So 2022 was a year.
That’s about all I thought I’d have to say, but obviously, since this post is up, I’ve got a lot more to reflect on. So, let’s dive in together and talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly of 2022!
Accomplishments:
Three books with my name on them hit shelves in 2022, only one short of my original goal.
Early in the year, we released T-REX, a short story collection that featured several previously published stories that appeared in Prehistoric Magazine, as well as one brand-new story and the title novella, T-REX itself. All in all, the book did very well, and I’m currently plotting a direct sequel that I’ll pair with more monster stories. This sequel collection will be an “emergency button” book, which is a book I’ll write to cover a release window that I haven’t filled. Having a novel or two like this in my back pocket will help if things get in the way of releasing a new, full-length novel. I’ve seen a few authors try this now, and it’s an idea that I feel I should integrate into my writing routine; chipping away at a minor project like this every day can act as a fun palate-cleanser, so I’m looking forward to diving in!
As most of you know by now, 10,000 Treasures was delayed in the editorial phase by circumstances far outside the editor’s control. This meant that my original plan for quarterly releases in 2022 had to go out the window.
There were positives and negatives to this, one of the former being that I now have a book that rolled over into 2023, meaning this coming year can (hopefully) have a far denser release schedule than 2022 did. Another positive is that, instead of releasing a new book, we were able to put some of that effort marketing-wise into a rebranding of Island of Legends. While the novel launched with a working blurb and cover, after some time, both the publisher and I felt that neither fit the story and tone of the novel. The cover in particular needed work because too many people told me they thought it was a book for younger readers. Since I would rate the book a soft “R” for violence, gore, brief nudity and language, it just didn’t fit. So we’ve tried a new cover I’ve designed, and from what I’ve heard so far, people think we made the right choice.
Eventually, 10,000 Treasures did come out, and it has rapidly risen through the ranks, sales-wise. By my standards, sales justify a sequel, and my tentative plan is to bring the series to five novels before deciding if I want to keep actively developing this series. What do I mean by that? Simply put, I’m going to write five books in the ongoing series over the course of three to five years and, so long as the series is selling, I’ll keep writing more on the same schedule. If it’s not, I’ll take a break and let readers find the novels over time.
Lastly, an accomplishment that came in near the end of the year, and as of this writing hasn’t happened yet but is all but set in stone: Tundra of Terror will be released on the last day of the year, December 31st! I’m thrilled with how this second volume in the series turned out, and I think readers of Island are in for a different yet fun adventure in the same spirit as the original!
Now, onto the less happy stuff…
Failures:
It’s always difficult to deal with setbacks, but some things are just out of your control. I learned that the hard way a few times this year, and I hope that by sharing what I did wrong and what didn’t work with fellow authors and readers, it can help others avoid similar mistakes in the future.
Firstly, T-REX. The book itself is good, but we had a debacle early on regarding the cover where Amazon wanted us to prove we owned the rights (there is an entire PCH episode about this, and it remains one of our most popular to this day). Of course, they said this on Thanksgiving of 2021, and they gave us 48 hours to either come up with the “proof of ownership” or submit a new cover. If we did neither, they could have terminated our account.
Yes, 2021 is technically last year, but since it bleeds into issues we had in 2022, it’s worth it to bring it up for the sake of clarity.
Anyway, we could not do this in 48 hours, since everyone we needed to contact for the info was busy with the holiday, so I had to throw together a new cover. While I love the new cover, I still feel the old one fit the novel well, and I have not forgotten what Amazon did.
This led to my second failure of the year: Going wide.
When Amazon threatened to terminate my account over such a minor issue, I started seeing warning signs. I’d largely kept all of Project 89’s eggs in one basket up until that point, and when I saw how quickly my income could vanish over a minor issue, I decided that we needed to go wide and have our books in more stores than just Amazon.
This, in many ways, looked to be the perfect answer, and it may still be. So, we gathered our books that weren’t doing well in Kindle Unlimited, and we took them wide to other retailers.
So far, sales have been abysmal.
I want to keep the books wide, but with several of our books still doing well in KU, as well as new novels coming out in series that might do better with exclusivity, the coming year will mean we have to make some tough calls about my short-term future on various platforms.
Another failure was YouTube. I’ll be blunt: I love Youtube, and I love making videos. But the time it took me to make a video, even a simple one, was time I should have been writing words that could have come out in 2022. While I’m not done with Youtube, I’m planning on taking a break until I can justify the time and maybe hiring an editor.
A similar failure was blogging. I know, ironic, since you’re reading a blog post, but so far, I’ve just not seen enough interest in the blog to justify regular posts. I’ll reassess this next year, but for now, I’ll only publish the occasional post.
Lastly, Publisher’s Cluttered House floundered this year. We didn’t come into the year with a solid plan for this show, and it suffered for that. We’ve had some high and low points this year, but all in all, I just don’t think we were on our A-game. So, we’ll be reevaluating our plan and announcing it in an upcoming episode. But, as of now, it looks like we’ll be moving into monthly uploads themed around our publication plan for the year, with author interviews sprinkled in as bonus episodes.
So, that is the bulk of 2022.
The year had its ups and downs, but we’re looking toward a brighter future!
As of this writing, here is what we expect to do in 2023:
Six Books.
