Why I've Set My Sights On My Podcast "Windy City Shadows" Instead of Another Novel

While most folks know me as a TTRPG creator, a lot of people who read this blog know me as a short story writer and a novelist. However, a few years ago my publisher died, and several of my books were in limbo for a while. And while my dystopian sci fi thriller Old Soldiers, as well as the two entries in my hard-nosed mystery series about the street beasts of New York City Marked Territory and Painted Cats got a re-release a little while back, I wasn't working on any new novels while that shuffle was ongoing. And now that the shuffle is finished, and my books are back on the market... well, I'm still not working on any new novels.

Not because I don't want to. I would love to have the time and freedom to devote to a new novel project right now. It's not because I don't have ideas. At last count I have over 50 viable novel concepts that I could spend the rest of my life working on and just barely get to press if my heart holds out. The reason is, put quite simply, I cannot devote over a year of my time and energy to a project that then earns me maybe a hundred bucks before it runs out of gas.

So this week I wanted to talk about that, and how I'm pivoting my energy as a creator... for the time being, at least.

Sadly, needs be when the devil drives.

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

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What I've Been Doing For The Past Year

To give folks a timeline, summer 2022 was when Ring of Fire closed its doors, and authors were largely let go to find ourselves new homes. I managed to do that, and to get my books slated for re-release. There were some hitches and stumbles, but by Fall of 2023 all of my lost novels were back on the market, and available for purchase. And while I was pushing my books, both in-person and online, I was also dedicating a lot of time and energy to my latest book release, my first ever tabletop RPG, Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic!

A book that you should check out, if you haven't yet!

While Army Men dropped earlier in 2024, I've also been putting a lot of work into various short stories over the past year. In the event you didn't see them, these include:

- The Final Lamentation: A Warhammer 40K story about how the Black Legion finds out the hard way that a Lamenter is not locked on the ship when them... they're trapped in here with him!

- Where The Red Flowers Bloom: A Weird War II tale, this story features a Japanese garrison on an island in the middle of the Pacific where a strange curse overtakes the soldiers who've trespassed on the land during the season of the bloody flowers.

- Gav and Bob, Part 5: Faith and Martyrs: Another Warhammer 40K story, the Imperium's bravest ogryn speaks with a canoness confessor, who weighs both his sanity and his soul after the deeds he's done.

- Black Marks: A Dead Space story that was commissioned by the YouTube channel A Vox in The Void, by the time you're all reading this blog entry, the audio drama for it should be live on the channel! This tale takes place on Earth in the far future, and how one damaged agent uses his broken mind to save all of us from being eaten by things beyond the stars.

While I've been keeping myself busy all this time with a slew of different projects, I was partially waiting to see what the results of my books' re-releases would be. After all, one of them got a new cover and additional internal materials, and the other two were still new enough they hadn't quite found an audience yet. I was eager to see what my own promotional efforts, as well as what the efforts of my new publisher, would yield.

In the end... not much.

Without bringing up the receipts and showing them to you all, I earned enough money that I could treat myself to a fast food lunch this past quarter. Or enough to pay a little more than half of one month's utility bill, if I saved two quarters of payments.

Now, that could change. Something I say, or do, might get a bunch of people interested in my books. I might find an overnight following, or suddenly explode thanks to the efforts of reviewers I've never met... but I've been playing this game for a while. I know none of that is likely to happen, and writing one more book to throw on the pile isn't likely to change my situation in a real, noticeable fashion.

I still have the desire to really sink my teeth into a bigger, meatier project, though. Something where I get to tell a longer story full of intrigue, danger, and a bit of the old ultraviolence. Which is why I'm currently so fixated on the Chronicles of Darkness podcast I want to start titled Windy City Shadows.

A Dark Pack Project On The Horizon!

