Creeping Sales

I check my sales numbers for Kindle and Smashwords kind of regularly. I know I probably shouldn't. It can be kind of depressing to look at (I have 1 sale on SW, from about a year and a half ago). But, after I got over my last bout of "Fuck it, I quit!", I started looking at things differently.

I have relegated the short stories I've self-published to being practice. They are there for others to enjoy, and really, that's it. They are good ways of measuring my skill as a storyteller, and if I just look at them in that light, I'm ok. Right now, I make about 1-5 sales a month. The Orc stories seem to be the most popular, with Pekra and The Orc Way being at the top (though I think Blackskull's Captive is my best work). I also sell one or two copies of Entertaining the Masses each month. So, it's all good. Interestingly, my collection With a Silken Fist has yet to sell a single copy.

Going forward, I am going to focus more on developing longer works. And in between those, I'll work on shorts here and there. I will probably continue to self-publish the Gortek and Pekra stories on Amazon. But the other shorts will be submitted to pro markets.

My current long-form work is one that I blogged about a long while back. It's a sort of sequel to L. Sprague DeCamp's Conan of the Isles. As a Robert E. Howard fan, I know that I am expected to revile DeCamp and all that he touched. But, aside from his personal traits that I find deplorable (like his treatment of Howard's personal life and character), I enjoyed his pastiches, for the most part. I also liked how he filled in gaps in Howard's Conan narrative to create a single epic storyline (don't get me wrong, the Howard originals are still much better).

Conan of the Isles sees Conan abdicating the throne to his son, Conan II, or Conn, and going off on one last voyage of adventure. The story I have in mind answers the question of "What happened in Aquilonia when Conan disappeared?" For copyright reasons I am changing the names of characters, places, etc. But at its core, my story is still pastiche. I have outlined the first part of the book, and am working through chapter two right now. When it's all said and done, it'll probably weigh in somewhere between 50-60k words in length.

What am I going to do with it then? Submit it to publishers, probably. Maybe see if I can get an agent to work with me. Or, failing all of that, I might self-pub it, but that would be a last resort. At this point, I just want to focus on getting it done. I'll worry about how to publish it when I have a finished product to present.

Back at it again...sorta.

In light of Conan's latest release in theaters, I find myself compelled to go back to the REH Forums over at http://www.conan.com/, where I post as Reaver.  I had left that forum about a year ago, mainly due to the rampant negativity, and some of the more vocal "Purists" who would get downright confrontational and insulting if you didn't see things their way.  Not surprisingly, most of them are still there, and still doing their thing.  But, in the interim months, things have changed for me.

I've made some friends outside of those forums that I have come to realize that I already knew from there.  Small world, REH-fandom is.  I've also matured and mellowed a bit, and no longer rise to others' bait on some issues.  When the hell did I grow up?

Regardless, it's a good community of people, all fans of Robert E. Howard and his works (those who only know Conan from other mediums are quickly converted or killed...yeah, it's like Riddick in there).  It's a good place to discuss all things REH, as well as those things only peripherally related.  And I'm now testing it to see if it's a good place to bounce writing ideas off of.

Some of you may remember my idea for a "sequel" of sorts to L. Sprague DeCamp's Conan pastiches.  Particularly his creation and treatment of Conan's eldest son, Conn.  Well, after giving it some thought, based on some comments here, I have decided to do some more work on that project.  However, I am changing the names and making it an original work.  If/when it is completed, it won't be a Conan pastiche (based on another Conan pastiche).  Yet, there may be enough in there for fans of Conan to recognize the nods and homages.  I have 10 chapters outlined.  I see this being a relatively short book.  Nothing over 200 pages, for sure.  I plan to split it into two parts, with the first part being outlined already.  There is a possibility that it could go to three parts, but I still don't foresee it being much longer than 200 pages.

Why am I doing this?  Because I can.  And I like the premise of the son of a barbarian usurper taking over the throne from his father.  It will allow me to explore the possibilities of nature vs. nurture.  The Prince was born and raised in opulence, but how much of his wild father's nature did he inherit?  Of course, there will be plenty of action, sorcery, adventure, danger, excitement, and maybe even a little romance.  You know, everything that makes a book fun to read (for me anyways).

So, here I go!