Major Milestone Passed!

Welcome everyone!

I was going through my files in my writing folder, and I came across the file I use to track my book sales. In all the business of summer, I kinda forgot to update it. So I logged on the Amazon and IngramSpark to check my sales and update the numbers. What a surprise! The Huntsman and the She-Wolf has passed 500 copies in sales!

It's at 505, in fact. I've had a terrific summer in sales. Overall, I've sold almost 800 copies of the books in my Hunter's Rose series. I anticipate sales for Project X will be equally as impressive. I can't wait for it to come out.

This is just a short update today to celebrate a pretty exciting threshold. I'll be back later this week with an update about my new book

Until then, take care of each other.

Peace,

-Troy

This is Project X

 Welcome everyone!

I have a confession I need to make to you. Last month I announced that my fourth book would be coming out in September. That’s true! It is. However, what I didn’t tell you was that my fourth book would not be a continuation of my Hunter’s Rose series. Instead, it will be a stand-alone story.

If there is one piece of writing advice for authors writing a series that I’ve seen over and over, it is “Don’t take a break from writing your series! Finish it before writing something else.” It’s good and honest advice that is targeted at the type of people who are excited about something new or who have trouble finishing what they start. I do not fall into either of those categories. I enjoy the familiar, and I always finish what I start.

So you might be wondering why I chose to go against the general wisdom and do a stand-alone book. The truth is, after I finished up the first draft of The Huntsman and the Heretic, I knew I was not a good enough writer to write Book 4 in the Hunter’s Rose series. Book 4 will be a dark time in Tristan’s life, and up until now, The Hunter’s Rose has been a fairly light-hearted series. It will be very challenging to hit the right tone while at the same time keep the characters consistent with the first three books. I knew I needed to get better. I had to level up.

The only way to get better at writing is to 1) read more books and 2) do more writing. I decided to start working on a short story while my editors and coaches worked on my first draft of The Huntsman and the Heretic. I created a scene where a character knew what the right thing to do was but chose to do otherwise because the reward of doing the wrong thing was just far too alluring. I wanted to explore pride, temptation, lying to one’s self, and penance. 

I finished the short story before the first set of revisions for Heretic came back. I was very pleased with it, but I put it aside and started my revisions. When my revisions were done, and I sent out my next draft to my next set of editors and readers, I resumed fixing up my short story. To keep it brief, I had the short story ready to go by the time I was publishing The Huntsman and the Heretic. 

I decided I would publish the short story alongside Heretic as a kind of surprise. I was calling it Project X at this point. However, as the publishing date drew closer and I was still fiddling with the short story, I realized I could flesh it out some more. There were other themes I wanted to explore as well such as alternative moral codes, social ostracism, kindness leading to regret, and many more. I saw that I could pack an enormous amount of conflict into a very short narrative. 

As a result, I decided not to publish Project X at that time. Instead, I went back to my computer and changed it from a short story to a “novelette.” If you aren’t sure what that is, a novelette is a work of fiction that is between 7,500 and 20,000 words. I think the new Project is right at 19,928 words. Some famous novelettes you might be familiar with are The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

This post is running long, so I will have to save more of my insights until later. Just know that I am returning to The Hunter’s Rose series. I’ve already finished the first draft of the first four chapters in the next book. I promise to give updates in my next post. I will also specifically address why I didn’t use my usual beta readers, editors, coaches, and proofreaders for this project. 

Until then, take care of each other.

Peace,

-Troy

September Announcement!

 Welcome everyone!

Now with the barcode issue fully settled, the cover redone, and printing files uploaded, I can FINALLY talk about a launch date for my next book! I hope you’re ready. I know I am, LOL! Getting this one published has been almost as hard as writing. I’ve never faced so many post-production trials.

Anyway, summer isn’t the greatest time to launch a book. One might point to summer reading lists or “beach books” as examples of people doing a lot of reading over the summer, but the truth is, those lists and books are chosen long before the weather turns hot. So that means I will not be launching my new book in July or August.

September seems like a good time. My books often start in fall. It’s my favorite time of year. Also, the chaos of starting school has pretty much died down by then. Starting in September, life slows down a bit and people are looking for something new to entertain themselves with. That’s why the big TV networks always started their new seasons that month.