There is a world beneath the one you know. A world of magic and monsters, full of horrors that will haunt your dreams, and a beautiful madness that will seep into your very soul. If you fall through the cracks of the Windy City, you may find yourself among the broken, and the Lost. These things that were once people were dragged out of the world, and they had to claw their way back kicking, screaming, and changed. They are not now what they were. They are more... and so much less.

Politics among changelings is edged at the best of times, and outright deadly at the worst of times. Shepherd Black left that all behind, along with his position as the Fall Court's enforcer. But when someone from his past calls in a favor he has to honor, and a promise he has to keep, the old wolfhound has to let the beast out one more time so he can settle up, and finally be truly free from his old life.

This simple elevator pitch is what I want to do for season one of Windy City Shadows, whose working title is Grimm Promises. Shepherd Black escaped from a life as the lead hound of the Wild Huntsman, to becoming the attack dog of the Autumn Queen. When he finally left it all behind, an old debt drags him back into a life of blood and shadows... a life he won't be able to leave again without paying a nasty price if he truly wants to walk away.

There are more details about this in the blog entry Windy City Shadows: A Chronicles of Darkness Podcast Proposal, and for those who are interested there's still a little bit of time to leave your input for the upcoming video I talked about in Ask Me Anything About "Windy City Shadows" A Chronicles of Darkness Podcast Proposal.

I've had several people ask me why I'm dedicating my time and energy to a project like this rather than writing another novel. So I wanted to take some time to illustrate the numbers, and dig into this as a business decision, rather than just following my creative desires.

A Novel:

- 70K-90K words for one of my books.

- Takes roughly a year of time to write.

- Can't be released until it's entirely complete.

- Receives no advance.

- Takes several months to a year to be published.

- Cannot be read for free by the audience.

- Is hard as hell to sell, and only yields money from sales.

Contrast that with the podcast:

- 40K-80K words, depending on the final number of episodes for the season.

- Can be written, recorded, and released in stages, allowing it to come out faster.

- Likely a year of time to a year and a half to finish and release a season.

- Can be listened to by the audience for free.

- Will have ad spots to pay revenue.

- Can receive donations from audience members who want more.

- Will have a per-episode fee from at least one backer outside of Patreon.

- May result in sales of tie-in products that already exist (TTRPG supplements for Changeling: The Lost, Geist: The Sin Eaters, etc.).

Now, neither of these projects will be easy to make. They're going to take a lot of time, energy, editorial, and working together with multiple people to ensure it's as professionally perfect as possible. However, a novel only provides me one way to get paid, which is selling the book once it's released. The podcast lets me get paid through Patreon, through ad revenue, and through the backing of my publisher, whose channel I'll also be sharing the production on.

The minimum amount of money I could make from a novel is $0, assuming no one buys copies. Realistically, though, I feel I could make between $100 and $200 in sales for a new book, based on overall numbers from previous new releases. The minimum amount of money I could make for releasing the smallest number of episodes for the podcast is $250, which is just the amount of backing I'd be looking at from the one individual outside of Patreon. That's before any ad revenue, before building a Patreon following, and before any other kind of income allowed under the Dark Pack agreement.

If money was no object, folks would be seeing a lot more books from me. However, I've lived beneath the poverty line for the past decade, and I don't have a lot of cushion in my safety net. So this is the mental math I've been doing, and it's one reason I'm so fixated on getting the Azukail Games YouTube channel monetized, because that is the first step to setting the wheels for this whole thing in motion!

So if you want to help make this show a reality, please check out the channel, subscribe, and help us get the last few hundred watched hours we need for YouTube to give us that official status. And while you're at it, maybe give some of the older audio dramas I made for Changeling: The Lost a listen so you can hear what you're in for, and maybe get a sense of some of the characters you're going to see make return appearances!

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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!

"Ugh, Why Are You Writing That!?" Because It's What People Read, Champ

I've written a lot of different content over the years. I've tried different formats and genres, different subject matter, and different approaches. Some of it was well-received, and a lot of it has been ignored. However, I wanted to take a moment to answer a question that's been asked time and time again of me, and I imagine of a lot of other creators as well.