For years, I’ve been told by very successful authors that a consistent release every two or three months can lead to a profitable career. In 2022, I tried and failed to make one book a quarter happen. But the difference is that, unlike in years previous, I did the work. But when one of my editors had to take time off for health reasons, and my publisher of the Godqueen Trilogy decided to push our release back a few times, it meant that plan couldn’t go forward.
But it also meant that a good portion of work had already been done.
Here’s where we’re at right now:
I’ve divided my work into three batches for the year. The first batch containing The Beast of Big Timber and the next novel in the Opus are in the final stages. Beast is being proofread before being sent to beta readers, and the next Opus novel is being line-edited.
The second batch, containing the second Asher Bryant book and The Anubis Contingency, is my current project. I enjoy writing multiple books at once, and since one is in third person and the other is in first person, it’s easy to tell the difference between the two for me. Both are progressing well, and I plan to have drafts of both novels on the ground in January with editing over February and March.
The third batch is a little tricky, I’ll say that from the outset. Three books will make up this group, one being an Opus novella about Benedict’s college-age ghost hunting experience with a former girlfriend. That novella has been done for some time, but I’ll be putting it through a final edit later this year.
The two new novels will be Swim 2 and the final book in the Godqueen Trilogy, Hivemind Godqueen. Both are being outlined, and I plan to start writing both by April or May.
I am purposely planning Hivemind to be released in 2024 so that I remain in total control of the 2023 schedule, but if Tundra of Terror does well, I will happily move Hivemind up in the schedule and get that book in the publisher’s hands. If this happens, our bi-monthly release plan may go out the window, but it will be sacrificed for a worthy cause. It’s all up to the readers and the publisher at this point, but as of now, here’s the release schedule I’m planning on:
Beast of Big Timber: February 2023
DenCom Cryptid Spin-off (The Opus, Volume 3): April 2023
The Anubis Contingency: June 2023
Asher Bryant 2: August 2023
DenCom Benedict Novella (The Opus, Volume 4): October 2023
Swim 2: December 2023
As far as what else I’ll be writing this year, I’ve got a rough plan that includes Asher Bryant 3 and the sequel to The Anubis Contingency. My guess is that it will be the fourth batch of the year if I have time. The fifth is undecided, but my options are plentiful! I could finish the first Opus novel about the DenCom Knights, I could write the third Anubis book or the fourth Asher Bryant. Or, I could get around to one of those standalones I’ve been meaning to. Hell, if Beast of Big Timber performs, I’d love to write some more short novellas in that universe.
We’ll see what makes sense as the year plays out.
Yes, this could all fall apart tomorrow.
Yes, this is crazy. But I’m finally seeing real potential for a rapid schedule like this to come together. When Beast got pushed into 2023, I knew I had an opportunity to see if what so many successful authors have done before me will work for my career. I’m always creating, and for many years, I tried to slow myself down to one, maybe two books a year because that’s what I could afford to publish.
That’s not the case anymore.
There’s a very real chance this could all work out. By April, I could have ten books under my belt and many more nearing completion. I can finally put all the words out there that I ever wanted to. I can finally meet my potential, or at least what I think my potential is. I could learn a very hard lesson this year, but I’ve failed before and I will fail again. And every time I get back up, I get stronger.
So, pass or fail, this is the plan.
There are only two things separating those who succeed in this line of work and those who do not: mindset and dedication. Not giving up is half the battle, and knowing how to handle success and failure makes all the difference. I’ve learned a lot since publishing my first novel, and some of those lessons were devastating. 2023 could be another devastating lesson, but it’s one I’m game for if you are!
Conclusions:
My plan feels solid, but it will begin with not doing anything at all. I’m taking the next couple weeks slow to focus on writing the first act of DenCom 4, as well as catching up on movies and TV shows I put aside earlier this year. If you have any recommendations, please let me know! Streaming works for me, but I might also be able to get a DVD of something obscure from the library, so don’t hesitate to make suggestions!
Starting in January, I’ll resume work on The Anubis Contingency and the second Asher Bryant novel. Both are novels I absolutely love and have been trying to write for some time, and it will feel good to get both ideas out of my head.
Everything else is going on the backburner. Youtube, the blog, and, as always, my mail list will be restricted to just the most necessary news regarding my releases, as well as relevant deals, but only when justifiable.
Social media will be up and down. I’ll be on when I can, but I’m more concerned with writing good books than ever and I hope my readers understand that.
In the meantime, I’ve created a new place for readers to hang out and chat about my writing and just about anything else. Check out the S.T. Hoover Reader’s group if you want to join the fun!
All in all, I’m happy with 2022, even with its failures. I’ve learned a lot that I can bring with me into 2023, and it should help make 2023 an amazing year for my writing and readers. There’s never been a more exciting time to be a fan of my work, so if you haven’t already, consider picking up one of my books! You might just find something on sale if you look soon!
And that’s what I’ve got!
Thanks for reading this far! I know this was a long post, but it was one I needed to write. Thanks for sticking with me!
I hope you enjoyed the read, and don’t forget to follow me online to keep up to date with all the latest goings-on, or sign up to my newsletter for automatic updates sent straight to your inbox!
Have a great holiday! I’ll see you in time!
-S.T. Hoover