October was another busy month, though it didn't feel like it.
THE REVENANT AND THE TOMB, BOOK TWO
Most of October was spent editing and revising the book. I must have done 4 passes on the manuscript overall. In the end, I was just tweaking a word here or there, which was a sign that it was time to move on. Honestly, I'm sick to death of looking at the manuscript. I contacted Steve Fortune, who has agreed to come back for the audiobook, and I started the book cover with Jason Robinson (who did the last one). So, full-on production is on its way.
I also included a synopsis section at the beginning of the book to refresh the memories of those who've already read the first installment. The story starts right where the first book left off. I think they call this a "hard start." There's more action in this book than the previous one. I'm thinking that, if you liked THE REVENANT AND THE TOMB, this release will be more to your liking.
I have a hard time saying just how good the story is at present. I'm burnt out from reading the thing. My wife, however, thinks it's a solid book and she's usually right on the money.
My hope is to have everything ready to go by mid-January 2025. I'll start the promotion in February, with a release on March 3rd. I'll also be attending the Midland Comic Con the week of the release. So, you'll be able to stop by and get a signed copy of the book. According to the promoters, I'll be right across from the Barnes & Noble, like I was this year.
I'll also be producing a new bookmark, drawn by Gabrielle Geske. I'll show pictures closer to when the book gets released.
Book 5
If you've been keeping up to date with my weekly updates - I usually post these on Twitter and Facebook - you'll know that I'm roughly 6 chapters into a new book featuring Odo from The Wizard's Stone. As with Halsedric, I didn't think Odo would have much life after the one book. However, I now have him traveling to the far north of my fantasy world, and investigating strange goings on in the lands of the Sevedaini. The Sevedaini are analog for Vikings in my world, though they aren't raiders - they're traders and mercenaries.
Unlike the last book, Odo is all grown up and well-versed in the ways of magic. The story is a bunch of chapter fragments that I'll stitch together at some point. I'm liking with I'm writing, which is a good thing. I'm hoping I can release this book sometime in early 2026.
Sales and In-Person Events
Well, in early October, I attended A Novel Event in Fenton, Michigan. All in all, sales were OK. I didn't sell as many books as I did in Alpena, but I did marginally better than BasedCon. Whether I attend the event next year depends on my schedule.
And speaking of schedules, I will probably repeat my attendance at in-person events that I did this year. This is a change from some of my statements earlier in the year as to my 2025 schedule. As some of you may already know, I am in need of a hip replacement. I literally have bone grinding on bone in my left hip socket. I was going to attend to this in the summer of 2025, when my wife was on summer vacation (she works at a nearby school district), however, the pain I'm experiencing now has prompted me to push up the surgery. I'm slated to go under the knife sometime in mid-December. That means that by the time March 2025 rolls around, I'll be able to have a similar schedule this year.
I've already signed up, and paid for the event in Midland, Michigan. I'm looking to attend BasedCon again this year, and I'd like to go back to the event in Alpena, Michigan as well. I also want to carve out a trip to network with other authors next year. Which event and when is still undetermined at present. This year I signed up to go to Writer's Cantina out in Utah, however, because of the problems I was having with my hip, I had to cancel. I may attempt to go there again next year. We shall see. The VAST majority of my sales this year were at in-person events. Like, 85% of my revenue, thus far, has come from direct sales. Online sales of eBooks have been absolutely dismal (though I sold 5 books at the end of October). Audiobook sales have been fair. I haven't been advertising because my attempts earlier in the year yielded next-to-no sales. I will probably try a few ads after the election to test the waters. While this has been a sad year as it relates to volume, my revenue is more than 50% higher than it was last year. However, I've sold only 60% of the volume I pushed in 2023. The thing is, I still have 2 more months to go, and considering that my eBook traffic has been abysmal - all in all - I'd say it's not as bad as it could otherwise be.
Lastly, my online store is up and running: https://hphunterwriter.square.site/
Right now, the store is limited to the US (because of shipping rates), and you can only buy individual copies of my paperbacks. However, when you purchase a paperback, it comes signed and with a books-specific bookmark. Next year, I plan to pre-release my next book through the store and set up bundle pricing for multiple books. And that's it for now.
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