Kyle Pratt's Blog: Musings & Rantings, page 19

A Look Forward

I like to look forward this time of year.

The first website cover picture of the year was snapped by Paul Itkin. Unfortunately, I know nothing more about him. However, it is with his beautiful picture that I begin my own 2016 journey.

While every look forward is seen through a dark glass, I like to imagine what I’ll get done in the coming months and what my life will be like as the year winds down. I usually write my goals and post them near my desk. This year I thought I’d share some thoughts about the coming year with all of you.

1. Complete the first book in a new series. This project is so new the novel doesn’t have a name and neither does the series. However, right now it is planned as a three book series dealing with the issue of electromagnetic pulse. In the first novel, storms on the sun throw off massive Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that hit Earth over a twenty-four hour period. The resulting electromagnetic pulses set technology across the planet back a hundred years. You can read more about this upcoming novel on the projects page of the website.

2. Complete the second book in the Guardian Knights series. This may seem strange since the first book doesn’t yet have a release date, but I have good reasons. Seekers of Earth, the first book in this science fiction series, is a 39,000 word prequel that ends in a cliffhanger. I can imagine the angry reader reaction if they read that book and the second novel wasn’t available. So, my plan is to release the second novel, Recall the Earth, at the same time as the first book. That will happen this year, but we don’t yet know when. You can read more about this series on the projects page of the website.

3. Write 130,000 words in 2016. Last year I set a goal of completing four manuscripts and writing 120,000 words. I completed three of the projects and wrote nearly 128,000 words. The Long Walk Home, a short story in the Strengthen What Remains setting, will be completed this year. In addition to The Long Walk Home, I plan to complete the two projects listed above, and finish editing another short story in the Strengthen What Remains series, Nightmare in Slow Motion. I estimate that will entail writing 130,000 words during the next twelve months.

4. Release the Strengthen What Remains omnibus edition. Due for release in April, this ebook will include Through Many Fires, A Time to Endure, Braving the Storms and two short stories, Nightmare in Slow Motion and The Long Walk Home. You can read more about the short stories on the projects page of the website.

5. More book promotions. The only book promotion of 2015 was tied to the release of Braving the Storms. My 2016 goal is to have three book promotions. At least two tied to the Strengthen What Remains series in February/March and September/October. The third one will be tied to the release of the Guardian Knights books. We don’t have a date for the third one but, what this means for you is, more chances to buy my books at a discount.

6. Update the website cover pictures regularly. This is a minor thing, but last year I used five different website cover pictures and changed them at irregular intervals. I have many beautiful pictures available, so this year I want to change them during the first week of each month. Stop by at least every four weeks to  enjoy the new cover image.

My wife looked over this blogpost, as she does with most of my writing, and said, “People don’t have time to read long blogposts.”

Sigh. Perhaps she’s right.

7. Make shorter blogposts.

Find previous cover pictures here.

Now on Google Play

All of my novels are now available on Google Play.

The Google Play app has been downloaded over one billion times around the world from the United States to Uzbekistan and sixty-three other countries. If you’re using an Android phone you can now buy all my novels using the app. Although I expect to have greater sales with more traditional book sellers, such as Amazon, by sheer numbers Google Play is the world's largest ebook store, with over 5 million titles available.

Countries where the Google Play store is available.

Titan Encounter, my first book was released in August of 2012 on Kindle only. The first few months I was thrilled when I sold more than one book a day. However, sales gradually increased and in July of 2013, Titan Encounter came out in paperback. The next month Through Many Fires was released simultaneously on Kindle and in paperback. Sales of the book started strong and skyrocketed, approaching 100 sales a day in September of 2013. The Through Many Fires audiobook came out later that month.

In early 2014 I had four books available worldwide on Amazon, Nook and Kobo. In May of that year I retired from teaching. The sales distribution network has continued to grow with the addition of Smashwords, Scribd, and Baker & Taylor. Google Play is an exciting new step forward in that process.

Great Release

Braving the Storms is off to a good start.

With the holidays I’ve been slow to write anything, except Christmas cards, but this deserves mention. The release of Braving the Storms, the third book in the Strengthen What Remains series, was released on December 18th. By the next day the book surged onto the Amazon war fiction best seller list and reached number 77 later in the day.

What thrilled me about the early sales was we hadn’t started any paid advertising yet. Braving the Storms made it to the best seller lists based on the support from fans of the earlier books. Thank you!

This is the Day

Today Braving the Storms was released worldwide!

I was barely out of bed this morning when my wife Lorraine said, “Check your sales—how many books have you sold?” Braving the Storms, the third book in my Strengthen What Remains series, released worldwide this morning as an ebook.

Kyle Pratt with the three books of the Strengthen What Remains series

If you pre-ordered it on Amazon, Kobo or Smashwords the book should be on your device. By the time you read this it should be available on Barnes & Noble (Nook), and iTunes.

The paperback also released this morning, but will take a while to show up on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

So, I told Lorraine about the sales and was hoping for a quiet extended weekend leading up to Christmas. Then I remembered that Kevin Pierce, the narrator for both Through Many Fires and A Time to Endure, still needed the Braving the Storms manuscript. I emailed the script to him and we formalized the production agreement. The audiobook should be available by late January.

After that I recalled the newsletter for my readers still hadn’t been sent. Many of them had been waiting since the release of A Time to Endure. They deserved to be told that the next book in the series had been release. Then I needed to update the blog …  

Maybe I can take tomorrow off. 

