The Boiling Point
As the time passes, the closer I get to releasing my third book, Reawakening. I’m nervous, but not for the reasons that usually come when releasing a work of mine.
Unlike every other indie author, I’ve never been concerned with sales. They (whomever they are) say that they average author sells around 100-300 copies of their book. Now while I’ve sold far more than that I haven’t sold enough to quit my day job. I’ve never put much stock into it because to me, the writing always came first. And it will always come first. The story and getting it out of my head means more than anything. And I’ve never been the one to sacrifice quality for quantity. Yet in the back of my mind, I’ve always wondered what would happen when I released my third book.
There have been people, including myself, that have waited until an author releases the third book in the series. By then, you generally think they’re going to finish it. Although people seem to think that The Passage of Hellsfire is only a trilogy, I’ve never said that. Also, with more books with your name on it, people will be reminded of you more. And while I have released short stories (that no one has really read), it’s not the same as having novels out.
I shall probably do some advertising and promotion when Reawakening drops, which I haven’t done since Catalyst. In hindsight, spending advertising dollars on Catalyst was a bad idea. Sure, I made some sales, but I only had one book out. So even if people were interested enough in me and my work, they couldn’t buy anything else. By now, I’m sure they’ve forgotten about me. Perhaps it’s time for a little reminder.
There is also another question lingering in the back of my mind. What if I release Reawakening and it doesn’t perform well or increase sales of my other works like I thought (hoped?) it would? What then? Should I stop writing The Passage of Hellsfire? Should I do a larger work based on my short story, The Living Remnants like people have said is far more interesting and that would probably sell more?
Nah.
The only thing I do know is that I will continue The Passage of Hellsfire until it’s finished. After that, who knows? I have a ton of other, stand alone books that I also want to get out.
If I don’t reach the boiling point, I admit, I’ll be a little disappointed and saddened. That said, I won’t worry about it much. People that know me now all seem to say how mellow I am. I wasn’t always this way. I was once very emotional. I learned along the way that I shouldn’t worry about the things I can’t control, and this includes book sales. While I can influence them to a certain extent, I can’t control them. It’s up to the people that buy my books to spread the word if they like it, and of course, up to the Book Gods.
Marc Johnson
