The last week and a half… say two weeks… has been a hundred little things. Getting the short story polished and available for free for anyone who signs up for my newsletter (thank you!), but then setting up new ads, and then new tracking metrics for those ads, and then paying for new services to let me track the new metrics for the new ads…
Sigh
I know I talk a lot about how I want to be a writer, but all of this other stuff that I’m doing to try and encourage and allow me to do that… I’m not a fan. I don’t want to be an ad guy! But I do want people to find and buy my books, and in 2026 that doesn’t just magically happen on its own. It’s a lot of hard, slow, methodical work. And that’s fine, I don’t mind hard, slow, methodical work… I wouldn’t be a writer if I wanted things to be done quickly. NOTHING is done quickly in writing. But gosh is it ever a slog sometimes.
Ah well. It’s done for now. I can go back to writing the next Caitlyn Morcos novel! Woo! I’m having a lot of fun mulling over the particulars of what it means to be an interplanetary marshal in a future where things like ICE don’t exist any more, but they did exist in the distant past. How would that change the shape of future interplanetary organizations? How would it change the people who are attracted to, and excel at, those kinds of jobs?
It’s a lot to chew, and I love doing it as I throw starships and pirates and explosions at Morcos. She’s a tough woman, she can handle it… probably…
Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!
Short Story Done!
Okay, I think the short story I submitted to my editor in early January is done… just gotta convert it to a PDF (should be easy enough), and then set up all the software necessary to distribute it for free for people who sign up for my newsletter!
Feels good to have one thing sorta checked off my list.
Next up is to figure out the Meta Ads, because they’re not really working. At all. I mean, they’re sorta working, people are going to my website, but nobody has bought a book yet and that’s kinda the thing. Even if a few people buy the book it would be worth it to continue… on the other hand, it’s only been a week, so might be a bit early yet. Gosh, I hate figuring out ad stuff… ah well. It won’t do itself.
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
Doin' Something
Well, the new ad is doin’ something.
Not selling my books (yet), sadly. But it does seem to be directing people to the website, and that’s not nothing. Now I just have to get them from seeing my work to buying my work, and I’m off to the races.
Small, iterative steps. Nothing has to be perfect, but everything needs to be improved as you go. I’m okay with that… I’m a big fan of creating a thing, and then improving the thing I have created. I think that’s kinda how you get better at anything… first make something, then worry about making it better.
Anyway. It’s nice to see the uptick in traffic from countries that speak and read English! Here’s hoping I land a few sales before long!
Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!
New Ad Running
I’ve mentioned that I’m not crazy about all the advertising work involved in my work. I see it as a necessary evil, but still necessary, so I do it, but it’s not my favourite part.
I know authors that love the advertising part. And I can kinda get it… with careful management it can be a “Numbers Go Up” sorta rush when things work out. I certainly enjoy people being able to find (and read) my books, so more ways to make that happen aren’t a bad thing. I just wish it wasn’t needed… that I could focus on creating, rather than trying to figure out ways to get people to buy my books so I don’t starve to death.
But, regardless, I did recently finish a very simple little ad for Facebook/Meta, and it went live a few days ago. Thankfully it’s not costing me a fortune, but it also hasn’t gotten me any results yet… but again, that’s not unexpected. I am undoubtedly going to have to massage and tweak the ad over the next couple weeks to get it to a point that maybe it occasionally makes me a tiny amount of money. And I accept that, I get it, I just wish I didn’t have to, ya know?
Ah well. It is what it is. At least with it done I can focus on writing for at least a few days before I have to do more ad work!
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and heatlhy!
Space Opera
I’ll be completely honest, I don’t know where the “Opera” from “Space Opera” originates from. One assumes it is from the musical form of theatre, with its grandiose plots and extravagant sets, but that’s a suspicion. They might both stem from a common meaning for the term? Or perhaps early science fiction, through radio dramas, was more inclined towards musicality? Unlikely, but not impossible.
I could probably Wikipedia this issue, but I don’t really care that much. Space Opera is Space Opera, regardless of why the origins of the term exist. I’ll probably look it up later when I’m not working, just because I ten towards infinite curiousity. But no reason to now.
I mention it only because as much as I love epic Space Opera, and for clarity I really really do, I don’t think I’ve ever written one. I’ve written a bunch of space adventures (Tintian, The Hunt for the Wind’s Howling Rage), I’ve definitely written a space western (Caitlyn Morcos), and some quasi-military sci-fi (Starconvoy EH-76), and one YA-adjacent space adventure (The Queen of the A.I.s)… but no real Space Opera. Not in the Brin or Pournelle style, at least. Definitely not in the Asimov style.
