Don't Wait Until A Series Is Done To Check Out The Books

There is a common attitude among readers (and particularly readers of sci fi and fantasy) that if an author is writing a series that they aren't going to get into it until that series is over and done. They want to be sure that the author isn't going to die halfway through, or that the series isn't going to peter out before they get invested in it. And while that is a fair point, I want to address something that's extremely harmful about this attitude toward these specific projects, as well as the profession in general.

Because if the author can't eat because no one is buying the series, then they aren't going to be able to continue said series, and all the misgivings end up becoming self-fulfilling prophecies.

Something to keep in mind.

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Authors Can't Do What We Do Without Audience Support

On the one hand, I very much see where readers come from on this issue. Because if you're the sort of person who likes to read series, then you like to really get invested in the story. So if there's only one or two books out, you might not feel like you're really on solid ground just yet. Even if the early entries are good, you don't want to jump in with both feet and get really into this world and these characters only for an author to leave the series on a cliffhanger, or for a publisher to decide future installments aren't worth publishing.

And this could happen all on its own. However, lack of participation practically guarantees the series will die before it really gets a chance to live.

For those who were curious.

This is the way the process goes. An author decides they want to write a series. They finish the first novel. That novel is published, either traditionally or through a self-publishing platform of some variety. The author is, essentially, giving the audience a sample of the story. They're saying, "This is the story I want to tell. If it's a story you all want to see more of, then I have more to tell you!"

Under ideal circumstances, this first book will get the audience's attention, and enough people will buy copies that the publisher considers it a success, and greenlights the next book in the series. The author will then get to work on the next book, using the earnings from the first one to help pay bills and stay afloat long enough to tell more of the story. This process then rinses and repeats until one of two things happens; the author runs out of story, or the sales peter off to the point that the publisher no longer considers it a valid investment.

The problem with folks who are, "Waiting until it's done to get into it," is that you're actively denying a series and its creator the oxygen they need to actually finish the project in the first place.

As a good example, consider my Hardboiled Cat series linked in the pics above. I've got a dozen more stories I'd love to tell about Leo and the other street beasts of his setting, as well as a whole spinoff series about the kitten Trouble when he grows up to become a streetwise stray in his own right. However, I'm not writing those right now because I literally cannot afford to. I sell a few copies online every quarter, and move a couple more at conventions, but overall these novels can take as much as a year of effort to write, and they just don't move the numbers for me to justify adding to this series, even though I'm very certain my publisher would happily take more books about the rough, brutal lives of this hard-nosed Maine Coon heavy.

However, if these books suddenly moved a couple hundred copies each? Or a couple thousand because someone on BookTok gave me a shoutout, or an influential furry told their fans how much they loved my novels? I would have a fresh notebook out and the plot of book three figured out down to the chapter by end-of-day tomorrow.

Authors Need Support Or We (And Our Projects) Die

I've said it dozens of times before, but audience engagement is literally what decides whether creators live or die, and whether our projects succeed or fail. It's not just novels, either. Everything from YouTube videos, to podcasts, to comic books depends on the audience turning up for installment after installment, giving us your eyes, your ears, and your approval. Whether that comes in the form of purchases, watch/listen hours, or straight up Patreon donations, your engagement directly translates into the money that we use to pay our bills, and keep telling our stories.

And if you don't provide that support until we reach the end... well, that makes it that much more likely we won't be able to afford to reach the end.

Now, that's not to say that you must support every creator out there who is writing a series, or that you owe anyone your purchasing power, your reviews, your engagement, etc. However, if a series has caught your interest, whether it's on Netflix, Spotify, YouTube, or it's good, old-fashioned print books, don't sit on it and wait. Authors and publishers alike judge whether a creative endeavor is worth pursuing further based on the reaction of the public, and the money it's making. So if something looks interesting, but there's only a few installments out, go check them out and see if you like it! If you don't, well, now you don't have to worry about it anymore. But if you do like it, and you do want it to keep going so you can see how things turn out, now you know this is worth putting in your efforts.

