My name is Keith Robinson and I'm a writer

If there was such a thing as Writer's Anonymous, where habitual writers go to talk about their inability to stop scribing, I would miss every meeting because I'd be too busy writing. Or I'd sit there during the meetings peeking at my laptop.

I can't ever get enough time to write even though sales have slumped this year. And when I say slumped, I mean Amazon sales in particular have halved (though other channels are about the same). It used to be that I could plan and write a book with the expectation it would bring in a certain additional income over many years. Not any more! Amazon sales have slowed since March 2015, though I don't exactly know why. Whatever's going on seems to be affecting plenty of others too. Maybe it's due to a saturation of new books by new authors? Literally a million or more new books are published each year. It's SO easy to publish these days that everyone's doing it.

It makes me doubt my long-term plan of retiring with a slew of books under my belt. But I'm not swayed, no sirree. In fact, right now I'm moving toward a new generation of Island of Fog shapeshifters in 2016 as well as thinking about Sleep Writer Book 4 for next summer. Also, I have a plan for a trilogy of horror books for mature audiences. More on that another time! But the point is, a slow-down of sales doesn't stop me from wanting to write.

I think about writing pretty much all the time. I very rarely have the radio on while I'm driving because there are so many annoying adverts, and the constant talking interrupts my train of thought. Pandora is a good option, but half the time I can't be bothered to hook it up and get it started. I'm happy to listen to the silence, much to the annoyance of my 11-year-old girl. I can easily drive for three hours with nothing but road noise, plotting my next book. I don't understand people who can't just sit still and quiet. Why do kids get bored? How is that even possible...?

We watch a lot of good TV shows -- and ONLY good shows, because life is too short for substandard stuff, so we're pretty selective -- and I'm often sitting there watching a show and thinking about how the story is constructed. And, conversely, I think about TV and movies while I'm writing. I write scenes as if they're being played out on a screen, and this helps me visualize the action and drama.

It might surprise you to know that I don't read much anymore. I should, but I just don't get time. Likewise, I don't listen to audiobooks, though I would if I had to commute to work every day. My wife has a 45-minute drive every morning and evening, and she plugs in and enjoys her audiobooks and makes good use of that time. But me? I'd have to deliberately sit down and do nothing if I wanted to listen to one. Who has time for that? Also, I find that my mind drifts, and I quickly... uh...

What was I saying?

Anyway, I've noticed that overall visits to this blog have also dropped off since the middle of 2015, and I assume it's part of the decline in sales. Reduced free downloads and sales naturally means fewer people finding their way here. But I've also noticed less interest (fewer comments) in what I'm posting, which is entirely my fault. I don't write so many varied posts anymore; usually it's just to announce a new short story or a new book, and I'm sure that gets boring after a while!

ALL of this -- fewer downloads, sales, comments -- coincides with a lack of new Island of Fog books. When I ended the series, it seems like things tailed off a few month later. Coincidence? I'm honestly not sure. Will things pick up when my new spin-off shapeshifter series starts in 2016? Only time will tell.

But despite all this, my interest in writing has not waned one bit. Maybe there's a little less urgency to hit deadlines, but otherwise nothing has changed.

As usual, look for a new Island of Fog short story in a couple of days from now. It features Hal and his friends in a Christmas-related tale. I'll always find time in my schedule to slip in a monthly short story. :-)

My name is Keith Robinson and I'm a writer.