to be a sense that it’s impossible to create a viable business around writing because of those factors.
Is it really impossible? Maybe. But I think that conjecture misses the point, and I think Becca Syme’s thread was spot on. She said a writer needs to do four things (on top of simply writing, of course) to succeed:
- Pose questions/open hooks to keep the reader moving through the pages
- Make the story’s beginning irresistible
- Make the pacing/stakes clear and compelling
- Don’t do anything stupid (i.e., make sure any plot twists make sense)
Notice anything about those goals? They represent writing fundamentals. Why do we need to focus on them now? Well, it might be because until recently, Amazon and other ebooks retailers have been a new frontier for indie writers and their readers. Making money meant shoveling out content. But expectations have shifted. I think readers expect the same quality from indie writers that they do from traditionally published writers.
Long Term Impact
I think that’s a very good thing. Though it might not be clear from the end result, I’ve always tried to hold myself to the standard set by the best traditional publishers. I appreciate Becca Syme’s reminder because it helps me focus where I am, candidly, weakest.
What’s that have to do with marketing? Well, my ads run in the red. They aren’t generating enough readers to pay for themselves. But if I keep writing books people want to read over time, that gap should narrow and finally close. I’ve already seen it move in that direction, though recent trends have slowed my progress. But it’s still progress in an environment where some writers report falling or cratering sales.
That said, it calls into question my hopes to use my writing to provide income for my family after I’m gone. If that’s going to happen, I’m going to need to publish a lot more books. But then, that was the plan all along, wasn’t it? I’ve always planned to keep writing until I can’t.
I’ll keep working to refine my marketing skills, which is the same thing as saying I’m going to keep trying to entice the right readers to pick up my books. I also need to keep focused on that and not let trends or negativity threaten my creativity. Because let’s face it: if I worry so much about sales that I can’t write, then what’s the point?
Newsletter Changes
The newsletter’s job is to connect readers to my writing, so in essence, it’s an extension of marketing. It’s a chance for readers to get to connect to me as a writer in a way that helps them engage with my stories. In the past, I’ve included ship blueprints, links to lead magnets (two short stories and two guides to different planetary systems — so far), and other “insider information.”
I’ve also included a photo of my workstations (a MacBook Pro) and cat (Rosie).
I link to the signup page from the end matter of all of my books. When I published Evolution’s Hand Book 1: Executive Action, I saw slow but steady signups. When that dried up, I tried using Facebook ads, which helped a little. But they’re expensive, and the ratio of interested parties to enthusiastic readers is not great.
Last week, I updated the newsletter format to include links to all previous freebies. The open rate wasn’t bad, and some recipients took advantage of the links. But the list just isn’t growing.
I can’t believe I didn’t have this list as part of every newsletter.
In addition to adding a link to all freebies, I’m going to include some insight into what I’m working on at the time I write the newsletter. It’ll be like a capsule summary of the material you get here. Beyond that, I’m not sure how much to open up. I don’t want to talk about politics, because it’s nearly impossible to have a calm and deliberate conversation about that topic. Plus, I don’t want my writing to be associated with any particular political movement.
So, I’ll continue trying to be honest and real, and I’ll continue not pushing sales except at release time. Maybe I’ll get more signups if sales pick up? Or maybe I just don’t have the kind of personality that translates well to a newsletter. While that’s a depressing thought, it’s a very real possibility: I’m among the most boring people on the planet (though not the most boring — that in itself would be too exciting).
Progress Against Last Week’s Goals
Here’s how I did compared to last week’s goals:
- Write four new chapters in The Fissure Kings Book 1: Semele’s Lament: Done!
- Review the approach I’ve taken to newsletters and look for ways to amp it up: Done! I’ll continue to experiment and refine over time.
- Publish a new newsletter to reveal the cover for Wayland’s Hammer Book 1: Duty of Prisoners: Done-ish. I didn’t reveal the cover yet, because I want to finish the proofreader pass for Wayland’s Hammer Book 2: Resistance Movement first.
- Send Wayland’s Hammer Book 3: Lines of Operation to the beta tester: Done!
- Review ad performance for the week and make adjustments as needed: Ongoing! Book sales were sluggish, but Kindle Unlimited page reads and up. That has unfortunate implications for my hopes to go wide!
Goals for the Week in Progress Report 2026 Week 20
Here’s what I hope to accomplish this week:
- Write four chapters in The Fissure Kings Book 2: Semele’s Lament
- Evaluate the beta reader’s feedback for Wayland’s Hammer Book 3: Lines of Operation
- Monitor proofreading progress for Wayland’s Hammer Book 2: Resistance Movement
- Monitor ad performance and make adjustments as needed
- Launch a small BookBub ad campaign for Evolution’s Hand Book 1: Executive Action and its new cover and blurb; compare to previous Executive Action campaigns.
What Do You Think?
Do you think it’s business as usual for indie authors? Do you think the environment has changed? I’d love to hear your experience in the comments!