"Ugh, why are you writing that!?"

How I imagine most folks leaving these comments look.

Before I get into the meat of this question, remember to subscribe to my weekly newsletter so you don't miss any of my content! And if you have a little extra dosh that you'd like to use to support me and my work, consider becoming a Patreon patron.

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It's Money. The Answer You're Looking For Is Money

This comment has been dogging me like a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of my shoe. It came up when I shared my gaming story That One Time My Bard Made The Dungeon Master's Girlfriend Jealous when someone demanded to know why I was wasting everyone's time with trashy drama. When I wrote Captain America is Chaotic Good and shared it around, dozens of commenters felt it was their duty to demand I explain why I'd shared a piece that would start so many arguments and flame wars in the comments. Even my article Can We All Finally Agree That White Supremacy is Bad? gets snide remarks from people demanding to know why I wrote something so obvious that there shouldn't be any discussion of it.

Ahem.

The short answer to all of these questions is as simple as it is obvious. I'm a professional writer, and when I create something I do it because I want it to earn money so that I can pay my bills, and maybe order a pizza on game night. And these articles, written in this particular way, got attention. In some instances 2-5 times the amount of attention as articles covering similar topics.

Is money the only reason I'll create content like this? No. Topics I find engaging, which fit a theme, which seem to gel with the markets I spend time in, and which I'll enjoy working on are also considerations that come into play. However, I labor under capitalism, which means that my art has to earn its keep if I'm going to pour time, energy, and effort into it. So while I might prefer to work on a sword and sorcery sequel to my novel Crier's Knife, put together an audio drama series, or maybe write an expansion book for a less popular RPG, I don't have the time and energy to spare to justify those things. Anything I write needs to bring in money ASAP so that I can afford to keep the wheels turning. As such, I end up creating content that is more likely to get noticed, get read, and ensure that all my bills are paid.

End of the day, it's basic cause and effect. If topics like this didn't generate a big (or at least bigger) response, and they didn't pay me as much as other types of content I'd prefer to be working on, I wouldn't write them. I'd spend my effort on other stuff with a better return on investment. But it's what gets people clicking and reading, so that's what I put out there.

You Want Something Different, Make it Profitable

If you, as a reader, want a creator you like to focus on a different type of content then you need to do everything in your power to make that a rewarding endeavor for them. Not just socially, but financially.

And I'm not just talking about throwing money at a writer to create the kind of content you want (but again, I have a Patreon, and I listen when my patrons make requests). If you wanted to see me write more Pathfinder Character Conversions, for example, then reading those articles and sharing them on social media to help them develop a larger following would mean continuing that series is now in my best interests. If as few as a dozen dedicated readers spread the word on it, that would create huge changes in my monthly figures. If you wanted to see me write another of my noir cat novels following up from Marked Territory and Painted Cats, then you could tell all your friends and family members about those books. You could also leave reviews, and get your library to buy copies, while also spreading the word on your social media about how much you like that series. That could snowball rather quickly, leading more people to take notice, read, review, and also demand more books.

Just saying.

Unless a creator is already wealthy enough they can just do whatever they want (and there's not a lot of us that fit that description) we are very likely to take notice when our audience makes it clear they want something. So if you want us to create different kinds of content, then you need to be the ones who boost the signal and get that other content seen. Because it's nice to want it, and we're glad you're enjoying it, but end of the day we need to be able to pay for all our necessities so we can keep the ball rolling.

Just something to keep in mind the next time you wonder why we wrote what we did.

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!

As An Author, Be Realistic About Your Return on Investment

Being an author isn't easy. You need to be able to produce work on a regular basis, market yourself to both employers and an audience, and you need to find some way to carve out a tiny niche for yourself while an army of other writers are out there trying to do the same. It's sort of like being a literary prospector, and if anyone gets close to your claim, that's when the shovels and shotguns come out. In that kind of environment, it's very easy to get used to just saying, "yes," to any project that comes your way.