I think that’s okay. Space Opera like that tend to be bigger in scope than the stories I want to tell. I like telling stories that are zoomed in, with relatable and interesting characters, rather than sweeping galactic epics. I’m not really interested in the decisions of kings or empresses in so much as I like focusing on the movement of lieutenants or workers. Those are the stories that interest me.
Maybe it’s because I have never aspired to be an emperor. Sounds like a lot of work, and I doubt the payoff is worth it.
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
More Advertising Woes
I’m trying to diversify my advertising… right now I’m doing almost exclusively Amazon Ads, which is fine and mostly semi-successful (but not successful by any extent of the imagination). A colleague has been experimenting with Facebook ads and has had a lot better success than I’ve had, so I’m going to try it out.
I suspect in the near term it will be more expenses, but I’ve gotta figure out ways to get my ads to be cost-neutral. They don’t even need to make money, they just need to stop costing so much money.
One step at a time.
Anyway, that involves me figuring out more about Davinci Resolve, which I was trying to learn anyway, so I’m going to spend some time doing that (between writing short stories and additional chapters in my book). Because, obviously, I need MORE things to do. Obviously.
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
Short Story Finished!
Okay, first draft of the short story I’ll be offering to anyone who wants to join my email newsletter is done! Phew!
I’m going to sit on it for a day or two, and then read over it again for the 2nd draft. Then that goes off to my editor for a quick coat of polish (it’s only 7,000 words as this point, which admittedly is a little longer than I’d love, but I think it’s a natural fit at this point), and then I just have to plug it into my newletter software!
A lot of work for that little story. I hope people like it! I’m not 100% on the ending right now, but that’s the thing about short stories… you just don’t have the room to fully develop everything I want to develop. I think the ending is good, but it’s also a little abrupt. Who knows, maybe it will change a little before I’m finished!
But I’m not done for the day. Having finished the short story, I also put a few words in on the novel, and I think I might finally get around to starting to film the next stop motion short I want to do… I’m excited about that one! I really enjoy doing stop motion… it feels… satisfying? I dunno, I just really enjoy it.
If I don’t get that started today, I will definitely get it started tomorrow!
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
2026 Begins!
Start of the year has been… sub-optimal at home, but that’s okay. It’s a stressful time for everyone, and frankly, if things started to go right for me I’d be suspicious.
Relieved, but suspicious.
Regardless, it is what it is, and I’m still alive and here and writing. That, to me at least, is the important part.
Monday I’ll pick up the story again, hopefully moving forward with it, but for today I’m just going to take it a little easier, try to let things calm down overall, and do my best to keep my head down but my chin up. Tricky, that, but what else can you do.
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
Happy Holidays, Everyone!
Just taking a few days to relax (as best I can), stepping away from most of my tech and all of my responsibilities until… tomorrow? Probably will get back to writing as of tomorrow.
Here’s hoping each of you are having a fantastic holiday season, surrounded by those you care about and, ideally, those who care most deeply about you.
Gentle Snow
I’ve mentioned (many times) how I don’t like the cold. I accept that it will be cold for about 6 months of the year, due to where I live and the way both “geography” and “weather” work, but I don’t like it.
That stated, today is a chilly day and there is gently falling snow. Fluttering? Big, slow flakes that don’t “fall” so much as they twist on slight breezes and air currents to eventually land on the ground.
It’s actually quite pretty. The world is rendered almost monochromatic, making the occasional flash of colour from lights or birds all the more impressive. It’s nice.
Would I rather be warm, someplace sunny? Or even warm in someplace that was raining (but it was still warm)? Yes. A thousand times yes.
But since I am not there, and I am here… I can at least appreciate the weather for what it’s worth.
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
But Baby It's Cold Outside...
I know that not everyone likes that particular Christmas song. I’m of two minds about it… I like the tune, and I think there are some killer performances of it, but I don’t like some of the more questionable elements told by the story of the song? And yes, I know there is a big back-and-forth about whether the song is liberating for women (she’s deciding to stay!) or oppressive for women (he’s forcing her to stay!), but art is always viewed through the lens of the consumer, so that’s nothing new.
For me, I kinda like it. But it’s not my favourite (although I’d be hard pressed to pick a favourite carol… I have a least favourite, which is Silent Night).
But I’m not here to write about the song… it is legitimately cold outside today! The weather in Southern Ontario has been full of big swings the last few days… really cold, then shockingly warm (and raining), then another cold snap and snow, and then windy but mild… it’s unpleasant, to be sure. No matter what weather you like, you’re getting a fair amount that you won’t enjoy, almost no matter what! Such is life… the winters here are inconsistent, but I’ve never liked the cold so that’s not a huge surprise.
At least I have plenty of writing to do! Gives me something to focus on other than the weather!
