Andrew Focusing on Writing Side-Projects
If I seem quiet, it’s because for the last few years, my main focus has been on completing a fantasy series that I intended to get traditionally published, rather than self-published. That being said, it has been a long time and my inability to get anyone to pick it up has me thinking that maybe I might go ahead and self-publish these books instead.
At first, I was feeling demoralized by the thought that I was making no progress on the traditional-publishing front, especially because I blew money on sham of a program that was supposed to help me pitch my book (maybe not “sham,” but just unhelpful. After all, to their credit, they did technically do what they said they would do).
All that being said, one lives and one learns. In this case, I learned a lot about writing, about traditional publishing, and I am in the process of learning about advertising on Amazon’s “suggested products” algorithm, something I tried teaching myself years ago, but gave up on after finding lackluster results. But I have now partnered with an advertising specialist who has already helped me revamp and improve my Amazon advertising.
What does that mean for me? For my books? For the future?
It means I have gotten over some of the fears I had about never finding a traditional publisher. Perhaps I never do find one. I am learning how to advertise my own products and, if this proves fruitful, I may not need the leverage offered by a traditional publisher.
I am confident that my in-progress fantasy series is excellent. The story, the writing, the world, the premise, is compelling and sure to resonate with readers. So, why not self-publish it?
That is not to say this is any sort of announcement. At this time, I am making no decisions. I may still try to shop it around and get someone to take it or I may eventually self-publish it on my own. Whether this series sees the light of day is no longer in question though. Somehow or another, it will get out there. My intention is to make that a reality before the end of 2023, or at least to have plans in place by that time.
Currently two of the four planned books in my fantasy series are in a decent draft form. The third is in early progress. Each will likely be progressively longer than the last. With each book, the scope of the story as well as the cast of characters grows larger and larger. I cannot wait to see what people think!
But, as the title of this post suggests, these last few weeks, I have not touched my fantasy series. Instead, my focus has been elsewhere…
As I previously reported, I have two science-fiction short stories coming out soon. Those stories should be coming out sometime this month, although that is in the hands of the publisher so I cannot say that for certain. The two stories are titled Eclipse and Fracture. Both stories are set within the same universe – a universe that works as an allegory for the ancient world (about 500 BC to be specific). Eclipse is set in a community meant as an allegory for ancient Vikings. Fracture is set in a community meant as an allegory for ancient Egyptians.
But it doesn’t stop there…
I have recently grown extremely interested in this shared world I’ve created and, as a result, started writing even more. I now have a total of five stories set in this universe, each with their own self-contained stories ranging from 1,000 words to 10,000 words. I even have an idea for a possible sixth story as well.
So what would I do with these stories?
Well, now that I have them, I will pitch them to short story collections as they come available, but my long-term goal (once the respective publishers lose exclusive rights to the stories) is to collect them all together and print them as one full collection. I am even debating hiring an illustrator to make it an illustrated book.
The full collection would be called The Nile and it would contain the following short stories; Egyptus, Eclipse, Fracture, Scythia, Samoa, and a possible sixth as-of-now unwritten story.
Keep in mind, I do not currently have the publishing rights to two of these five stories, so if this is going to happen, it is not going to be for a long time. But, this is something to look forward to in the future. Much like my fantasy series, The Nile will see the light of day one way or another.
In some ways, I feel like George RR Martin, the famed writer who is currently more interested in his side-projects than finishing his hugely popular series. But rest assured, it won’t be a decade between books being published. That much I can guarantee.
Whether the next book you see is my fantasy series, The Nile, or something else, I certainly have no dearth of content in my bag. Something tells me that once you see something new from me, you are going to see a lot at once.
Stay tuned and, in the meantime, look for both Fracture and Eclipse coming out soon!