The next time you're about to agree to a project, though, stop and ask what your return on investment is likely to be.

How many doubloons are supposed to be down there?

Always Think About Your ROI

Think about this scenario, for a moment. A client comes up to you and says, "Hey, I know you're a busy writer, but I really need a 500-word article for my magazine. If I get you all the information, could you get a completed piece to me by the end of the week? I'll pay you $50 for it."

For most of us, that sounds like a pretty sweet deal. All the research is done for us, the word count is pretty reasonable, and we've got a nice, fat price tag attached to it. However, would you do that same project if you had to have it handed in by tomorrow? What if you had to reach a 1,500-word count? Would you do that same article for $10, instead of $50?

Yeah, no, I'm sort of busy with people offering me grown-up prices right now. Best of luck!

It's very easy to get into the habit of just saying yes, especially if you don't have a lot of prospects in your work life. However, if you have a lot of stuff to do, then you might want to start trimming off the ones that aren't giving you back what you put into them.

Be Realistic With Your ROI Expectations

In the above scenario, ROI is pretty easy to figure out. You have a select price for doing the job, and you can easily weigh how much you're going to get out of doing it. If that price isn't enough for all the effort you'd have to put in, then it's time to move on to another job that's more fitting in terms of effort and reward.

However, this can get complicated when we start chucking in royalty shares, pay based on traffic, and a slew of other scenarios.

Go with the sure thing, or roll the dice and hope for the best?

This one can get tricky. For example, you might spend a year writing a novel, and another three years getting it published, only to have it earn no more than a few hundred dollars in sales. Alternatively, you might write a blog post that gets a lot of attention, and which flares up every year or so, giving you steady (if unexpected) influxes of cash and followers for no more than an hour or two's work.

Sadly, the only real way to navigate these waters is experience, and a pessimistic look at prospects.

As an example, let's say that you are contemplating submitting a 10k-word short story for an open submission call. That's a hefty chunk of work for any writer, and you're going to dedicate a lot of effort to getting that piece done. But, assuming your story gets accepted, ask what you're likely to get as a result of that acceptance. Does the publisher have a good track record for sales, or are they small, new, or relatively unknown? Do you have any big names in this collection that will draw eyes from a big fan base? Is the book widely available, or do you have to go to a dark, obscure corner of Amazon to even find the ebook? Are you being offered an advance, or are you and all the other authors just expected to split the royalty sales at the end of the year?

These are all questions you need answers for. Because if this company puts out books that regularly score in the top ten categories for sales, then you might be looking at several years of steady checks. Especially if there's a big-name contributor, like Stephen King, who will get people to pick up the book based on the strength of their brand alone.

*Ahem*

If, on the other hand, this company is just taking whatever stories it can get, splicing them together, and spitting it out onto the market, then you are not likely to get more than a check or two. Worse, those checks are probably going to be too small to get you a cheese burger off the dollar menu. Ditto if the company offers very little support in the way of marketing, reviews, etc., and you don't have the audience strength to make sales on your own.

Spend Your Efforts Wisely

There is more to being an author than money. Sometimes it's about the satisfaction of working on a particular project, the good feeling of doing something for charity, or the street cred that comes with being attached to certain names. However, you're using a very specific kind of alchemy. So ask yourself how much time, effort, and creative juice you're willing to use up on a project before you get too invested. Otherwise you might find yourself writing ad copy for less than a penny a word, and you won't have the time or energy left over for anything else.

That's all for this week's Business of Writing post. It's likely old hat for a lot of folks out there, but a reminder from time to time never goes amiss. For more content by yours truly, check out my Vocal archive, and follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Lastly, if you want to support me, head over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page, or click this link to Buy Me A Coffee! There's a free book in it for you, too, as a thank you for your help.