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
A Nice Short Story
I’m currently writing a short story to give away to people who sign up for my email newsletter. I mentioned the email before, and I think I mentioned that it is considered “traditional” to offer something to those who sign up.
Most websites use coupons or discounts of one shade or another. Since all of my books are sold through Amazon, I’m not sure how I would even set that up, and besides, anyone who signs up for my newsletter probably already owns the books I have released that they are interested in… hopefully they pick up my future releases and dabble in my back catalog, sure, but a coupon is of limited use when you only have 8 books to sell!
So instead, I’m writing up a short story about Terrence Yao, a sensor operator on the starship Ignoble Retort. Yao feels a heavy, dark, cold weight in his stomach which has bothered him for days, but the doctor doesn’t find anything so he has to carry on knowing that something terrible is going to happen to him but nobody seems to care. And then the ship is attacked and… well, it’s going to be about 5K words, so not much more than that, but I’m really happy with how it is shaping up!
It’s unfortunate that I can’t work on it and my next novel at the same time… I do a little, but getting into one headspace kinda precludes doing the same in a different universe. But I should be finished the first draft of the story today, and then I’ll edit it in a few days, send it off to my editor for a final coat of polish, and then be back to my novel before y’all know it!
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
So Many Projects!
There are several things I want to get done before the end of 2025.
The biggest, most pressing one is a short story as a reward for people who choose to sign up for my email list. It’s about… 1/3rd done? If I had to guess? I’m hoping to get the first draft 90% done today, if not completely finished (that, obviously, would be ideal).
Then there’s a podcast that I’m 85% of the way to building the foundations for. Nothing fancy, just sci-fi stories through a different format, and I have a bunch of episodes done already. Just need the time and energy to start recording and touching up the audio (and then tracking down music). I have a few volunteers who want to help with the project already, and that’s great, but I need the time and space to get everything set up now so that when I get started it will be as smooth and consistent as humanly possible.
And then, of course, there’s the stop motion. Gosh I wish I had more time to do stop motion. I really enjoy it! It’s neat and systematic and fun! Like writing, but more! The problem is the editing… that’s a time-sink and a half. But even then I think I can handle that if I had the time to devote to it.
And lastly is the novel. Which isn’t “lastly,” it’s kinda a big deal for me, being a novel writer and all, but that won’t get finished in 2025 almost certainly. I have 2 weeks of vacation from work starting on the 22nd, which is nice from a time perspective but not great from a money perspective (although because of the 2 stat days, a little less awful than I was thinking it would be). But 14 consecutive days is a LOT of arts n’ crafts time, and I’m really optimistic that I can get a lot done in there. Including finishing reading Accelerando by Charles Straus… it’s proving a struggle, but not because it’s bad. It’s just jargon-dense and the story is a bit hard to follow at times. But I will get through it!
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
The Joys of Tech Support...
Really, today’s post should be called “The joys of assumed knowledge,” but that’s kinda the same thing. I’ve been trying to figure out how to set up my own email newsletter list, not because I want to inundate people with more ad copy, but because I want to know who really wants a copy of my book, and this way I can let them know.
A few very close friends have expressed surprise that my newest novel has released. I’ve announced it through all the social media I still use (which, admittedly, is much reduced from most people), I had a relatively successful ad campaign I ran… but people still don’t know that I wrote a book and that it’s available in both ebook and print formats. Having an email list would mean I can let these people know, quickly and easily, each time a new book releases.
So I get that it’s important. What I kinda knew, but still surprised me, was how much of a pain in the butt it was going to be to set up. It’s already cost me an extra $25 for my domain email address (which… fine… I like Gmail, but Gmail doesn’t let you do this so… whacha gonna do…), and now integrating it with this-here Squarespace website is going… okay? I hope?
So today I’m going to do more of that. Fun.
ANYWAY! But in better news, I am also writing a short story to give away to free to anyone who signs up for the email list! And that’s been neat. I used to hate writing short stories, but honestly? I think I’m gettin’ pretty good at it…
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
Email Newsletter
So I have been told (indirectly) about the importance of having an email newsletter.
Again.
It’s constant advice. The problem is that it’s expensive and very fiddly. Finding an email service that works with Squarespace that I can use that doesn’t cost a gosh-dern arm and a leg…
But I think this may be the straw that finally breaks the camel’s back. I think I am going to devote the majority of today towards finding and using an email service that I can integrate (however crudely) into my website to get a newsletter started.
It’s gotta be done. It’s another “Not Writing” thing I need to add to my list that will, hopefully, allow me to write, which is what I want to do.
Wheeeeee…
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
Returning to "Normal"
Well, my momentary spike of popularity that was coming from the “Far East” has dwindled, and while I am still unsure what exactly caused it in the first place, I’m a little relieved to see it go.