Yes, you might end up with a George R.R. Martin scenario where you're waiting for years on end for him to finish the damn series. But you know something? At least you know Martin didn't give up on writing it because it wasn't making money, and since no one seemed interested he moved on to another project, or had to go back to a job doing something else to keep the lights on.

Speaking of Series and Support...

While I'm on the subject of series and audience support, there's a project I proposed about a year ago that I've been trying to get off the ground. It's a dark modern fantasy audio drama series set in the Chronicles of Darkness that I've tentatively titled Windy City Shadows, the first season of which can best be described as fairy tale John Wick set in modern day Chicago.

If that sounds like something you'd be keen to check out, then you can get the details in Windy City Shadows: A Chronicles of Darkness Podcast Proposal, or watch the video I made on the subject a while back!

The short version is that, while the show would be a podcast available on a variety of platforms, one of those platforms will be on the Azukail Games YouTube channel... and before we start in on it, we need to get that channel monetized! So if you want to see this idea come to fruition, help us reach that first goal by subscribing to the channel, as well as watching and sharing our videos so we can get the final 500 and change hours we need for YouTube to agree to share ad revenue with us!

Because once we cross that goal, that's when I can start revving the engine on this bigger, more involved project... and I'd love it if all of you out there could join me!

Support The Literary Mercenary

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Also, if you're curious about how to write for tabletop RPGs, don't forget to check out my show Tabletop Mercenary, which you can find on both the Azukail Games channel, as well as my Rumble channel listed above!

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sci-fi dystopian thriller Old Soldiers, the Hardboiled Cat series about a mystery solving Maine Coon in Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list. 

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

I Just Want To Write...

It's that time of year again where we all recall Charles Dickens and his most famous tale. For those of you who aren't authors, you're probably thinking of that one book he wrote where a member of the bourgeoisie abuses his clerk until he's bullied into being a better person by three supernatural incarnations of the Christmas holiday. For those of you who are authors, though, you're probably recalling the tales of how Dickens was on his grind 24/7 just to make rent. Hosting public readings, selling his stories by the chapter, and braving cold winds and a colder audience just to try to put shillings in his pocket.

And I get that this is a reminder to authors out there that you have to do more than just put words on the page. I've been in the game for a while, and I know that shaking hands and meeting fans is part of the gig... but goddamn. I just want to write books. Is that really too much to ask?

Seriously, I just want to write.

As always, folks who want to stay on top of everything I'm working on should subscribe to my weekly newsletter so you don't miss any updates. And if you want to be one of the folks who helps me focus my efforts purely on making things you enjoy, then become a Patreon patron today. It seriously helps far more than I can say.

And if you want all my information in one place, I do have a Linktree now, so stop over there if you're of a mind!

So When Are You Gonna Start Making Videos?

Before anyone starts cracking their knuckles to leave helpful tips in my comments section, I want to lay out a couple of facts for you here. At time of writing I have 4 novels on the market, along with 2 short story collections, in addition to appearing in a dozen or so anthologies, all of which are available on my Amazon author page. I have over 100 RPG supplements that all pay me royalties on sales, and that number is growing every month as more and more stuff I turned in hits the market. I have a Patreon. I have a Ko-Fi. I have a Vocal archive with over 200 articles in it that pay me based on views. I'm active on Facebook, on Twitter, and even on Pinterest. I post on Reddit, I'm active on MeWe, and from time to time I even stop over on LinkedIn. I also run two blogs.

Numbers... it all comes down to numbers.

The problem is that, at the end of the day, it's just not enough. Not enough followers, not enough readers, not enough patrons, and not enough traffic. I get little gains here and there, and every now and again something explodes a bit and gets momentarily popular, but even with all the effort going into everything the little streams aren't making much of a river. At the end of the day, it boils down explicitly to not being able to reach enough people... but the engine's already running in the red, and giving it more gas just might make it explode.

I say this because I've had so many people suggest additional things to stack onto what I'm already doing. That I should start a YouTube channel, or get on TikTok, both of which require me to learn new skills and pour a lot of effort into making fresh content that isn't putting money in my pockets. That I should start a podcast, which is a long-form style of content that requires a lot of energy and effort that would also require mastering new skills and using different formats. One or two people even suggested I get on the zine train, since they seem to be having something of a resurgence.

