- Joined
- Oct 2, 2006
- Messages
- 91
- Reaction score
- 21
- Location
- Meridian, Idaho
- Website
- www.legionarybooks.net
Well I'm not exactly a "newbie;" however, I have been gone from Absolute Write for a long time, so I kind of feel like I'm starting over again.
A bit about me: I'm an Iraq Veteran and still serving as a full-time Soldier with the Idaho Army National Guard (MOS: 19K4O - M1A1 Tank Crewman, Rank: Sergeant First Class (SFC) / E-7). I used to write for a couple of bodybuilding publications and then turned my attention to historical novels a few years ago.
I've self-published three books so far in a series called "Soldier of Rome - The Artorian Chronicles." They've met with what I would call modest success so far. My first book, "The Legionary" has sold roughly 7,000 copies so far. The second book, "The Sacrovir Revolt" has sold about 4,000. Given that I have had absolutely zero advertising and that I've read that self-published books sell maybe 75 to 100 copies in their life cycle (usually to the author's family and friends), I suppose those are decent numbers. My intent now is to try once again to get an agent interested in my work and see if I can get picked up by a more traditional publisher (and no, I'm not talking about PublishAmerica! LOL).
I recently started working on the fourth "Soldier of Rome" book while also working on a novel about the Polish stand against Nazi Germany in 1939. All too often when we read about WWII it is about the Western Front and almost always involving the Americans or British. We almost never hear about the Eastern Front (unless it's about Stalingrad) and Poland's contribution to the war is horribly underrated. We forget that they were "First to Fight," and in fact fielded the fourth largest Allied army in the war; only the British, American, and Russian armies being larger.
Specifically I am writing about the Battle of Wizna (which I think is pronounced "Vyzna"), which took place from 7-10 September 1939. It is often called "The Polish Thermopylae," although when you look at the actual numbers, the Poles were far more badly outnumbered than the Greeks were. The odds at Wizna were almost 60-to-1, with 720 Polish infantrymen facing over 42,000 Wehrmacht soldiers, who also had 350 tanks, plus artillery and air support. It is an incredible story of valor in the face of insurmountable odds. I guess I'm just a sucker for extreme underdog stories and tales of courage; though sadly the only such battle I have studied where the defenders actually won was the British stand at Rorkes Drift during the 1879 Anglo/Zulu War.
I do hope I'm not talking everyone's ear off, and I hope this finds everyone doing well.
James
A bit about me: I'm an Iraq Veteran and still serving as a full-time Soldier with the Idaho Army National Guard (MOS: 19K4O - M1A1 Tank Crewman, Rank: Sergeant First Class (SFC) / E-7). I used to write for a couple of bodybuilding publications and then turned my attention to historical novels a few years ago.
I've self-published three books so far in a series called "Soldier of Rome - The Artorian Chronicles." They've met with what I would call modest success so far. My first book, "The Legionary" has sold roughly 7,000 copies so far. The second book, "The Sacrovir Revolt" has sold about 4,000. Given that I have had absolutely zero advertising and that I've read that self-published books sell maybe 75 to 100 copies in their life cycle (usually to the author's family and friends), I suppose those are decent numbers. My intent now is to try once again to get an agent interested in my work and see if I can get picked up by a more traditional publisher (and no, I'm not talking about PublishAmerica! LOL).
I recently started working on the fourth "Soldier of Rome" book while also working on a novel about the Polish stand against Nazi Germany in 1939. All too often when we read about WWII it is about the Western Front and almost always involving the Americans or British. We almost never hear about the Eastern Front (unless it's about Stalingrad) and Poland's contribution to the war is horribly underrated. We forget that they were "First to Fight," and in fact fielded the fourth largest Allied army in the war; only the British, American, and Russian armies being larger.
Specifically I am writing about the Battle of Wizna (which I think is pronounced "Vyzna"), which took place from 7-10 September 1939. It is often called "The Polish Thermopylae," although when you look at the actual numbers, the Poles were far more badly outnumbered than the Greeks were. The odds at Wizna were almost 60-to-1, with 720 Polish infantrymen facing over 42,000 Wehrmacht soldiers, who also had 350 tanks, plus artillery and air support. It is an incredible story of valor in the face of insurmountable odds. I guess I'm just a sucker for extreme underdog stories and tales of courage; though sadly the only such battle I have studied where the defenders actually won was the British stand at Rorkes Drift during the 1879 Anglo/Zulu War.
I do hope I'm not talking everyone's ear off, and I hope this finds everyone doing well.
James
Last edited:
back. 
??? A large percentage of my sales come from the U.K., which makes sense when you think about it. After all, that is part of their history.