So, look for my newest book this September, but don’t think I’m going to leave you hanging. With this extra time, I plan on showing a number of previews for my book, AND I think I will have to explain why this one is so different from the others. I’m really excited to tell you all about it. I think it’s easily my best work yet.

Peace,

-Troy

Barcode Issues Fixed!

 Welcome everyone!

I am glad to announce that the issues with my ISBN and barcode have been solved! It was a complicated error that classified my book as an item that could only be sold by me rather than an item that could be sold by other retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Books-a-Million. I’m not real sure how I made that error, since all of my other books are available at those stores. Nevertheless, it’s all fixed now, and I can proceed.

Here’s the issue, though. I have to get the cover redone. My original cover had the old and incorrect ISBN/barcode on it. Now, I have to get the company that did the cover to fix it, and they have to slot me into their schedule.

Whenever I am getting ready to produce my next book, I usually try to reserve a spot with my cover company ahead of time (same goes with the person who does the interior layout). This way, I can get the book published at an advantageous date. I wanted my book to come out the first week of April this year. However, that’s not going to happen now.

As a result, my book will now be delayed until late summer/early fall. This is disappointing for sure. I wanted everyone to have it for their summer reading lists. I think it would have made an excellent read. Yet, this is the situation we are in. 

What I’m going to do is make the best of the situation. The book that is coming out is going to be different than expected, so I plan on doing a really good job of introducing it to you over the next few months. By the time it’s ready for you, I think you’ll be desperate to see what’s inside.

So stay tuned! I’ll be back with a lot of really cool previews soon.

Thank you so much for your support.

Peace,

-Troy

Barcode Snafu

 So,

Another problem. There are always going to be problems. This is the fourth time I have gone to publish a book, and every single time, I have run into some type of issue I couldn't solve on my own. It's frustrating, even if it is somewhat expected. 

Anyway, the problem is that the barcode and ISBN (basically, the tracking number for my book) are not registered to my name. You might wonder how that is possible. I don't know! I have used the same service and account as the past to buy my ISBN and barcode, so I've got no idea why it went wrong this time.

My printer assures me that they have their support team working on it. However, it's been several days without an update. I hope to begin the cover reveal soon. 

Sorry this is taking so long!

Peace,

-Troy

Cover is in Revisions

Welcome everyone!

I have just a short update for you today. I’ve seen the first versions of the cover for my new book! They need some revisions, as always. Getting a cover done is a process. The cover artists are good, but they can never fully capture what I want on the first try. I’m sure that’s true for every self-published author.

The cover is the last piece to the puzzle before going to print. Once I have the final version, I can submit my book to the printer. Usually it takes a week or two to get the proofs back, but then, once the proofs are approved, I should be ready to fully publish. Expect to see the book in in stores in just a few weeks! Perhaps by mid-April!

Peace,

-Troy

 

Layout Done, Cover Next

Welcome everyone!

We are making great progress toward publishing my next book! I have received the layout files for it from the creator. They look great! I can’t wait for you to see them. To be clear, these are the interior pages of the book. As you know, I like to use some type of aesthetic to open my chapters. You can see an example below:

Just to be clear, the above image was from my second book, The Huntsman and the Vampire. That is NOT an image from my upcoming novel.

So now that the interior is done, I can make my cover request! You can’t really get a cover artist to do a good job until you now the page count for the book. And obviously, you won’t know the page count until the internal layout is done. I expect the cover will take another week or two. It’s hard to say. If you’re interested, I am having my cover done by a company called “GetCovers”. Below is an example of their work from another author:

Anyway, I don’t have too much to update you with today. This part of the production process is just slow. I have to wait on others to get their work done.

Be back soon!

Peace,

-Troy

 

A Happy Surprise - My Books in a Store!

Welcome everyone!

As an author, it’s never really been my goal to get my books into physical stores. Most book sales happen online anymore and my in-person events at libraries, schools, a local festivals have been incredibly successful. All that said, however, it would be hard to say just how it felt the other day when I walked into a bookstore, and I saw my series sitting on the shelf along side so many other books series out there. To have my name next to the names of other esteemed fantasy authors was both exciting and gratifying at the same time!

