IWSG Wednesday: Traveling to a New Home

Happy Insecure Writer's Support Group Wednesday. Thank you again to Alex J. Cavanaugh, the creator of the group. The first Wednesday of every month is dedicated to this group of supportive writers. If it's something you're not familiar with, then please click on Alex's link above for more information and to sign up!

***Going forward, I will be posting from my new Wordpress site: michaelpierceauthor.com. This post will also be the first post on that new site, so feel free to leave a comment on either one (they will basically be the same).***

The year has gone by so fast and it’s showing no sign of slowing down. I had a nice and quiet Thanksgiving holiday, but even with it being quiet, the long weekend seems like a blur. I haven’t gotten as much done as I had hoped, which seems to be the complaint of every holiday season. All I can do is take what baby steps I can to keep moving forward.

As far as the Lorne Family Vault series is concerned, the revised editions of the first three books are available now on Amazon: Provex City, Le7el, and SUSY Asylum. I’m also giving away the first two books for signing up to my mailing list. The fourth book, Doria Falls, will be released on December 11th. I don’t have a release date yet for the final book in the series, Archanum Manor, but it will most likely be early February.

With the Lorne Family Vault series practically finished, I had wanted to start writing my new novel this week, but I don’t feel confident enough in the outline I have thus far. It’s coming along, but not at the place I’d hoped it would be at this point. The main resources I’m using for outlining and pre-production are: Write Better Faster, Story Engineering, The Story Grid, and the Dan Wells 7-Point Story Structure videos. I read through twice as many books on story structure and outlining, but the above mentioned books (and videos) are the ones I got the most out of. The structures are similar and easy to adapt and combine to make the story you want to tell the best it can be. Hopefully, the rest of my planning will come together soon so I can start writing in the next few weeks.

As I mentioned above, this will be last post for this site as I transition over to the new site HERE. It’s been a great learning experience on the Blogger platform. I still don’t feel fully comfortable using Wordpress, but I’m sure all will be fine with time. So this isn’t goodbye, but the start to a new chapter—one I’m very excited to write.

I hope your Thanksgiving was full of fun and fantastic food. Christmas is only a few blinks away. My family and I put up our Christmas decorations over the weekend and I bought my first eggnog latte of the season. I love this time of year now that I don’t work in retail anymore. I have a lot of writing goals on my list, but enjoying this time with friends and family is equally (if not more) important. Find your story, find your balance, and find your Christmas cheer.

IWSG Wednesday: New Releases & Learning the Art of the Facebook Ad

Happy Insecure Writer's Support Group Wednesday. Thank you again to Alex J. Cavanaugh, the creator of the group. The first Wednesday of every month is dedicated to this group of supportive writers. If it's something you're not familiar with, then please click on Alex's link above for more information and to sign up!

The new editions of Provex City, Le7el, and SUSY Asylum are finally up on Amazon. Today I just finished fixing up the fourth book in the Lorne family Vault series, Doria Falls. I plan to get it to the ebook formatter by the end of the week while I'm working through my final read through of Archanum Manor. I'm planning to release Doria Falls in early December and Archanum Manor in late January (or early February).

I've also started thinking about and planning my next project. Organization and productivity is key moving forward. If I want to get to a point where I can write full time, one book or less a year will not cut it. I need more content, preferably in different worlds, to gain potential readers. My next project will be planned as a seven-book series. I will be more careful with cliff hangers this time, but the books will build off each other. So this will also be a series to read in order. I'm setting myself up for quite the challenge, but I'm excited to dive into a new universe. This series will be YA contemporary distopian (if there is such a thing), which will transition to NA by the end (it will follow the protagonist from 14 to 21 years old).

I had wanted to submit a short story to the IWSG short story contest. Not doing so was my major fail for the month. I had the story planned and everything; I just needed to write it. At some point, I'll just have to write it for myself. I'm sure there will be a lot of fantastic entries. Best of luck to everyone fighting for a spot in the anthology. I'll be sure to pick up a copy when it come out.

