Boy, I really put the pedal to the metal and got some stuff done this past month.
For the month I managed 127,051 words, a monstrous number that puts me at 870,289 for the year.
I put up 38 blog posts as well, and that breaks down like so:
For the month I managed 127,051 words, a monstrous number that puts me at 870,289 for the year.
I put up 38 blog posts as well, and that breaks down like so:
All Blogs
MT Blog Most Popular
Montana Blog
Writing Blog Most Popular
Writing Blog
I think it’s pretty clear that most people want to read about Montana celebrities on this site. They also like reading about the latest in marketing and SEO news. Awesome!
Obviously there was lots of writing this month, and that means there’s lots to recap. There’s a lot to look forward to as well, so let’s just get started, huh?
Obviously there was lots of writing this month, and that means there’s lots to recap. There’s a lot to look forward to as well, so let’s just get started, huh?
Feds and Farmers
I released my fifth book of Montana history this month to little fanfare and lackluster sales. It came out on August 4, a Tuesday.
I’ve sold 4 copies of the 532-page book, and I guess that’s all there is to say about it. I mean, people do not care about history.
They care about going home and planting their ass in front of the TV – that’s America today, and that’s why the country is falling apart, economically, intellectually, and spiritually.
I’ll stop now before I drive away my 5th sale.
I’ve sold 4 copies of the 532-page book, and I guess that’s all there is to say about it. I mean, people do not care about history.
They care about going home and planting their ass in front of the TV – that’s America today, and that’s why the country is falling apart, economically, intellectually, and spiritually.
I’ll stop now before I drive away my 5th sale.
Flight 370
I released the second book of my Shadow Government series this month, and it did a little better than the Montana history book, but not much. I got 3 sales on it and some pages read, but I expect this one will do well eventually.
It too was put out on a Tuesday, the 11th. I like putting books out on Tuesday, because the entertainment industry deems this as the appropriate day. Usually what I do is look at next month on the calendar and just randomly choose Tuesdays.
Anyways, the book is on sale – check it out already!
It too was put out on a Tuesday, the 11th. I like putting books out on Tuesday, because the entertainment industry deems this as the appropriate day. Usually what I do is look at next month on the calendar and just randomly choose Tuesdays.
Anyways, the book is on sale – check it out already!
How to Write Fantasy
The book that I had the lowest expectations and least concern for did the best, getting a sale in the US and 3 sales in Germany of all places.
I wanted to release the book on August 18, which would have been the third Tuesday in a row that I put a book out. Alas, this did not happen, and the reason was money – I didn’t have any.
A few days later I did, however, and got the cover image and then had someone else do the cover layout work and boom – that book was for sale on Friday, August 21.
I do not mess around.
I think that’s enough of a trip down memory lane for this month, huh?
I wanted to release the book on August 18, which would have been the third Tuesday in a row that I put a book out. Alas, this did not happen, and the reason was money – I didn’t have any.
A few days later I did, however, and got the cover image and then had someone else do the cover layout work and boom – that book was for sale on Friday, August 21.
I do not mess around.
I think that’s enough of a trip down memory lane for this month, huh?
Advertising
I just wanted to remind you that I have ads on this site…in case you didn’t notice. What that means is that you can click on those, and I get a few pennies. Well, I get a few pennies when you visit the site, if you click on an ad I might get a couple quarters, or even a dollar!
Amazon ads work a little differently. If you order something, I get about 3% to 6% of the sale price, depending on how many people have purchased from my ads this month. So if you have plans to buy a $2,999 sound system from Amazon, please do so from here. Thanks!
Amazon ads work a little differently. If you order something, I get about 3% to 6% of the sale price, depending on how many people have purchased from my ads this month. So if you have plans to buy a $2,999 sound system from Amazon, please do so from here. Thanks!
Free Fiction
Do you read the free fiction I put up each Friday?
I bet you do sometimes, but maybe not all the time. How do I know this? Because I’ve started to keep track of my stats better. Here’s what that looks like:
I bet you do sometimes, but maybe not all the time. How do I know this? Because I’ve started to keep track of my stats better. Here’s what that looks like:
Free Fiction for Authors
I started to write this stuff down last month, and so long as I check by the end of the month when Weebly resets my stats counter, I’ll have a good idea of what’s working and what’s not.
Yep, this is a gauge of reader interest. As you can see, sci-fi wins the race, hands down. Free Fiction Friday’s #70, #71, and #76 all deal with outer space or dystopian futures.
What doesn’t work for shit are posts about politics in the guise of thrillers or conspiracy. People do not like that stuff one bit.
It’s good to think about these things, and gauge where you’re at in your writing. Maybe you are writing what you want, but is that what everyone else wants? And if not, are you ok with that? And if not…then what?
It’s not a bad idea to change your strategy if things aren’t working, or if what used to work suddenly stops. I can show you some sales charts of this time last year, and the books that were selling then are flat now.
This will happen, and you need to be ready. I like to diversify, myself, and that means multiple projects.
A good way to keep track of all those writing projects, and keep them going, is with word counts.
Yep, this is a gauge of reader interest. As you can see, sci-fi wins the race, hands down. Free Fiction Friday’s #70, #71, and #76 all deal with outer space or dystopian futures.
What doesn’t work for shit are posts about politics in the guise of thrillers or conspiracy. People do not like that stuff one bit.
It’s good to think about these things, and gauge where you’re at in your writing. Maybe you are writing what you want, but is that what everyone else wants? And if not, are you ok with that? And if not…then what?
It’s not a bad idea to change your strategy if things aren’t working, or if what used to work suddenly stops. I can show you some sales charts of this time last year, and the books that were selling then are flat now.
This will happen, and you need to be ready. I like to diversify, myself, and that means multiple projects.
A good way to keep track of all those writing projects, and keep them going, is with word counts.
Word Counts
I can’t say enough about word counts, and have done so in a few books and numerous blog posts.
I’ve put up some monster word counts this month, as you saw in that post. I like word counts, and I like my word count meters. Here are a few:
I’ve put up some monster word counts this month, as you saw in that post. I like word counts, and I like my word count meters. Here are a few:
That word count meter is from several months ago, maybe even the beginning of this year. Four of those books are finished, and the current meters look like this:
So that’s how you have discipline and routine when you work for yourself and it’s just you calling the shots. Well, that’s what I do.
I also use Microsoft Word 2003 or so, a really old program that many writers say is holding me back. Some suggest Scrivener, or at least did so when I showed these drafts of Colter’s Hell:
I also use Microsoft Word 2003 or so, a really old program that many writers say is holding me back. Some suggest Scrivener, or at least did so when I showed these drafts of Colter’s Hell:
How to Write Books
That’s how I write books, a couple thousand words a day. I use an old Word Processing program and it produces results, results that people buy and which pay my rent.
I dunno – I’ve seen images of Stephen King pounding away on a typewriter still, and it works pretty well for him. I figure you need to find what works.
Another thing that’s important is to actually work and not just sit there. There’s no cutting edge program that’s going to make up for laziness and procrastination.
I dunno – I’ve seen images of Stephen King pounding away on a typewriter still, and it works pretty well for him. I figure you need to find what works.
Another thing that’s important is to actually work and not just sit there. There’s no cutting edge program that’s going to make up for laziness and procrastination.
Colter’s Hell
I suppose the big thing this month was beginning and then finishing Colter’s Hell. I started the book on July 30, discussed it a bit in last month’s report, then got to work. You’ll get a 2,500 word post on it showing the area Colter explored very soon, maybe later this week.
So…why did I write this book so quickly?
That’s easy – look at my bestselling Amazon US books this month:
So…why did I write this book so quickly?
That’s easy – look at my bestselling Amazon US books this month:
It’s not even a contest – people want to read these books. If I want to make money, I better get on the ball and write ‘em!
How do I do that? I put my fingers on the keys each day and write. In this case, the book wanted to write itself, really. It’s nice when you find stories that want to be told.
Yeah, I wish it was that simple and easy.
The truth is that it takes work, but it’s enjoyable making things work. I’ve been quite mum on this one, though I’m very excited to tell you about it. I’ll have a lot more about this book very soon.
Last month I’d planned to release the book on September 22, and that’s the date on my calendar. Obviously that can move up now, and I’m going to go with September 8 on this. You can of course get the book a little earlier than that on preorder, and I encourage you to (links will come soon).
I’d also encourage you to get it on iTunes or Barnes and Noble, as after a week I’m going to make it exclusive to Amazon. Yeah, that retailer has been good to me, fiction-wise, and of the 156 sales Colter’s Winter has gotten, 146 of them have come from Amazon while just 10 have come from other retailers.
