Writers, it's been too long. How are you all? Let me know in the comments.
So, where have I been? The sad truth is, I got sidetracked by a new hobby: oil painting. My personality is what can best be described as obsessive, and when I get interested in something, I go all in. But in all that time I was ignoring my writing and focused on painting, a fear niggled at the back of my mind: what if I never go back to writing?
I always believed writing would be a life-long endeavor. It was 90% of my identity. I sacrificed for it, nurtured it. Could it really be over, just like that?
I'm not sure what exactly prompted me to click on a writing youtube video a couple weeks ago, but it was the magic I needed to remind me how important writing is to me.
I pulled out my unfinished manuscript, applied critique partner feedback, and dived into a massive restructuring effort. All this was completed in just over two weeks, along with a ton of research into using KDP to self-publish, marketing strategies, and formatting manuscripts properly. It has been a whirlwind and I have been slamming out 12+-hour consecutive days for over two weeks now.
Am I tired? Yes! Don't be like me. Obsessive, remember?
Still, I'm very proud of what I've accomplished, and I've finally managed to fix a few glaring issues with this book that have been nagging at me since its early inception in 2018/2019.
I'm shooting for publication by the end of May (that doesn't seem like very long, but when I consider how fast I ripped through my revisions, I think it's certainly doable, even without the 12-hour days.
What comes after that? I'm not entirely sure.
The original plan was to turn this book into a long, serialized series. I honestly have no other stories burning to be told except ones involving this new, beautiful cast of characters. I am in love with these imaginary people.
Then there's option B: start writing to market. No, I don't consider it selling out, since I read these books and enjoy them. (Lowly genre writer, remember? That goes for reading, too). It would simply be a shift away from my original plan.
The fact is, I'm tired of working on a book and giving it all I've got, only to find I've missed the boat on that genre/trope's popularity spike. YA dystopian romance? That's so 2010. A fantasy inspired by Peaky Blinders? Old news.
So the wise strategy seems to be choosing a more evergreen genre.
Turns out, when I don't have any major life events monopolizing my time, I'm actually a pretty fast writer. If I pushed, I could probably get out 2-3 books a year (I won't sacrifice quality for quantity, have no fear). How amazing would it be to actually make enough money from a book to afford a real editor for the next? A professional book cover?
Well, enough of my rambling.
The new book will be out late spring/early summer 2025. It is an adult dark fantasy with a murder mystery and an excruciatingly slow-burn romantic side plot. Think Tommy Shelby meets Alex Stern.
If you've made it this far in the blog, leave me a comment! I can see a handful of people are reading my posts and it would mean everything to hear from you.
I wish you all the best in your own writing endeavors!
Your revitalized genre fiction writer,
BCM
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