I signed up for Mark Dawson’s course on Facebook Ads, which I think closed yesterday. I've gone through two thirds of the modules so far: the basics and ads for building a mailing list. Ads for building a mailing list is where I need to start since I don't have much to sell at this point. When I get my box sets out, then I'll start testing out sales ads. The importance of building a mailing list is emphasized on every podcast I listen to, including countless interviews with successful indie authors. It makes sense. The online retailers continually update and change their platforms which affect author sales (look at how the introduction of Kindle Unlimited and the change to the subscription service this summer has affected author earnings). Facebook can change their rules at any time (like how the reach of using Facebook author pages was greatly reduced this year, so you're now lucky if 5-10% of your fans see your posts). There is so much uncertainty when relying on these other companies for the health of your author business. But if you're focused on growing your mailing list, then you own those email addresses. You have a better chance of getting information to your fans, especially if you're focused on building trust, confidence, and engagement through your emails and exclusive offers. So that's my plan, to build my email list. I've already set up my exclusive offers for signing up (free copies of Provex City and Le7el). Now I'm putting the finishing touches on my welcome automation email sequence. By the end of the week, I want to have those pieces fully in place and start building my first Facebook ads following all of Mark's advice. I'm a little nervous, but looking forward to the experimentation process.

I've recently started listening to The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. They've been around for the past decade, with a few songs occasionally on the radio. I'd heard the name before, but never paid much attention to them. From a recommendation, I gave them a real listen and now I've gotten hooked on two of their albums: Don't You Fake It and Am I the Enemy. I guess I would consider them Christian emo. I'm usually turned off by Christan bands, but RJA's songs are more subtle than most. And they have so many catchy songs. I'm not one to judge based on a category (or genre); good music is good music (like books). The song I've included here is You Get Me High, a bonus track on the Am I the Enemy album. Enjoy the song and happy writing!

 

IWSG Wednesday: Coming Together

Happy Insecure Writer's Support Group Wednesday. Thank you again to Alex J. Cavanaugh, the creator of the group. The first Wednesday of every month is dedicated to this group of supportive writers. If it's something you're not familiar with, then please click on Alex's link above for more information and to sign up!

I’m happy to report that this is finally the month where things are coming together. I should have the new editions of Provex City, Le7el, and SUSY Asylum released in the next few weeks. And with the release of these books, I’ll start promoting and building my mailing list and introduce my new website. The new website won’t be anything fancy, but it will be clean and functional until I decide to spend extra time and money to spruce it up.

 I recently discovered an issue with numbering volumes of a series within the Amazon series function on the KDP dashboard. Amazon only allows you to enter whole numbers in the volume box. So I could not include Le7el, Book 1.5, in the series boxes because the volume box would not recognize 1.5. So I had two options. I could not use Amazon’s new series function and put the series name and volume number in the title box. Or I could renumber the books in my series. I have decided to renumber the books in my series so I can take advantage of the series function. I figured this was the best course of action because I didn’t know if I’d have similar issues with other online retailers. I know not many authors plan for series with decimals in one or more of their volumes, but Amazon’s current series function may cause you to reconsider.

Next up, I need to do my final edit of Archanum Manor. Then I’ll start writing a short story for the IWSG short story contest. I recently finished plotting it, so it’s about time to get those pesky words on the page. The story will be in the universe of my Lorne Family Vault series, though not dependent on the story within the series. Then I need to start outlining my next book so I can start the draft next month…and hopefully finish a first draft by the start of 2016. I have a lot to accomplish before year’s end. Oh, and I’ll have to fit in some marketing in there somewhere. I do plan on taking Mark Dawson’s course on Facebook Ads, which opens up again on October 23rd. I expect the course to have practical and powerful marketing information. I’ll share my impressions on it next month.