It just makes sense for me to put it on the retailer that will give me a financial incentive to go exclusive, and that’s Amazon. If you don’t like it, well…sorry, but people never bought the book from anywhere else in any great quantity to justify me keeping it there. I’ve more than likely lost money these past four months by not having it exclusive.
So one week, and then that’s it. I’m not sure I’ll even fiddle with that for the third book, as you can always buy the print version if you don’t like the Kindle.
Hell, maybe I’ll just skip that for Colter’s Hell, too – I doubt a lot of people care, as those numbers pretty much speak for themselves.
How do I do that? I put my fingers on the keys each day and write. In this case, the book wanted to write itself, really. It’s nice when you find stories that want to be told.
Yeah, I wish it was that simple and easy.
The truth is that it takes work, but it’s enjoyable making things work. I’ve been quite mum on this one, though I’m very excited to tell you about it. I’ll have a lot more about this book very soon.
Last month I’d planned to release the book on September 22, and that’s the date on my calendar. Obviously that can move up now, and I’m going to go with September 8 on this. You can of course get the book a little earlier than that on preorder, and I encourage you to (links will come soon).
I’d also encourage you to get it on iTunes or Barnes and Noble, as after a week I’m going to make it exclusive to Amazon. Yeah, that retailer has been good to me, fiction-wise, and of the 156 sales Colter’s Winter has gotten, 146 of them have come from Amazon while just 10 have come from other retailers.
It just makes sense for me to put it on the retailer that will give me a financial incentive to go exclusive, and that’s Amazon. If you don’t like it, well…sorry, but people never bought the book from anywhere else in any great quantity to justify me keeping it there. I’ve more than likely lost money these past four months by not having it exclusive.
So one week, and then that’s it. I’m not sure I’ll even fiddle with that for the third book, as you can always buy the print version if you don’t like the Kindle.
Hell, maybe I’ll just skip that for Colter’s Hell, too – I doubt a lot of people care, as those numbers pretty much speak for themselves.
Montana Paranormal
This past month I put together all my old paranormal writings on Montana, and the research I’d been doing at the Missoula Public Library, and came up with a 11,500 word manuscript.
It’s called Montana Paranormal, and he’s a look at the current table of contents:
It’s called Montana Paranormal, and he’s a look at the current table of contents:
Montana Paranormal Books
As you can see, we talk about some weird and strange stuff. This is “run you out of town” kind of stuff, but since I decided to discuss the Freemasons and Illuminati in my last book of history, what the hell.
People like this stuff. I think it’s a shame there’s only one book on UFOs in Montana, and that with just a few tales. The next time I go to Helena I’ll dig through the files and see what’s there. I expect I’ll get a dang good book, and one that will sell well for years.
That TOC will expand and if I had to say when the book would be out, I’d say before the busy Christmas buying season. That’s my best time for Montana print books, and I know this one will sell. Stay tuned to hear more.
People like this stuff. I think it’s a shame there’s only one book on UFOs in Montana, and that with just a few tales. The next time I go to Helena I’ll dig through the files and see what’s there. I expect I’ll get a dang good book, and one that will sell well for years.
That TOC will expand and if I had to say when the book would be out, I’d say before the busy Christmas buying season. That’s my best time for Montana print books, and I know this one will sell. Stay tuned to hear more.
On the Agenda for September
This month I’d like to do a few things:
Well, that’s about it. I’m mainly focused on getting another novel out quickly, so that take up the most time. I hope you’ll buy some of the books I’ve listed, and don’t be afraid to leave a review. Thanks!
- Colter’s Run: I have the outline done for this book and someone’s working on the cover. I’ll get a map made up and it’ll be done and on the market sometime in October. The book will focus on a lot more than just the actual run, however, because we need to set up the political and economic situations with the tribes, the forts, and St. Louis, as well as introduce new characters so this series can go on past this one particular mountain man.
- Out-of-Stater Guide: It’s well past time Montana gets a new guidebook or state almanac, and one that’s not so damn dry. That’s what the Out of Stater’s Guide to Montana will be, and I intend to recycle a lot of the content from the 2014 Montana Election blog to give new residents a great idea of the state’s economics, politics, culture, and a few other important-sounding things.
Well, that’s about it. I’m mainly focused on getting another novel out quickly, so that take up the most time. I hope you’ll buy some of the books I’ve listed, and don’t be afraid to leave a review. Thanks!
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