Update Q1 2024

Are the books out yet?

No, but I’m getting closer.

Welcome to my Q1 2024 update. Now that a few books are getting closer to publishing, I will try to put out a quarterly update.

First, I am still looking for a job but have a few opportunities in the interviewing stage, so I hope that resolves itself soon. I have enjoyed the break. It has allowed me to do more writing and reading/watching videos on how to publish.

First, let’s discuss my Science/Fantasy series, The Doom of the Gods. The first book will be The Power of Water. 

As mentioned in my New Year’s post, this is about Atlantis as an advanced Ice Age civilization. As humans do, they are fighting a global war. 

I was hoping to have it out by March, but the designer’s return of the cover artwork is taking longer than expected. I like how it looks, but I’m finding out these things do not work on your timeline as much as others. Another lesson learned. 

This will probably be pushed back to late April or May for publishing. I still need to send out the advance review copies, submit it for writing competitions, and prepare the website/newsletter. Also working on some of the map artwork – color maps are making the ebook file pretty large.

I did rewrite the book description to make it more of a sales writing style. After following a few book entrepreneurs, this is a better way to write the description. An update to my New Year’s post: The cover art and the book description are critical in online book purchasing decisions. 

Here is my revised book description. I hope you like it.

The war raged for ten years…

Now, Atlantis wants to use WMDs…

But can civilization survive it?

During the last Ice Age, the clash of steel and the roar of aircraft echo through the land as the empires of Atlantis and Rama wage a desperate war.

There are many stories to tell the tale.

Risor sees the trap closing. But Jana, the mission commander, refuses to withdraw. She fears the consequences of failure. Threatening mutiny, he forces her to order the retreat. That Risor is right makes matters only worse, turning the rivalry personal.

Rogat is not sure what he did to offend the gods. Because the demi-god hero constantly chasing him doesn’t seem fair.

With Atlantis suffering, the empire falls apart.

Fleeing from a vengeful Jana, Risor must lead his people to freedom. Meanwhile, leading another band of survivors, Rogat tries to stay one step ahead of his nemesis. Read about Risor and Rogat in a gripping tale of war and survival that will keep you on the edge of your seat. 

Because revenge is such a satisfying reason to destroy a civilization.

Get your copy now!

In addition to the three books of the series, I plan to publish a few novellas or short stories that provide background stories about Atlantis’ history. These will be published in PDF format from my website only. I would like to sell them or use them as gifts to sign up for my newsletter. I will also produce these using AI writing tools. I will use these tools to further practice and apply what I learn about them. I hope to have a link to the first one for you in my Q2 update.

For the resume writing book, currently titled “2Q Your Resume,” I have started writing. Since I offer up reviews on Reddit and Quora, I have begun to think more about how to assist people beyond the book. My plan is to offer one-hour consultations sold through my website, but I need to do further research.

What about AI, you ask?

I gotcha covered!

Also, in this book, I will provide some AI prompts for validating your resume to ensure it is 2Q compliant. We will discuss the prompts and how to use them in the book so anyone with access to an AI tool can use them. I will also show you how to access ChatGPT.

What is 2Q, you ask?

It is quantifying or qualifying your resume statements. This is the central theme of my book, how and why to use 2Q statements. 

Lastly, the children’s books. Here, I have yet to do much. I did contact two of the three artists and have their permission to proceed. The first book is pretty much complete; I just need to redo the title, assign a new ISBN number, and format it for printing. 

While publishing is easiest, I want to cut my teeth on the novel first. Then, use that knowledge to put out the other books.

A question for all of you.

Would you consider buying an ebook of a purchased physical book if it was significantly discounted?

My thinking is that some people might prefer to read a physical book, but sometimes, like traveling or commuting, it might be more convenient to read as an ebook. So, I think I will sell the ebook versions on my website at the same price as Amazon and other online stores. With a code from the back of the physical books, you can purchase at a discount on my website. Something like a retail ebook at 5.99 USD, and the discount on my website would be 1.99 or .99 USD.

What do you think?

Well, that is it for Q1, 2024’s update. Thanks for listening.

Happy New Year 2024!

Happy New Year to all. It has been a while since I have posted. Life is throwing those curveballs again, but things look up.

I am still looking for a job, but I hope that gets worked out in the next month or two. In the meantime, I am working on a few books and getting all of my author stuff set up to make another run at self-publishing and traditional publishing.

During this “extended vacation” period, I have been studying marketing and publishing. I have been particularly interested in many YouTubers discussing Low-Content (puzzle books, journals, coloring books, etc.) publishing and how to market those books, not about making this content, but how they sell it.

One of the things I failed to do with my previous self-published books was to build a successful marketing plan. I dabbled in a few things but never made a push to get my books out to readers. I hope to remedy that this time with some of the knowledge I have gained.

For anyone curious, here is a quick summary of the things I believe will help get your book noticed more:

1) Create your content in as many media formats as possible. For me, with my upcoming works (discussed below), it would be ebook, softback, hardback, and audio. Previously, I only published in ebook.

2) Get reviews! This is key to taking advantage of marketing tools like Amazon Ads. I also realized this the more I purchased other items online. Checking out what people say about the product or experience is pretty standard, so why not the books, too?

3) Distribute widely on different online platforms. Previously, I only put on Amazon, the largest book-selling platform by a long shot (around 70%). Using other platforms as well could boost sales. What you need is about 10,000 fans that love your work. You can be a full-time author if you can get a group around that large and produce two to three books a year. So, going wide allows you more opportunities to find a few of your fans.

4) The world is wrong! We judge a book by its cover, at least online and probably in bookstores. A book cover that matches the genre and causes the reader to open the book is critical, especially among the tens or hundreds of thousands of choices.

5) An author needs to build their platform before publishing a book. Get the websites, blogs, YouTube channels, etc, all set up so they can be referenced in the books. This will help drive traffic to the sites to learn about other offerings (upselling).

So those are some of the main items I have learned about. Of course, your books need to be gripping stories that ignite the reader’s imagination first and foremost.

In addition to all of this foundation-building, I continue to experiment with AI. I can see it helping outline, edit, and research, but writing the story’s prose? I need to play with that more to see if the amount of rework is worth the prose generation. In 2023, Amazon and others started requiring authors to declare if AI had been used to generate the story, which might limit how I use it.

Finally, the works I plan to publish in 2024 will start with the following:

The Power of Water, Book One of The Doom of the Gods trilogy, available March 2024. The follow-up books will be The Power of Blood and The Power of One. In the last Ice Age, the empires of Atlantis and Rama wage war involving flying craft, energy weapons, swords and shields. The tale of Risor and his allies unfolds, revealing the catastrophic fall of Atlantis and their struggle to navigate the treacherous aftermath, where one-time allies become enemies and enemies become friends.

A follow-up to “Get Noticed! Resume & career advice to make you stand out! (2019) will be “2Q Your Resume” (working title), available April 2024. This version will expand on quantifying or qualifying your achievements and tasks in your resume and how to get past automated filters or AI used by HR. Additional things I have learned trying to help folks rewrite their resume.

With the closing of my publishing company, YumeBook Entertainment, in 2023, I have a few stories ready to go. I will seek traditional publishing/agents for these works. Some have an artist attached, and the art is complete. I might self-publish if I am not happy with the traditional publishing response. I still have several stories that are partially written down, so the well is not dry here.

Well, that is it for me. I wish everyone a great 2024 filled with success and happiness.