As I’ve been doing recently, I’ll leave you with some new music that provides me with inspiration, motivation, and much needed mood for my writing. About a week and a half ago, Silversun Pickups' new album, Better Nature, was released. Silversun Pickups never disappoints and this album is as strong as all their others. The album doesn't sound as mainstream, but it's filled with sweeping soundscapes that makes for great writing music. Enjoy and happy writing!

IWSG Wednesday: The Next Dream

Happy Insecure Writer's Support Group Wednesday. Thank you again to Alex J. Cavanaugh, the creator of the group. The first Wednesday of every month is dedicated to this group of supportive writers. If it's something you're not familiar with, then please click on Alex's link above for more information and to sign up!

The months keep creeping by and I'm getting that much closer to releasing the first few books in the series. I just finished my edits for Doria Falls and I'm on my final read through of Provex City. My proofreader sent back Le7el today and I forwarded her SUSY Asylum. So there you have it. That's where I'm at in the process of getting the Lorne Family Vault out to the world. 

About a week ago, I got all the finishing touches put on the new book covers and received the cover for Le7el. I'm very happy with the way it came out and want to again thank Karri Klawiter for all of her hard work and providing me with such awesome covers.

Editing gets quite tedious at times. So it's time to finally start planning for my next novel. I've learned a lot from my first series and I want to avoid many of the mistakes I've made with the writing and publishing of these books. In an effort to be more productive and efficient for this next venture, I've downloaded a few books for increasing writing speed and outlining. I need to make the most out of my limited writing sessions. I've also purchased the newest edition of Dragon NaturallySpeaking to experiment with dictation again. I actually did dictate most of my first book, Provex City, but at the time I did so more out of necessity than efficiency. Now I want to use it as a tool to increase writing speed (I'm quite the slow typist).

The newest song I'm obsessed with is Dreams by Beck. I've always respected Beck as an artist, but have never been much of a fan. This song has made me a fan. I'm adding it to the soundtrack for my next book. Put on some headphones, crank up the volume, and let the sonic layers and sweet melodies take you away. Happy writing.

IWSG Wednesday: In the Editing Cave

Happy Insecure Writer's Support Group Wednesday. Thank you again to Alex J. Cavanaugh, the creator of the group. The first Wednesday of every month is dedicated to this group of supportive writers. If it's something you're not familiar with, then please click on Alex's link above for more information and to sign up!

I finished editing Provex City and sent it off to my proofreader. I expect to get it back over the next week. I've also finished editing Le7el and SUSY Asylum. The next items on my agenda is to get all my covers finalized. They all need blurb rewrites and spine adjustments. I also need a cover for Le7el, which should be completed by the end of the month.

I'm excited to have finished my edits of Provex City, Le7el, and SUSY Asylum because I made quite a few tweaks and changes to match up with the last two books. There were a few scenes and details I'd forgotten about in the early books that never went anywhere. I specifically targeted those types of scenes and details to make the stories as tight and fast-paced as possible. I had been nervous about splitting Le7el and SUSY Asylum since I had to completely rearrange the stories. Now that they're both done, I'm happy and more than a little relieved. This is the great thing about ebooks and self publishing--the ability to easily change stories that have already been released.

I feel like I've accomplished a lot over the past month, but I still have a long way to got to get this series fully released. But I can see the end of the end of the tunnel, which is encouraging. I'm itching to start a new story, but I have to stay focused and get this series released before moving on. It drives me to work that much harder.

My biggest insecurity right now is what will happen once the entire series is released--an insecurity that grows with each passing month, the closer I get to finally releasing the last books. I'm not worried about negative reception, but of not reaching an audience with the ever-growing ocean of new releases. Discoverability isn't getting any easier. But I'll get back to focusing on the tasks at hand and let future Mike worry about that.