Not that I don’t want to be popular around the world. I do. Or, more accurately, I don’t really care where I’m popular as long as I sell enough books that I won’t starve to death. Popularity has never really been “a thing” that I pursue, so let’s call it “financial stability.” I’d like that, please.
Regardless, the numbers coming back down probably means that whatever event triggered people accidentally stumbling into my website has probably ended. And while I remain blissfully ignorant of it, that’s probably okay.
I managed to get a fair amount of writing in over the weekend (up to over 5K words for the novel), but this weekend approaching is looking like it will be absolutely packed. Including today. So I had better get back at it!
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
Focusing on One Project
I know it’s true for a lot of creatives, but I often find myself struggling against the desire to do many, many things at the same time.
Like, right now behind me I have all the tools for another stop motion movie. I even have the script and the storyboard all done! I think I finished them in late 2024! I could just… do that right now… but instead I’m going to try and finish at least a chapter in the novel today. Maybe after that…
See? I’m already thinking about how I can work on a different project, despite not having even started today’s work on this project. And, to be completely honest, while I’m writing this blog post I’m also bouncing around, messaging some friends for board games tonight (Sidereal Confluence, a great space-themed trading game!), checking my email, and queuing up videos to watch!
Focusing is hard!
Ah well. For the most part it’s okay… I know I’m bad at multitasking, so I can usually hunker down and get one thing done (or a lot of one thing done) before I mentally switch to the next task. But there are days that are more difficult, no question.
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
The Importance of a Good First Chapter
I’ve rewritten the first chapter to the new novel three times so far. I suspect it will get overhauled at least twice more before the first draft is fully done (although I think I will leave it as it is for the time being). Maybe a few tweaks, but overall I think it’s in a pretty good place.
The issue, of course, is that your first chapter has to be strong enough to kinda sell the book on its own. It tells the reader about your strength as a writer, and gives an overview of what they can expect in the coming pages. Scalzi, one of my favourite authors, is exceptional at first chapters… they tend to be a little funny, a little thoughtful, and very sharp. They give you a great idea of what the book is about, the tone of the book, and whether you’ll enjoy the rest of the work or not (which I almost always do).
My first chapters these days tend to be on the stronger side (not as good as Scalzi, but then again, he’s been doing this for decades), but they’re not as sharp as I would like. The stakes don’t usually get raised until chapter two or three, so you’ll get an idea of tone and pace for the coming story, but you might not know why the protagonists are involved just yet. And I have to work on that.
Anyway, the chapter is about half done at this point (pirates just walked into the bar!), so I think a bit more polish and I can move onto the chase scene through an asteroid.
Gosh it’s fun to write sci-fi.
Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!
Start Novel 9!
So I spent a few weeks working on a rough outline for what’s going to happen in this next story. That includes a day to read my previous book that this book is a sequel to.
I’m sure there are writers out there smart enough to keep all their characters and universes clean and clear in their minds. I am not one of those.
Anyway, the rough outline is now roughly done (there are still a few pretty significant holes I am going to have to fill!), which means it is time again to get down to writing. And so I did! On Monday I started writing Chapter 1 of the new Caitlyn Morcos novel!
And then on Tuesday I deleted everything I wrote and started over.
And today I’m pretty sure I’m going to delete most of what I wrote and start over. But that’s okay! Getting the first chapter perfect is very important to me. It sets the tone for the entire novel, after all, and is often the length of time a potential reader will give you to hook them. I mean, really, the first paragraph should be perfect-perfect, but I will work on refining that once I have the rest of the novel sorted.
Exciting! I’m estimating two months to finish the first draft? Maybe optimistic, but I have time on my side!
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!
Hey China... 'Sup?
So for a few weeks now, I’ve been getting a significant amount of traffic from China. Nowhere in particular, and as far as I can tell completely incidentally (almost all of the hundreds of visits last less than a few seconds). I can only assume that I wrote something that flagged somebody toward my site for some random reason?
It’s a little weird. Not disturbing or anything like that, and hey, if my fiction is popular in China, amazing. There is some really fantastic Chinese sci-fi… I’m not a fan of the “Three Body Problem” series because the author’s outlook on the universe is too bleak (and the ending of the first book is very deus ex machina), but that aside, there are still some great works coming out. I’ve read a lot of short stories by both Chinese and Chinese-American writers, and gosh some of it is really good.
But I doubt that my books are very popular in China (if they are, they’re pirated). Just a weird little trend recently. But the upside is that my website is starting to get a more respectable number of weekly visits… no longer just 1 or 2 visits a day. And it’s nice to see that trend, even if I know it’s not for anything that I’m doing at the moment.
Who knows. Maybe someday people will visit my site for the books! A guy can only hope.
Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy!