August 2016 Status Update

Hello, Everyone!

I can tell already that this is going to be a tougher status update to write than most of the previous ones have been. The last few months have been incredibly busy, but most of the work has been foundational in nature, which means it doesn’t feel like I have a ton to show for all of my effort.

New Baby!

Firstly, in case you missed the last email I sent out, we had our third child in June, and while he’s been a great sleeper, a good eater, and Katie has been a trooper, there has been some unavoidable disruption to my work schedule. We’re all glad to have him, and I knew going into things that there would be a disruption there for me this summer, but I ended up being much busier than expected on the marketing side of things, which meant that the disruption (from the writing side of things) has been a lot more extensive and lasted a lot longer than I’d been planning on.

Editing:

On the editing side of things, there are a few more moving pieces than I’m used to (for reasons which will become clear as I release my next few books), which means that the editing is starting to stack up. Currently I’ve got Dystopian #3 (The Warlord) back from my editors and out to my advance readers.

I haven’t heard back from all of my advance readers yet, and I think I’ve still got a few edits from those that I have heard back from that I need to get into the current master file, but if I can shake loose a solid half day or so to dedicate to finishing off the edits and formatting the various formats that the retailers need, I’ll be able to get The Warlord off to my Launch Team, at which point it will be 6 weeks or so from going live.

The Founder (Dystopian #4) has been through the first few rounds of edits, including the edits from RJ, which means it just needs to go through the last round of edits and then it can go out to my advance readers. Under normal circumstances I would say it was 3 months from going live. With the current backlog of work on the marketing side of things (more on that below), I can’t say for sure how long we’re actually going to be looking at, but it’s a safe bet at this point that it will be more than 3 months.

The Outsider (Dystopian #5) has been through my editing pass and has been gone through by my proofer, which means that I just need to get her fixes into my master file and then it will be ready for Katie to read it. Under normal circumanstances she would be chomping at the bit for me to get through my edits so that she could get started on the book (especially given the way that The Founder ends), but things have been so busy here that I’ve heard barely a peep out of her regarding the fact that I haven’t finished editing her book. ๐Ÿ™‚

Finally, the rough draft for The Desolation (Dystopian #6) is finished, but still needs my editing pass before it can go off to my proofer. I think I mentioned this in one of my past updates, but The Desolation is a monster. It came in at ~213k words, and is far and away the biggest book I’ve ever written. As I was writing it I kept thinking that I needed to find a stopping point and break it into more than one book, but the action was coming too fast and furious, so I just continued writing and figured that I would leave that question for post-production.

I’ll still be looking for a break point or points to split The Desolation into two or three books if possible, but it may very well end up shipping out as one book.

Marketing:

In spite of having many more books out than I had at the beginning of 2014, this year has been the lowest sells wise since we ended 2013, which has necessitated some changes with regards to how I spend my time as compared to how I was planning on spending my time.

In 2016 I’ve spent quite a bit of time and money on Facebook ads with very mixed results, and was frankly running out of ideas when a fellow author who has experienced a significant drop in sells of her own books recently figured out that her drop in sales matched up very well with the multi-author bundle she was in being pulled down.

It was like a lightbulb went on for me. I went back through my records and realized that my Facebook ads had corresponded almost perfectly with the 6 months that the first bundle I organized was free, and I’d most likely mistaken a significant percentage of my sales as being from the Facebook ads when in fact they had more than likely been because of the bundle.

I tend not to do things by half measures, and I desperately want to be able to continue writing full time into 2017 and beyond, so I’ve jumped into the process of organizing additional bundles with everything I have.

Currently I have 5 bundles that are in various stages of being organized and prepared to go live. I’ve pulled together a group of dozens of very talented authors, and I’m hand picking each book that goes into all 5 of the bundles. When those five bundles, consisting of 50 different, amazing stories go live, I’m hoping that things will jump up to the point that Katie and I can commit to another 12+ months of full-time writing.

The best part about the bundles is that while they are super time intensive to organize, the authors I’ve pulled together believe in what we’re doing so much that they’ve all committed to a 12-month term for the bundle so with any luck the bundles won’t just be a flash in the pan kind of thing, they should drive additional sales and excited new readers for a full year, which will mean that I can get back to spending less time marketing and more time writingโ€”I would really like to finally have a year where I hit a million new words.

Writing:

Things have changed so many times in the last 10 months that I couldn’t say for sure what the original plan was, but really it’s the timing of things that has changed rather than the order of the books I’m going to work on.

Most recently I was planning on marketing and helping out with the baby in July and August and then getting back to writing in September. October was to be an editing month, followed by another book in November and another editing month in December.

Part of me still hopes to do that around organizing the multi-author bundles. I really want to write a book in November so that I can participate in NaNoWriMo, but it’s increasingly likely that September will primarily be spent finishing off bundles and catching up on editing.

Possibly if things go well I’ll try to just write in October and November both and finish off the Compelled Chronicles in one long stretch, after which (assuming that I’m still able to continue writing full time) I’ll read through all of the Reflections and Dark Reflections books and then start in on a whole slew of new books with Alec, Adri and all of the rest of the crew in both timelines.