My next book should be out in just a few weeks, but regardless of what happens with it, I already feel like a success. And that’s not because I’ve had good sales, which I have, or because I’ve made a good profit, which I also have. The reason I feel successful is because real people have told me face-to-face that my books have meant something to them. Some have even told me my books have helped them through hard times. If I can write something that brings people happiness and comfort, I don’t think I need anything else. For me that is more than enough.

Peace,

-Troy

New Layout Has Been Commissioned

 Welcome everyone!

Today, I have a quick update on my upcoming book for you. I have officially hired a layout artist to begin putting together the interior of my book! Negotiating with the artist took longer than expected. I spent all of last week exchanging emails and sorting out the details. I didn’t think this would be very complicated (I have produced three other books, afterfall), but I guess it was! He need all sorts of details I hadn’t thought about. Ah well, my manuscript is submitted now, and I should have it back in about a week or so.

Submitting a manuscript to a layout artist still makes me nervous. I’m sure you would think that on the fourth book, I would be used to it by now. I’m not. When you submit a book like that, you are making the decision to forego any further changes to the text. It’s like crossing a threshold from which, there is no return.

Nevertheless, I will press on! After the layout is finished, I will be ablet to commission a cover. It is important to have the layout finished first since the cover artist needs to know how thick to make the spine. When it came to the Huntsman and the Heretic, I did the cover first and just estimated the pages. That decision caused a few problems with the dust jacket of the hardback on the first print run. I had to work closely with the printer to correct the problem. So this time, I learned my lesson.

I’ll be back soon with more updates and a surprise reveal concerning my new book. I’m not sure how everyone will react to it, but I am immensely excited to talk about it!

Peace,

-Troy

New Book is on the Way!

Welcome everyone!

I think I’ve kept you guys waiting long enough. I am pleased to announce that I have a new book coming out! A lot has changed for me since The Huntsman and the Heretic was released, and now that my next story is finished, I can finally talk to you about it.

Mid way through 2023 I decided that I needed to go back to college to pick up another degree. I have ambitions in my full time career (education) that could not be met with my current certifications. Going back to school so late in life is tough. People my age have a family, a home, and a career to manage. Fitting in full-time schooling is a challenge which basically requires you to sacrifice everything that isn’t truly necessary.

The problem is, though, I love writing books. I have never encountered anything more entertaining than creating my own fiction. Despite having to write research papers and complete case studies, I still wanted to create stories.

Somehow, someway, I was able to cobble together enough spare time to put words to page. Those around me who like to spend time with me basically had to say goodbye for most of 2024. I finished up my certification process last fall and finished my next book just this past January. 

Over the next few weeks I will be introducing it to you. I’m sure it will come as a surprise when I reveal all the details, and I can confidently say that this is the best thing I’ve written to date. If you’ve enjoyed anything in the Hunter’s Rose series so far, I think you’re going to love what I have in store for you!

Peace,

-Troy

2023 Year in Review - Hunter’s Rose

Welcome everyone!

I finally had a chance to look back over the previous year and assess how it went. It was a year filled with several major events. For instance, I’ve gone back to college to get another degree. My last remaining grandparent passed away, and my daughter entered high school. The biggest event with regards to this website was the release of my third book: The Huntsman and the Heretic! I’m so proud of how that book turned out. It’s the most personal one for me. Although, it amazes me how many people think it’s a rhino on the front cover and not a bull. To me, it’s obvious, but I’ll just have to be more mindful of stuff like that in the future.

2023 also represented my best year of sales since my first book launched back in 2019. Altogether, I sold 252 copies of my books across all formats (ebook, audio, paperback, hardback) including 112 of my newest book. That’s amazing! Consider that a quote “successful” self-published author is someone that sells 250 copies in two years. So this year, I did fantastic.

So let’s look ahead to 2024. Project X is still on the horizon; however, my time as an author is incredibly limited right now. Getting a degree is consuming all my time even though I’m only taking six credit hours at the moment. I started classes last summer, so I will finish my new degree this year. I’m very excited about that. It will open a lot of doors for me. Sadly, though, it means I won’t be able to work on The Hunter’s Rose series until I’m finished.

I have appreciated everyone’s wonderful support this year. I’ll resume writing the fourth book in my series late fall, 2024. It takes about 12 to 20 months to finish a Hunter’s Rose book, and then about 6-12 to go through all the editing, cover art, and publishing processes. So Book 4 is probably two years away at least, maybe three. 

In the meantime, I’ll keep you up to date on my activities. I hope 2024 is a prosperous and joyful year for you. I love and value each and every one of you. Be well and take care of each other.

Peace,

-Troy

2024 Public Domain Update & Celebration

Welcome Everyone!

Every year I try to celebrate the major new entries into the public domain. If you don’t know what he public domain is, I’ll attempt an explanation. Ages ago, it was decided the the creators of art (that is, any type of media) should only get exclusive rights to that art for so long. Then, after a time, that art is given over to the culture. It belongs to everyone. Our predecessors realized that a culture cannot grow if it cannot use its art and experiences freely. So now, every January 1st, new works of literature, film, music, painting, and so on lose their copyrights. They belong to the people.

Normally, works become public domain 70 years after the author’s death. If it’s a work-for-hire type thing, the copyright lasts 95 years after it is published. There are weird exceptions and caveats, but they aren’t worth going into in this blog post. You can read more HERE.

Anyhow, today is a BIG day for the public domain. It wouldn’t surprise me if you hadn’t already seen some news stories about how Mickey and Minnie Mouse are no longer the exclusive property of the Walt Disney Corporation. They below to everyone. Now, that is limited to the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse, but it also means that people are free to develop their own derivative works. So you can create your own, original version of Mickey Mouse or Minnie Mouse so long as it does not infringe on later incarnations of those characters. It’s complicated, but Mickey Mouse now belongs to you!

In addition, Peter Pan, Tigger, and Tarzan enter the public domain this year. That’s five major characters that belong to the people, not the corporations. It’s been a long time since this many important literary figures entered the public domain at the same time. So you are now free to create your own stories about Neverland and Tarzan of the jungle. 

Keep in mind, though, that the Disney animations for Peter Pan, Tigger, and Tarzan are still under copyright protection. It’s just the characters themselves we now have access to since the original works of literature that produced them have aged out of copyright.

Additionally, we aren’t too far from some other major works entering the public domain. This year marks the 10 year countdown until The Chronicles of Narnia become public domain. The same goes for Superman. Batman hits public domain in 11 years. It’s only 20 years before the works of J.R.R. Tolkien become public domain. And in the short term, the works of Laura Ingles Wilder, Dorothy Sayers, and Thomas Mann all go public domain before the end of this decade. 

So rejoice everyone! You now own some of the biggest cultural icons in history. You can add Mickey Mouse and Peter Pan to Jay Gatsby, Sherlock Holmes, Chtullu, and Pinocchio to your list of potential famous characters to write about. If that is a goal of yours, then I wish you all the best in your creative endeavors!

Peace,

-Troy

Price Changes Coming to HR Series

 Welcome everyone!

I hope this post finds you well today. A couple weeks ago I was sent a message from my printer/distributor that online retailers are changing the terms of agreement for selling books on their sites. These would be companies like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and more. This change was out of the blue, and goes into effect the day after Halloween this year.

Typically, my distributor takes anywhere from 40% to 45% of the price of my book to print and ship it. The total just depends on costs of paper and packaging which varies. Up until now, Amazon et al. took a 30% commission. Now, they are taking 40%. That means on a $15 books, I might get around two to maybe three dollars if I'm lucky. Naturally, Uncle Sam wants his cut of that also, which I pay when I file my taxes.

As the price of paper and binding is constantly increasing, there's a good chance I start losing money on my sales soon. Consequently, I'm going to have to raise my prices. I hate to do that since I really want my books to be affordable, and to be honest, I thought I calculated enough breathing room when I first decided my price scheme back in 2018. Back then, my printing/shipping costs were only about 30% of the book's price. So on a $15 book, I would make about $6. That's plenty, IMO. Sadly, $2 is not. 

So, prices will be rising to $19.99 per paperback and $34.99 per hardback. Those increases really aren't enough to get me back to where I was when I first released The Huntsman and the She-Wolf, but it's enough for me to feel good about what I earn publishing my books. 

This change isn't free or simple for me. I have to have my covers redone since the prices are on the back. It's not a massive change, just an edit, but I still have to pay a professional to get that done. So that's six covers I have to change (paperback and hardback for each book). 

I just wanted to post here and let everyone know what's going on. If you hurry, you'll still be able to get them at the current prices. I don't know for sure when they'll officially change. It just depends on when the cover artist can squeeze me in.

Anyway, we're heading into the holiday season. Halloween to St. Valentine's Day is my favorite time of year. So I wish you all happy holidays! Take care of each other.

Peace,

-Troy

The Roses of Book 3

 Welcome everyone!

I wanted to share with you some of the artwork that appears in The Huntsman and the Heretic. Specifically, I want to show off the roses. Again, the artist did a wonderful job on them. She is truly talented.

After each image, I'll talk about the character just a bit.

The first rose is for Devereaux. He's a newcomer to Celandine Valley. For the last two decades or so he's been traveling the wilderlands of the world seeking those who are lost and need a place to live. He comes alone to Celandine and eventually to Vitalba village where he begins teaching a different perspective on The Cause.

Halbert is a long-time member of the Huntsmen's Lodge, though he's terribly insecure about his position. With Thaul locked up in Tatterdemalion's Tower, the hunter's organize themselves in an ad hoc committee to provide leadership for the regulars. Halbert is charged with being treasurer: a fateful decision, indeed.

Eldo is the Gate Captain of Vitalba. He's been mentioned in the first two books, more prominently in The Huntsman and the Vampire, but he gets a larger role in Book 3. He also joins the aforementioned leadership committee. He has a son, who also works the gate.

Garrov is a colorful character. He's the town's tinker and engineer. He runs the steamworks that keeps the town warm in winder and is always coming up with new contraptions to help the Huntsmen. He's mainly just been mentioned before as the creator of the steam cannon and fluttermites. In this book, he plays a critical part in the last third of the book.

I only had four roses in The Huntsman and the Heretic. That's all there was really room for this time around. However, I did have five pieces of art commissioned, so next time I'll talk about whose rose didn't make it in.

Until then, take care of each other.

Peace,

-Troy

Massive Blow-out Launch Month!

 Welcome everyone!

It's been about a month since The Huntsman and the Heretic launched. It's been a whirlwind for me. I've attended one launch party, two book fairs, and thee speaking engagements! My books are for sale in digital, audio, paperback, and hardback. All that together means I've had my most successful book launch yet, and by most common measures, a fantastically successful launch for 90% of self-published authors! Let me explain.

So let me first give you some context. If you search for "what is the number of sales a successful self-published author" you'll find people from Jenna Moreci to John Adamus tell you: 200 books in the first year or two. That might vary a bit by genre and whether a book is fiction or non-fiction, but for the most part if you can get 200 sales in two years, you're doing good.

For me, I set a goal of selling 100 copies across all formats of all books for the month of March. I looked back at my old data, figured I picked up a few more fans along the way, and 100 copies was my best guess. So that's 100 ebooks, paperbacks, audiobooks, and hardbacks total for the entire Hunter's Rose series.

I also set a way-out-there-crazy goal of 200. If I could get two year's worth of sales in one month, I thought that would be insane. It wasn't a realistic goal, more of a marker, really.

Back in February, I announced that I sold my 500th Copy. So 500 copies since March 2019 puts me at about 125 copies per year or so. That's great! I'm not wildly successful, but I'm doing better than most. 

But what about that "better than 90%" I mentioned earlier? Well, from March 2nd to March 31st, I sold a total of 215 copies! That's 20 months worth of sales in less than 30 days. WOW! 

I can't thank all of you enough. I didn't get to that goal because I'm a great writer or because I have a bulletproof marketing plan. I got there because I have loyal fans, friends, and family who have stuck with me. THANK YOU! No really, thank you. All of your support has helped me through some tough times this year. My success as an author has counterbalanced some very difficult challenges I've faced in the young year of 2023. You've made those hardships easier to bear. I love all of you.

I'll break down the numbers book-by-book in the near future.

For the next month or so, I'm taking a break. I'm exhausted. Launching a book is an enormous amount of work. Time for a rest. But that doesn't mean I've paused my writing. Nope. I'm already well along in my next book. It will be a surprise, I'm sure. I can't wait to share more when it's ready.

Thank you once again for your help and support. I needed it. Take good care of each other out there. Be back soon.

Peace,

-Troy