What's Next For Me

2024 will see the release of the final entry in my Ascension Legacy series. The first book dropped in 2020 and I have been fortunate enough to maintain a release schedule of 1 book a year with the exception of 2022 that saw the release of 2 books in the same calendar year. That means that over 5 years I will have released all 6 books in that series which was my original goal.

But with the upcoming release of the last book in the series, what will I do next?

Well, I could just barge right ahead with my publishing. I do have 3 other books already written that are ready for final edits and publication. And who knows, by the time those 3 books reach print, some of the other books I've been working on will be ready to continue on their journey from my mind to your shelves. All the pieces are there that would allow me to continue releasing books year after year for the next several years to come if that was all I wanted to achieve.

But I want to achieve more.

When I set out writing the Ascension Legacy series my goal was to see it published. To that end I have achieved my goal. But looking ahead, I want more.

Now that I will have seen all 6 books in the series released by the end of 2024, I want to see that series distributed to the hands of more people. I want to grow that brand. I want to grow my name as an author.

And I don't feel that just blindly publishing books is the best method to achieve those targets.

Instead, I think my name and my brand will be better served by focusing on marketing for a while. Take some of those funds that I have been spending on editors, registrations, and whatnot and put it towards marketing. Finally spend some serious time and money to market the complete series once the last book hits print. Run highly targeted ads on social media. Maybe some Google ads. Put myself out there on multiple podcasts to promote myself and my books. Get several copies of each book from the printer to do book signings in my local area. Go talk to small bookstores to see about getting some placement on their shelves or some form of cross-promotion.

I will eventually get around to doing more with the other books that I've already finished plus the ones I'm currently working on but I'd like to take some time to refine and hone my marketing skills first. When I first set out on this journey I had no clue how much marketing I'd be required to do to be successful. I didn't learn enough about that side of the business so now that the pressure is off to finish publishing the series, or at least it will be once Book 6 drops in a few months, I think I should make an effort to learn more of the marketing side.

Plus, not only will learning how to market my current books better help to improve their sales, knowing how to better market books will help me to do more with my other books when I decide to move them forward. I would love to try and find a lit agent for my other works. If I know how to market my current books better then perhaps that will also help me better market my unpublished material to lit agents.

So even if you don't see any new releases from me in a while, that doesn't mean that I've abandoned the literary world. Instead it means that I have invested myself into learning more about that world to better serve me, my writing, and my audience.