A new band I've gotten into over the past two weeks is X Ambassadors. I've liked the song Renegades since I first heard it on the radio, but didn't look into the band until recently. And I'm sorry I waited so long because they are amazing. X Ambassadors sounds like a fusion between Imagine Dragons and The Fray, but I like X Ambassadors much better than the other two bands. It was hard choosing a song to post here. I'm typically a sucker for acoustic versions of songs, so I finally decided on a live acoustic version of Unsteady. As an aside, their beautifully emotional song Litost was on The Host soundtrack (another writing song I'd highly recommend). Who knew?

IWSG Wednesday: Finding Your Voice

Happy Insecure Writer's Support Group Wednesday. Thank you again to Alex J. Cavanaugh, the creator of the group. The first Wednesday of every month is dedicated to this group of supportive writers. If it's something you're not familiar with, then please click on Alex's link above for more information and to sign up!

June flew by way too fast. I wish I had more to report, but I'm still just wading through revisions. Archanum Manor is now in the hands of my editor and I'm excited to receive feedback over the next couple of weeks. I've been in contact with my proofreader and scheduled to start sending her manuscripts by the end of the month. I still have a lot of work to polish up Provex City, so hopefully I can make some good progress over the holiday weekend.

It's interesting, but after writing four books in Oliver's voice, I think I finally found it. Five years ago, with only Provex City committed to the page, I thought that Oliver's voice was authentic. But I've now realized that I didn't truly find his voice until Archanum Manor. He's grown throughout the books and I've grown as a writer. I spent so much time on Provex City compared to the other books (well over a year writing and rewriting), and I thought it was my most polished story. Now I feel it's the least and needs the most work. It's interesting looking back at it now. I still love the story, but the writing's different. It doesn't feel as natural as its successors. So I'll be working hard to remedy that over the next few weeks.

Oh and from last month, there were a few questions on how to pronounce the title of my new novella, Le7el. I think it looks cool spelled that way (to me it has a NIN vibe), but it's simply pronounced Level 7. So simple it's probably underwhelming. Sorry, but I still like it.

Another great writing album that came out last month was Of Monsters and Men's Beneath the Skin. So far, Empire is my favorite song from the album, and like many of my favorite songs, I can listen to it on repeat for an hour or more (which I've been doing for the writing of this post).

If you're in the U.S., then have a safe and happy 4th of July. If you reside elsewhere in this shrinking world, then I'm sure you can find some reason to celebrate. Do you really need a reason to spend time with friends and family and have a few drinks? I think not. And once your head clears from one too many drinks, then it's time to get your butt back in the chair and write. 

IWSG Wednesday: Introducing Le7el

Happy Insecure Writer's Support Group Wednesday. Thank you again to Alex J. Cavanaugh, the creator of the group. The first Wednesday of every month is dedicated to this group of supportive writers. If it's something you're not familiar with, then please click on Alex's link above for more information and to sign up!

I am elbows deep in revisions. I have more work than I originally thought, but I'm excited for the final products. An idea came to me a few weeks ago and I'm running with it. I had been concerned that SUSY Asylum was so much longer than the other books in the series. I had thought of splitting it into two books for a while, but didn't know how...until I explored the idea of splitting it into one novel and one novella. I didn't know if it would work until I began reorganizing the story and I think it's working quite nicely. Now I'm  not so worried about cutting. I'm actually having to write a few more chapters to fill in some newly created gaps.

So the new novella will be titled Le7el, Book 1.5 in the Lorne Family Vault. I don't want to deceive people that have already read the first edition of SUSY Asylum, but since I didn't promote it much, I don't believe it was read by many people. So I'm not worried about angering a whole lot of readers. Ultimately, I think this is a good decision for the series. It's creating more work for me right now, but I think it'll be worth it in the end.

As I get back to work, I want to share what I've been listening to while writing this post. Florence + The Machine's new album came out today (still Tuesday as I'm writing), "How Big How Blue How Beautiful." Their albums create such great mood music for my writing. I'm not too familiar with this new album yet, but the song Delilah caught my attention immediately. Florence + The Machine never disappoints. Enjoy!