{"id":6331,"date":"2025-07-25T08:39:45","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T12:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/?p=6331"},"modified":"2025-07-25T08:39:45","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T12:39:45","slug":"im-baaaaaack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/25\/im-baaaaaack\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m Baaaaaack!"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>Hi! Remember me? I know it\u2019s been a while. But I haven\u2019t been slacking in the interim, honest. I\u2019ve been busybusybusy. Since my last post, nearly a year ago, I\u2019ve released two-point-two-five books (weird, right? see below), worked with the award-winning Stacey Lind to also release three audiobooks, managed to increase my in-person vending activities to an average of one per month, served as beta reader for several fellow authors, started a new novella, etc.\n

In between all those things, I tried my hand at marketing. I\u2019ve made Canva video promos, and static promos. I\u2019ve posted on socials. I\u2019ve handed out so many bookmarks I\u2019ll soon need to order more\u2014and I\u2019m talking about giving them to total strangers, like the wait staff at whatever restaurant we go to, or the auto mechanic staff at Pep Boys, or the pharmacy staff when I go to pick up my meds, just random folks with whom I interact. Because hey, you never know when or where you might find a new reader. Right?<\/p>\n

But really, I know zip about marketing. What\u2019s more, I don\u2019t *want* to know more about marketing. I just want to write and put my stories out there so people can read and enjoy them. That\u2019s my \u201cwhy,\u201d my reason for writing in the first place. If I could afford it, I\u2019d happily pay someone else to do the marketing for me. (Yes, I\u2019ve tried buying ads. No, they didn\u2019t work. And no, I\u2019m not interested in hearing about any \u201cspecial marketing packages,\u201d thanks.)<\/p>\n

So between working on my writing business nearly non-stop with few breaks, beating myself up over not understanding how to succeed at getting my work out there more, and feeling the shock, dismay, anger, and helpless depression over the state of my own country right now (yes, I\u2019m woke; no, I won\u2019t be taking counterarguments at this time), I kinda slid down into a pretty deep slump. Anxiety is real, y\u2019all. Trust me on this.<\/p>\n

At some point, I decided that I could not be an active participant in the political sh*tshow that is the U.S. right now, because it was going to push me so far down the depression slide, I might not ever come out. I still speak out; I just don\u2019t live from newscast to newscast. I am trying to focus on what I *can* do (which feels like precious little, but that\u2019s a whole \u2018nother blog post, and not really suited for this site).<\/p>\n

$\"Black$ <\/a>As for marketing\u2026someone posted on the 20 Books to 50K Facebook group a while back that marketing and ads aren\u2019t the best way to help people find your books; writing more books is the best way to get your name out there. Someone will find one of your books, read and love it, then look for more. And there better be more for them to find, or they\u2019ll soon forget you. With that in mind, I decided to stop trying to market my work, and just write.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t tell you what a huge relief it was to stop playing Sisyphus and let those two boulders roll right on down that hill.<\/p>\n

Despite all that personal drama and emotional turmoil, I\u2019ve finished and released bo $\"A$ <\/a>oks two (\u201c Broken<\/a>\u201d) and three (\u201c Driven<\/a>\u201d) in The Founder\u2019s Seed trilogy (in paperback, ebook, and audiobook), so that series is now complete. I\u2019ve written the first book in the follow-up trilogy (Nexus) and sent it out to beta readers. I also decided that sharing some of my other works (short stories and novelettes) with a wider audience than just here on my site might be helpful in finding more readers, so I\u2019ll be publishing those on the Zon in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

In fact, just yesterday I re-released the first novelette, \u201c Deer in Headlights<\/a>,\u201d which was previously published in \u201c State of Matter<\/a>.\u201d Next, I\u2019ll publish the second novelette, \u201cJane Doe #7,\u201d which was previously serialized in \u201c Underside Stories<\/a>.\u201d After that, I\u2019ll make at least one, maybe two collections of my other short works. All of these will be available only through Amazon at $.99. They\u2019ll also be entered into the Kindle Unlimited program. It\u2019s the best way I can think of to spread my name and introduce people to my work.<\/p>\n

Honestly, though, I wish I could totally avoid The Zon. Why? Because I\u2019d much rather support small, independent bookstores. Unfortunately, authors\u2014especially indie authors like me\u2014can\u2019t avoid Amazon completely. Not if we want to find readers. So here I am. On The Zon. I still don\u2019t plan to bring my novels under their exclusive banner, though. Just the short works.<\/p>\n

$\"A$ <\/a>One fun side-effect of this decision is that since I\u2019ll be making these short works my \u201closs leaders,\u201d I can\u2019t afford to purchase professional covers. So, I\u2019ve been tinkering around with Canva and Affinity Photo to make my own (without the aid of AI\u2014which I refuse to knowingly use). I admit they aren\u2019t as good as professional designs, but they aren\u2019t bad. (I\u2019ve seen worse!) Check out the cover of \u201cDeer\u201d (see image, left) and see what I mean. Got feedback? Please share! I\u2019m open to constructive critiques that will help me do better next time!<\/p>\n

Since I first started my author website a few years ago, this blog has become a journal. A peek at what goes on behind the scenes in writing and selling books. Every writer\u2019s process, every writer\u2019s experience is different. This is mine, and it\u2019s an ever-changing landscape. And this post in particular is to let you know I\u2019m still here, still writing, still asking big questions. I hope to post more often, now that I\u2019ve kinda found my stride again. I\u2019m still writing new stuff when time permits (or when I\u2019m able to *make* time).<\/p>\n

In the meantime, if you want to stay in the loop on my activities, releases, appearances, and general news, sign up for my newsletter here<\/a>. I try to send a couple of those every month.<\/p>\n

Soon to come: changes to the website, as I redesign it to be more current and easier to follow. Stay tuned.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s it for now. See ya next time!<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"