Braving the Storms Update

The latest paperback copy of Braving the Storms is ready for release!

I received the proof copy of my latest novel today. The copy is identical to what readers get when they order the book and is my last chance to make changes before the release.

Kyle Pratt with the proof copy of Braving the Storms

After this picture was taken my wife sat down and proofed the book. She checks it page-by-page for errors. At this point we’re not looking for manuscript errors so much, as style and format errors, such as incorrect margins, wrong type fonts or pages numbered incorrectly. I’ll check it too, but she is better at proofing the books than I am.

The ebook edition of Braving the Storms is ready and, as long as we don’t find any problems, the paperback edition will go to press tonight. Both editions will be released worldwide on December 18th. Production of the audiobook will begin after Christmas with a release date sometime in late January.

This is an exciting Christmas season!

Merry Christmas

This month’s cover picture is a special one, for a special time of year.

Usually these blogposts are about the pictures, but not this one. As we gather together to celebrate the birth of Christ, I like to reflect upon the blessings of family and faith.  

The cover page of my website is titled, “Finding the narrow path to hope and survival.” Readers of the New Testament will probably spot the Biblical allusion. My books are written for the general audience, but I am a Christian. I don’t try to hide my faith, but it is usually a subplot, more hinted at than explicit. I enjoy writing about good people, but usually not Christians, searching for answers in extraordinary, even post-apocalyptic, situations. My characters search for a means to survive, but they also search for answers to the bigger questions. I know I search for answers. I think we all do.

Over the years my family has strengthened my faith. I haven’t always been a good Christian, but I have been a believer. In those times that I search for direction, my wife has been the lighthouse that guided me. She has also been the one to instill Christian values in our children. Together, as a family, we shine the light down the narrow path for each other. I am very blessed.

Christmas is my favorite time of the year because of faith and family. I hope it is for all my readers. Merry Christmas!

Find previous cover pictures here.

Getting Closer to Release

Next Friday is the big day!

I’ve been working on Braving the Storms for over a year, writing, rewriting and editing all of the nearly 78,000 words. My wife has read each of the forty chapters at least twice. Micah Hansen worked with me to create the covers, while others have worked as critique partners and beta-readers. So, I’m really excited to say that the manuscript is done!

Braving the Storms, is the third book of the Strengthen What Remains series. In the first book, Through Many Fires, nuclear terrorism strikes the nation’s capital and six other American cities. In the second book, A Time to Endure, society continues to unravel, and civil war threatens the divided and economically-crippled land.

Now a new and even more lethal problem emerges. A swift and deadly flu epidemic sweeps out of overcrowded FEMA camps and strikes the nation with horrific results. Caden Westmore struggles to keep his family and community safe, while others use the plague to advance their own military and political agendas. Caden must succeed, but how can he, when both the epidemic and chaos attack his hometown and family?

Now the harder job begins, getting the word out to readers about the new book. The paperback and ebook editions will be released worldwide on December 18th. Production of the audiobook will begin after Christmas with a release date sometime in late January. 

Braving the Storms Release!

Next Friday is the big day!

I’ve been working on Braving the Storms for over a year, writing, rewriting and editing all of the nearly 78,000 words. My wife has read each of the forty chapters at least twice. Micah Hansen worked with me to create the covers, while others have worked as critique partners and beta-readers. So, I’m really excited to say that the manuscript is done!

Braving the Storms, is the third book of the Strengthen What Remains series. In the first book, Through Many Fires, nuclear terrorism strikes the nation’s capital and six other American cities. In the second book, A Time to Endure, society continues to unravel, and civil war threatens the divided and economically-crippled land.

Now a new and even more lethal problem emerges. A swift and deadly flu epidemic sweeps out of overcrowded FEMA camps and strikes the nation with horrific results. Caden Westmore struggles to keep his family and community safe, while others use the plague to advance their own military and political agendas. Caden must succeed, but how can he, when both the epidemic and chaos attack his hometown and family?

Now the harder job begins, getting the word out to readers about the new book. The paperback and ebook editions will be released worldwide on December 18th. Production of the audiobook will begin after Christmas with a release date sometime in late January. 

Thirty Days!

The release date is only 30 days away!

I’m meeting later today to review a chapter of Braving the Storms, the third book of the Strengthen What Remains series. After that I’ll be doing final editing. The release date for the ebook and paperback editions is December 18th.

In the first book, Through Many Fires, nuclear terrorism strikes the nation’s capital and six other American cities. In the second book, A Time to Endure, society continues to unravel, and civil war threatens the divided and economically-crippled land.

Now a new and even more lethal problem emerges. A swift and deadly flu epidemic sweeps out of overcrowded FEMA camps and strikes the nation with horrific results. Caden Westmore struggles to keep his family and community safe, while others use the plague to advance their own military and political agendas. Caden must succeed, but how can he, when both the epidemic and chaos attack his hometown and family?

Braving the Storms is available for pre-order in the United States, Canada, Britain, and Australia on Amazon, and worldwide on Smashwords and Kobo. Order now and have Braving the Storms load right to your device the moment it’s released!

The Projects Page

Go to the project page to find out what’s coming up.

If you really want to know what I’m writing then you need to visit my projects page. That’s the place where I list all my current novel, novella and short story endeavors. On the left side of the page, I list the genre of the story, provide the estimated word count, a brief description, and expected release date. On the right is a graphic that tracks my percentage completed.

I update this page every couple of days and will soon be listing my projects for 2016.