[As usual, two weeks lag here, if you aren’t reading this on my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/blazeward). If you’d like your news fresher, and the monthly Anti-Stodgy/Redneck Chef newsletter, all I ask is a buck to help keep the lights on around here.]
Monday. I did not go shooting, because it snowed last night. WTF? Still had about an inch on the ground and thick drizzle this morning. FTN.
Instead, Fabulous Publisher Babe™ and I went out to breakfast and talked publishing. Mostly around the “Business For Breakfast” books and the Milestone Indie Publishing Newsletter (Non-fiction here: https://www.knottedroadpress.com/browse-krp-books/non-fiction/), and how we can synergize them.
Lots of crossover potential. Milestone articles are usually around 1000-1500 words. B4B books range about 14k+/-. I even have a basic B4B book I need to polish and publish. Handed it to S* the other day to test. “Okay, you have your manuscript. Now what?” and she’s working out all those details. A how-to for young writers needing to go Indie.
And Milestone Year Three is done (I think) and will be coming out as soon as we can organize things and get all the guest authors on board. Watch your inbox for news. Probably May.
Got home and got to work on Science Officer #13. “Dragoon’s Honor” is still my working title, as I strive to be somewhat alphabetical for Season Two. Currently at about 38k words, so halfway. Story coming together nicely. Maybe finish in about two weeks.
After that, I got a list. Last Stand #12. Thrill Ride Year Two (4 short stories due in the fall). Monthly Patreon short, but not sure what I’ll tackle this month and I hope you had fun with Chace, as I’m planning three of the four Thrill Ride stories being Chace stories.
GOT A WEIRD QUESTION for you folks.
Right now, $5/month gets you the new short story at least six months before publication. Maybe more, because I’m kinda lazy about getting those out.
Something some folks over in LitRPG are doing is to release a chapter of a novel each month for their patrons. You folks at the $1 level interested if I did that? I have several novel series partially complete, meaning not coming out in any form before 2024 and maybe later, as I want to get them closer to done.
Alternatively, since I’m writing “slower” this year, I might take that energy that goes into the monthly short fiction and instead focus it on longer pieces that get serialized. For instance, I’ve gotten nice response to Fugitives, but not enough sales to really justify writing more of Marcus’s tale. And in a week, I’ve got the first Dan & Stewey novel (urbanish fantasy) coming out, but I haven’t written the rest of the series yet, because I don’t know if folks are interested in following me over there.
But I could justify it here. Won’t unless you folks speak up, so hit reply and let me know your thoughts on the topic. Want me to dabble on the side with stuff that isn’t Science Fiction? Again, if I’d sped up instead of slowing down, I’d have space to do both.
Instead, I’m sewing (went and bought more jersey fabric yesterday), and learning to play guitar (blame English Paul, his idea, see attached image), while also getting serious with Chinese martial arts and some rpg game engine stuff. And a punk rock opera that I’m about halfway through writing at present. Because I can.
Your opinions matter, especially because y’all so rarely actually say anything. (Sometimes, I think I’m talking to myself, okay?)
Happy to rotate into a new way of doing things, but that means folks might not get their monthly fix of a complete short story, and instead I cliff-hangar your asses on a monthly basis.
Which might be more fun, just so’s you know.
What would entertain you the most?
Vote here
Shade and sweet water,
b
West of the Mountains, WA
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