It’s not as good on the production side as I was hoping for when I started the year, but the release of Left at the very beginning of this year means that I’m still coming through on my promise to release at least one Reflections Universe book each year in spite of all of the other projects I took on to try and ensure that we can continue writing for many years to come.

As always, thank you all for your support!

Regards,

Dean

12 thoughts on “August 2016 Status Update

  1. Alexia

    I really love how personable and down-to-earth you are! I am currently in the “Reflections” and “Dark Reflections” series–or more to the point waiting on the next book(s), :0). Anyway, I couldn’t put any of your books down once I started reading them, usually finishing each in a day or two. I love the story lines and the constant plot twists. You’re doing an awesome job, and I just wanted to let you know!

    Thanks for all you do and keep it up!

    Reply
    1. Dean Post author

      Hi, Alexia.

      Thank you for your kind words! I’m glad that you’ve had so much fun devouring the Reflections and Dark Reflections books, and am sorry that you’re stuck waiting right now. Believe it or not, I’m probably just about as antsy as you are to get the series completed. I have a really amazing ending in mind for the series, but things always evolve a bit as I actually sit down and write any given book so I’m really anxious to see what cool things get added into the final scene as I write the rest of the books.

      Wishing you all the best!

      Dean

      Reply
  2. Jessamy

    Hi,
    First, great pic of Batman and Robin! Second, if that beautiful new baby boy hadn’t created chaos he would not be doing his job. Finally, I am still happily enjoying your worlds and will keep on tecommending. Keep on writing-you are so very good at it!!!

    Reply
    1. Dean Post author

      Hi, Jessamy.

      Thank you, the credit all really goes to Katie–the costumes were her idea and I am tickled pink about how they turned out. Actually going to the convention was her idea too. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Luckily the little guy doesn’t take his job too seriously, the disruption really has been much less than I was worried it would be. I worry that saying this will result in some enormous stroke of bad luck, but he’s the best baby we’ve had so far and we feel quite blessed!

      Thank you for your recommendations to other readers–that’s what’s keeping me in the game at this point so that I can get the bundles released!

      All the best,

      Dean

      Reply
  3. Brenda Beschorner

    Babies can be counted on to be unpredictable, so you’ll have to just roll with it, pops. Glad you figured out your sales slump. Hope your planned bundles work out the way you need them to so you can keep writing. Regardless, keep writing!!!

    Reply
    1. Dean Post author

      Thanks, Brenda.

      I’m nervous saying that I’ve got it figured out at this point because I don’t quite have any of the bundles up yet, but we’re getting close and I’m very much hoping that everyone involved in the bundle sees a huge increase in sales.

      I’ll definitely do my best to make sure that I can continue writing for as long as possible!

      All the best,

      Dean

      Reply
  4. Debbie

    Holy cow,Batman! My heart and prayers go out to you and your poor wifey. I had 4 babies within 7 years (while working full time, etc,etc) so I’ve “been there, done that”. Just remember to “love, love, love” him and your family, do your best at everything else and it’ll all come together in the end. Most importantly, (and I say this from experience) make time for you and Katie to have w/each other and for each of you to have your own “personal” time. Teach your kids how to work as a team, give them each little jobs, whether it’s helping mom, dad or with the baby, (I even gave mine cutesy titles like Lieutenant, Chief, etc.) and also be sure to spend some time with them, (w/out baby), to thank and reward them for their help. I wish you all the best of luck with everything and I’m sure that all of us “dedicated & understanding fans” will wait patiently (won’t we, everyone!)

    Reply
    1. Dean Post author

      Hi, Debbie.

      Wow, 4 babies in 7 years must have been a rough go for a very long time, especially while working full time. Thank you for the advice, we definitely need to get back to doing a better job of having the girls doing their chores, and Katie and I definitely need to go out on a date or two once we get past Comic Con and things slow down a bit. In spite of everything else that needs to be done right now, we’re going to take the girls to the swimming pool in the next few days so that they can get one last hurrah with daddy before the oldest starts school again.

      Thanks for taking a moment to stop by and give me the benefit of your experience & wisdom! (Also for your patience!)

      Regards,

      Dean

      Reply
  5. Peter T.

    I am amazed by how hard both you snf your wife are working. Don’t forget to take time for each-other. That’s the base you both work from.
    Thank you for your writing! Great reads.

    Reply
    1. Dean Post author

      Hi, Peter.

      You’re most welcome for the writing, thank you for reminding me to take time for Katie–a very timely reminder along with Debbie’s advice! We’re getting close to having all of the big pieces pulled together for the convention and I think that the first bundle is only a matter of a week or two (knock on wood) from going live so we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. ๐Ÿ™‚

      All the best,

      Dean

      Reply
  6. Michelle

    Thought I would drop a line to say congrats on the new family member jus another add to the beautiful family. It’s great your father is able to help with things, goes to show we are never to old to take our parents advice. Can’t wait for the new book, patiently waiting . Thanks for all you and Katie do to entertain us and keep us informed, it just lets us know you are in fact normal as the rest of us. Thank you to you both.

    Reply
    1. Dean Post author

      Hi Michelle.

      Thank you for stopping by, and for the congratulations! You’re welcome, thank you for buying the books and helping spread the word! I hope all is well for you.

      Regards,

      Dean

      Reply

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