On responding to my last, long ago post

Hello again.

The last post was written in September 2022, which is nearly two years ago, so I figured - since I'm struggling to concentrate on anything particularly productive - that I'd write a post kind of showing what had happened since the last one.

Rather a lot, actually. The book mentioned as being in progress is now finished and published, Benjamin Forrest and the Rise of the Pure Blood, a fine, fine book if I do say so myself, but one that sells a copy per month at best. Rather self-flagellatingly, I've just decided to write a sixth book in that wonderful but commercially trash-caned series, hoping to finish it. I'm going to try, but I don't know if I can.

At some point I'll be finishing off the Fire Planets series too, maybe next year, as I hate leaving things unfinished even when I really should be writing something more commercially viable. No one seems to be buying SF these days, at least not mine. I do feel an obligation to the few people that start these series to finish them, even though while still working full time, my writing time is at a premium. Interestingly to point out, however, is that my entire career, which includes nearly sixty books, has happened since the last Game of Thrones book came out.

Just saying.

What have I not done? 

From the last post, my books are still not on Ingram Spark, which funnily enough I called Instagram in the last post, which I must correct. They will be, one day, maybe. I do have a Shopify store - www.amillionmilesfromanywhere.com, but its difficult and time consuming to update and promote, so at the moment its a bit of a turkey. And I did start a YouTube channel and put a couple of books up, but no one  views them, so I've let that slide too.

Otherwise, I've just continued to write books. Nine now in the Slim Hardy series, fifteen for CP Ward, with three more out later this year, and I've also started a new genre - dinosaur apocalypse, Roar! - which currently has three books, under the name of Benton Ford. Number Four will hopefully come out this winter, with a fifth to follow. I'll likely it cap it at five and see how reaction is.

In the last couple of years I've put a lot of time - and money, so much of that - into translations, mostly for the Slim Hardy series, and success is starting to come, particularly in Italy and Spain. The last time I checked, my perma-free Spanish book was No.1 in the Amazon.es store, a year after release, and has been for much of that time. I haven't given up hope of being a superstar in Europe somewhere just yet.

For the future ... what's likely to happen?

I've been trying, very unsuccessfully, to streamline. Jack Benton is my major cash cow, so it makes sense to write more Slim Hardy books. In fact, if I dedicated my life to writing Slim Hardy, I could probably retire early. That's definitely something I've thought about, but sadly, the artistic part of my brain doesn't work that way. After the dino series, I want to write something Steampunk - I started a book and created a cool new world, so that's something I might try in the next two to three years. Then there's a spring series as CP Ward, and perhaps a couple of Halloween books. Again, soon.

Milestones - earlier this year I passed 100,000 sales on Amazon. Total everywhere, including perhaps audiobooks, is something like 180,000. Not bad for a nobody who's never got close to a traditional publishing contract.

I'd just like to gee up the people thinking about writing a book for a moment. It takes a long time and you won't find success straight away. Trust me. But if you write one book, then another, then another, and kind of follow that pattern while always trying to learn and level up, you'll get there. Don't be afraid to switch genres if one isn't working, and don't worry about the naysayers. Around twenty-five years ago I applied to do a Masters in Creative Writing. I was rejected. Bath Spa University, I'm looking at you. I could teach that course now.

So don't give up. I didn't, when there were a few times I really felt like it. I'm glad now that I stuck it through.

CW
9/8/2024