Working On Shadows, Merch, and VII This Week
Pushing to make this week more productive than the last.
This week, the plan is to get a few more things set up for the upcoming events. I will be at BrewDog Denver on the 19th of July and Read Between the Stars in October, and I’d love to have more than just Kingmaker to sell at these events. The problem is that I don’t think I’ll have books and merch shipped in time for BrewDog. But, I can get a few things together and at least try with QR codes leading to the products.
Regardless, I’m pushing to make a few more things happen this summer, and it’s getting quite exciting. That’s one of the glorious things about going all in to make things happen. By putting more emphasis and paying more attention to time management throughout the day, some incredible things come together.
One of these days, I’ll have to make a “Day-in-the-life-of” video.
Shadows of Atlantic City is Almost Done!
Currently, I’m making my final pass through Shadows of Atlantic City while I wait for feedback from the beta readers. The cover is virtually done, aside from taking a look at a few fonts to make sure they look good. Yet, I am quite pleased with how the cover came out after spending a bit of time on it in Photoshop.
Shadows is the first in a planned 7-book series, and the idea is to keep the covers along the same design type. It’s like what I’m doing for the Witcham series, as every book after Kingmaker is going to have the same cosplay editing style. It was a lot of fun playing dress-up on the side of the mountain.
Anyway, I worked my way through a few chapters last week and addressed some of the concerns of the beta readers. With any luck, I’ll have more to do this week so I can get it wrapped up and published before the end of June. At which point, I’ll buy the first printed copy and use it at BrewDog as a “sample” with the QR code to buy it online. I’ll still order a batch of 20, but I doubt they’ll make it here in time for the event.
It’s quite exciting to have this next book on the verge of being published. The plan is to dump some money into marketing this time. If it works out, then I’ll dump money into Kingmaker before Fury gets published.
More Designs for Merch on the Store
I’m still working on getting some more designs up on the WriterSanctaury storefront. I still only have six items, but I’m hoping to have at least two more up this week. The hard part is making the wraith image larger as the original was created at such a small size. I didn’t have the foresight to make it large and then shrink it down for things like coffee mugs or glasses. That’s on me.
It’s one of the things I’m going to note when I write the second book to A Freelancer’s Tale. I’ll have a list of things I learned when setting up books and merch, and hopefully, I can save someone else from making the same mistakes.
Anyway, it looks like there are some things that might fit the BrewDog event. I just hope I can get them designed and shipped on time. I still plan on buying a few of the most prominent things that I can display. Besides, it would also look good on the YouTube channel’s store shelf. Perhaps I can make a few sales from the videos or even through the blog posts.
The hardest part is coming up with some designs for Kingmaker. I might have to sit down and draw some of the characters that were the readers’ favorites. But if I keep managing my day as I have been, I should have enough time to sit down and create some great things for the store.
Wrapping Up VII
With any luck, I’ll be wrapping up a few more chapters of VII on Wattpad. I’m looking forward to getting it done as it will allow me to use the time to finish up a few more stories that I have scattered about the Internet. Besides, it’s high time I finish this one. I’ve been “working” on it since 2016.
I plan on adding it to the “bookstore” portion of MichaelBrockbank.com. Currently, I use links to the books I have completed and published but don’t sell them outright from the website. However, I am greatly leaning toward doing so. I probably won’t make as much as I do on Amazon simply because the site isn’t as popular. But I will make more per copy sold, so that’s a bonus.
So, once VII is completely written, I’ll add it to the repository.
Will I edit as intensely as I do with the published books I sell? Probably not. I’ll feed them through AutoCrit just so I can polish them up for any readers. But I’m not going to worry too much about beta reading and multiple rounds of edits. The stories I have on Wattpad and Inkitt are free and don’t reach as many folks. I might turn it into a much better and larger novel if it looks like it’s popular. In the meantime, though, I just want to get it written, edited, and published on Wattpad.
Channel Memberships on YouTube
I’m trying to do more for channel memberships on the YouTube channel. This week, as long as the planets align just right, I should be able to go live on Friday nights with some behind-the-scenes type of streams. Things like how I create the sound effects for the writing sprints, playing around with new apps or tools, and whatnot.
Another idea I have is to share discounts to the storefront through members-only community posts. The reason I haven’t done it yet is because I don’t feel six products justify really pushing the store. I would like more than a dozen products ready to go before I start doing promos, discounts, and giveaways.
As I’ve said in the past, that’s probably one of the more difficult parts of being a creator with membership elements. What is worth $5 per month for your audience? I try to figure out what will give you the biggest bang for your buck. But when you struggle with impostor syndrome, it dials the difficulty up to eleven.
It’s not as bad as it used to be, but there are times when I struggle with things like being worth someone to pay $5 per month. Not to mention that I like being unique and don’t want to just provide the same thing other writers and authors provide. Still, maybe I should do some research into other creators and see what they offer.
It’s Going to Be a Great Week, Right?
Ever since I decided that I was going to push to make June my best month, a lot of great things have developed. I’ve even sold a couple of books this month, which I haven’t sold a single copy since January at Worldbuilding 101. Of course, I’ve also been able to spend more time marketing and engaging the audience this month.
You can’t just sit around dwelling on wishful thinking. Sometimes, you have to step out of your comfort zone or consider alternative paths to get to where you want to go. In today’s economy, you need to be adaptive and think outside of the box in most cases.
As long as you’re not willing to give up and keep trying different things, you’ll eventually come across something that works well. In my case, it took a few days of soul-searching, planning, and analyzing what I’ve done thus far and how I need to proceed. It’s not something that happens overnight, but taking those first steps helps you put things into perspective, allowing you to build a plan of action for your specific needs.