I'm not saying this wouldn't work. I'm not even ruling out the possibility of trying out one or two of these options. But what folks need to understand is that authors don't have hours and hours of the day just laying around to master new skills in. And even if we did, most of us didn't become authors because we wanted to be on camera, or to broadcast our voices on the air waves... we did it expressly because those were things that didn't appeal to us.

It's like I said back in Creators Need Support, Not Another Hustle. We can produce content until our fingers bleed and our blood pressure spikes, but it does no good if no one's actually seeing it. You, the readers, are the ones who decide just how well-know we are... or aren't. So whether it's myself or another author out there who's work you enjoy, take a moment to do something to help us reach more people. Follow our social media accounts. Share our posts. Tell your friends and family about us. Get one of our books for them for Christmas. Leave a rating and review to help boost the signal.

Because you might be just one person out there, adding your voice to ours. But if hundreds of you all join (to say nothing of thousands) it makes a huge difference. This is true for big creators, but to smaller folks like me it can be game changing. So please, keep in mind that if you want us to keep writing, it's a lot easier to do that if we're not stretching ourselves so thin we barely have room to breathe.

Like, Follow, and Stay Tuned!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing!

If you'd like to see more of my work, take a look at my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my noir thriller Marked Territory, its sequel Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife as well as my recent collection The Rejects!

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

How Do You Make A Living Writing? Easy... You Need Fans

If you read any writer blogs (mine included) you'll find dozens of entries about how to get more people to look at your books. You'll find all kinds of advice on how to take advantage of algorithms, which platforms to use for the best signal boost, and how often you should update your social media... but every now and against it's important to remind yourself where your money comes from.

Because it comes from your readers. You could have a utility belt of cool gadgets and marketing theories, but when it comes down to it, without your readers you aren't clearing any checks any time soon.

There's a new one in the series? Score!

So before you get too caught up in writing a new blog post, sharing a new status update, or in putting together another ad campaign for your book, remember, those are the means, not the end.

Focusing On Fans Gives You Some Perspective

You need to hit big numbers in order to clear big paydays, but it's important to take a moment to remember that every one of those numbers out there is a person. They're someone who selected your work, and who read it. They had an experience with something you created, and they came to you looking for something particular. They gave you their time, their energy, and in a lot of cases, they gave you their money.

Thank you, Sumo_577. I will never forget you.

Aside from feeling humbled that there are people out there who voraciously consume your work (or who like it enough to review it and tell their friends about you), it helps to remember that you're not just pleasing algorithms and getting arbitrary up-views from robots. You write for people, and it is those people who constitute your audience.

Then you need to act accordingly.

That means when you're posting in a forum, remember that the people who see your words will form opinions of you. When you're on a panel, or giving an interview, think about the ramifications of what you say, and the thoughts you express. If you're frazzled and stressed, but someone got the courage to approach to ask for a photo or an autograph, remember that they support you. Be polite, be professional, and always thank them for the help they give you. Basically all the stuff I mentioned a while ago in Your Brand is Just as Important as Your Books.

There's more than just cultivating your image, though; you need to treat your readers (and potential readers) like people.

That means you should climb down off your soap box, and talk to people rather than talking at people. Engage with them, and have a conversation rather than shouting out your view, thought, or ad for your book and then walking away. If someone talks about your work, take a moment to thank them. Be sincere. And, if you really want to sweeten the deal, give them something for free as a way to thank them for being one of your readers. An ebook usually works nicely, because even if they don't prefer electronic reading, it often is the thought that counts because it shows that you noticed them, and value them.

Once you get into this kind of mindset, and you incorporate it into your attitude and practices, you might be surprised how many people it draws. And especially how many readers will keep coming back (or offer other forms of support for your work) once they realize you aren't just thinking of them as numbers on your monthly royalty statement.

That's all for this week's Business of Writing installment. If you like my work, and want to see more of it, remember to check out my Vocal archive! If you'd like to help support me, then consider leaving me a small tip by Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or becoming a regular patron over on The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page. Either way, some free stuff and my gratitude will both be yours! Lastly, to stay on top of all my latest updates just follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter.