I've been doing that a lot lately--writing multiple stories at once to avoid getting stuck. It's been working for me--hope it keeps working for you. 
Jumping into a very large pond (and trying not to drown).
- Thread starter rwm4768
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You probably know this but Sanderson does this approach to stay sane. He'll finish a Stormlight then jump to like Skyward as a "pallet cleanser" as he puts it. I've heard him mention a fair amount of times that's what helps from burning out (jumping between projects).
Yeah, a lot of people don't like that he "ignores" Stormlight for a while, but as a writer, I completely understand. I can't imagine writing something as huge as Stormlight. The longest book I've written was 170,000 words. The Stormlight books are all around 400,000 words. I'd need a break, too. That's like writing three or four books.
Now that it's officially April, it's time for March numbers.
Empire of Chains: 1 sale, 2014 KU pages read, 12 free units
The Shadowed Land: 3 sales, 358 KU pages read
The Gilded Empire: 2 KU pages read
The Winds of Time: 1 KU page read
World in Chains: The Complete Series: 13 sales, 8298 KU pages read
Sunweaver: 1 sale, 61 KU pages read
So the box set continues to do well, especially in KU. That's the nice thing about a box set. A full read of it is 3000 KU pages.
Empire of Chains: 1 sale, 2014 KU pages read, 12 free units
The Shadowed Land: 3 sales, 358 KU pages read
The Gilded Empire: 2 KU pages read
The Winds of Time: 1 KU page read
World in Chains: The Complete Series: 13 sales, 8298 KU pages read
Sunweaver: 1 sale, 61 KU pages read
So the box set continues to do well, especially in KU. That's the nice thing about a box set. A full read of it is 3000 KU pages.
Most, if not all, of the sales came when I had it on sale for $2.99, but I'm still very happy with it, and it tells me I should definitely pursue box sets with all my series. It has reinvigorated my sales.
I'm trying something new today. I'm running a free promotion on Empire of Chains and setting up a Facebook ad to go along with it. It feels wrong to spend money when I'm giving something away, but hopefully it will lead to more sales of the later books in the series.
In other news, I woke up to a five-star review today for Empire of Chains, so that has me feeling good.
In other news, I woke up to a five-star review today for Empire of Chains, so that has me feeling good.
Thank you. It seems to be getting easier, but I'm still struggling with my depression.
In other news, I did release the second book in my Fireweaver series today. I had the pre-order planned before everything happened with my dad.
Right now, the first book is free, and the second book is $0.99.
April numbers.
Empire of Chains: 1 sale, 1012 KU pages read, 67 free units
The Shadowed Land: 385 KU pages read
The Gilded Empire: nothing
The Winds of Time: nothing
World in Chains: The Complete Series: 1 sale, 3812 KU pages read
Sunweaver: 461 KU pages read, 63 free units
Fireweaver: 2 sales
Empire of Chains: 1 sale, 1012 KU pages read, 67 free units
The Shadowed Land: 385 KU pages read
The Gilded Empire: nothing
The Winds of Time: nothing
World in Chains: The Complete Series: 1 sale, 3812 KU pages read
Sunweaver: 461 KU pages read, 63 free units
Fireweaver: 2 sales
Hey RWM, just saw your latest blog post. Glad you are doing a bit better and been able to write some more!
Thanks. My writing is still very inconsistent, and I probably should put it on the back burner for now. With the financial strain we're under, I need to put most of my time toward getting our house ready to move. Over the last few years, we really fell behind on both the yard and the inside of the house. There's pretty much a jungle in our backyard, and our house is so full of junk and unfinished projects that it all looks overwhelming.
May numbers
Empire of Chains: 3 sales, 108 KU pages read
The Shadowed Land: 299 KU pages read
World in Chains: The Complete Series: 1958 KU pages read
Sunweaver: 1 sale, 92 free units
Fireweaver: 13 sales, 52 KU pages read
Empire of Chains: 3 sales, 108 KU pages read
The Shadowed Land: 299 KU pages read
World in Chains: The Complete Series: 1958 KU pages read
Sunweaver: 1 sale, 92 free units
Fireweaver: 13 sales, 52 KU pages read
I'm glad the sales are coming, albeit not as fast as we'd all like.
My sympathies on the move. Moving just plain sucks, IMO--all that upheaval and chaos. Just thinking about it would make it hard to write.
On tackling DIY household projects, youtube is really your friend. I just framed my very first truss today, and I had to go back and forth several times, watching videos to get it right. They have timelapse garden makeovers to give you ideas, too. Not so much putting in a new deck or pouring concrete, but more on how they handled the clean up. Sometimes it's worth leaving the structure of the old bushes, just cutting them way back instead of taking them out. Then they'll leaf out faster, and the yard will look good again quicker. I've cut all of these way back: roses, live oaks, madrone, hibiscus, bougainvillea, ivy, fruit trees (although you'd better not cut those too severely at this time of year), oleander, buckeye, privet, any kind of mum or geranium, and hydrangeas. They all leaf out again pretty quick. I'd trim lightly with any kind of juniper, however. : )
My sympathies on the move. Moving just plain sucks, IMO--all that upheaval and chaos. Just thinking about it would make it hard to write.
On tackling DIY household projects, youtube is really your friend. I just framed my very first truss today, and I had to go back and forth several times, watching videos to get it right. They have timelapse garden makeovers to give you ideas, too. Not so much putting in a new deck or pouring concrete, but more on how they handled the clean up. Sometimes it's worth leaving the structure of the old bushes, just cutting them way back instead of taking them out. Then they'll leaf out faster, and the yard will look good again quicker. I've cut all of these way back: roses, live oaks, madrone, hibiscus, bougainvillea, ivy, fruit trees (although you'd better not cut those too severely at this time of year), oleander, buckeye, privet, any kind of mum or geranium, and hydrangeas. They all leaf out again pretty quick. I'd trim lightly with any kind of juniper, however. : )
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Thank for the tips. I wish our yard just had some overgrown bushes. The problem is most of the bushes and trees we have are more like weeds.
On the writing front, I'm feeling the urge to write starting to come back, but I also think I might spend some time outlining first. It's been a while since I've outlined a novel, but I'm wondering if it will help me be more consistently productive.
I mean, with your releases you seem pretty productive to me. What specifically are you trying to achieve on the productivity front?
I had already written most of my published books before I published Empire of Chains, so my relatively quick release schedule has been more of a product of only having to revise and edit the books rather than writing the entire draft.
I also tend to be an all-or-nothing writer. I'll go through periods when I write a lot (I once wrote a 107,000 word book in twelve days) and periods when I write absolutely nothing. I'd like to even out those highs and lows.
Then again, I may just have to accept that's who I am. There's a pretty good chance it's a result of being bipolar. When I'm on the more manic side, I can write like crazy. When I'm more depressed, it's going to feel like pulling teeth. The nice thing is I can't tell the difference between what I wrote while manic and what I wrote while depressed. It's more of a difference in quantity than a difference in quality.
Gotcha gotcha. Then yea, I think what is most important (and you probably know this), is you have to do what works for you. I can punch out an upper MG fantasy first draft in about three to four months and then edit it in about two to three months and then usually I take a whole month off to just read a ton/world build a bit on books that might not be written for years or just other things I had neglected and then I'm pretty recharged and chomping at the bits to write more. I've been able to write a book a year with that mentality for about the last eight years.
It means I can only do a manuscript a year, but it's what works for me. At the end of the day, if your structure allows you to produce your novels at a pace you are happy with, I'd say stick to that style.
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@rwm
My book just left the gates two days ago. I have a question. How did you make yours visible in KU?
My book just left the gates two days ago. I have a question. How did you make yours visible in KU?
I don't know how visible I'd say I am. I get some reads, but nothing earth-shattering.
The big thing is you pretty much have to do paid advertising of some kind. I've recently found a bit of success with Facebook ads. AMS ads on Amazon worked okay for a while, but then it got to the point that I was spending my full budget most days and getting very few sales and KU reads. So now I only have AMS ads going on my boxset because it's priced higher and earns me a lot more in KU from binge readers.
Sorry. I've kind of fallen off the face of the earth. I haven't written anything for a couple of months now, and my only promotion has come through my AMS ads. This summer has been very tough. I thought my grief would get better with time, but it seems to be getting worse. For a while, it was like I could pretend my dad wasn't gone. Now, it's impossible to deny it.
As for numbers, I've actually done fairly well considering.
June numbers:
Empire of Chains: 7 sales, 3 KU pages read
The Shadowed Land: 1 sale
World in Chains: The Complete Series: 2 sales, 975 KU pages read
Sunweaver: 5 sales, 359 KU pages read
Fireweaver: 2 sales, 358 KU pages read
July numbers:
Empire of Chains: 38 KU pages read
The Shadowed Land: 176 KU pages read
World in Chains: The Complete Series: 1 sale, 3681 KU pages read
Sunweaver: 4 sales
Fireweaver: 1 sale
So far this month, I'm over 5000 KU pages read for the box set, so that's nice. I guess my AMS ads are occasionally working.
I'm so sorry for your loss, rwm, and that you're struggling so. I hope the next few months bring happier times for you, and of course, an increase in sales. Take care.