Hello readers! It’s time for another progress update – and for a big thank you. Last weekend I reached a major milestone: over 1000 of my books have been downloaded from the Kindle store. Even though this book-writing business is just a hobby of mine, this still feels like something worth celebrating. We’re still in the early days yet, with plenty more books on the horizon, and although this has never been about the numbers, I thought I’d take the opportunity to thank everyone out there who saw my work and thought they’d give it a go. I really appreciate it.
Progress update
My last progress update appears to have been in September last year, just after I finished the first draft of book three in the Highmoor series. A lot has happened since then. I have received the feedback from the review team, and I am drawing up plans to revisit the novel and fix a few things (thank you review team). I’m still hopeful that the first edition will make it onto the virtual bookshelves in the first half of this year – but this is a very loose deadline. I’ll provide updates nearer the time.
As for maps, I am on the cusp of sorting out a dedicated page where images can be explored in sufficient detail, rather than just going to “Maps” in the post archive. Expect updates in the next few months. I’m also starting to share some of the concept art for my work – and by “starting” I’m referring to the single image that has been shared so far (see “Art” in the post archive). I intend for this to become a collection, and I might even delve into my old project archives to find artwork for The Starlit Ship. Who knows. Some of it might be good enough or funny enough to share.
Reader feedback
I’m very grateful to everyone out there who has read my books or blog posts. Feedback is always appreciated, even if it’s just a simple star-rating or a like, because it lets me know that someone out there has had their day slightly brightened. Critical feedback is equally welcome, because I’ve been so close to these stories and characters for so long that I can lose the bigger picture and miss the blindingly obvious. Fresh perspectives are always incredibly helpful. And I can’t battle my minor grammatical errors alone (sorry).
Also, while we’re on the subject of audience interaction, if anyone has any recommendations for films, books, or TV shows that might lead to interesting blog posts, let me know. I’ve just finished watching The Three Body Problem on Netflix, so you can expect a breakdown of that sometime soon. Also, if you see any fantasy or science fiction concepts that need to be torn to shreds using maths and common sense, please get in touch. I thoroughly enjoyed my recent foray into the worm locomotion literature following Dune.
Showing support
1000 books is a big number, but as anyone familiar with the Amazon bookstore will know, finding new readers is a constant uphill struggle. Only a fraction of downloads result in star ratings, and even fewer result in written reviews. Nobody knows how the mysterious Amazon algorithm decides to promote books, but it probably has something to do with big numbers and audience interaction.
These are the four main ways to support independent authors like myself:
- Consume my books (maybe not literally, unless you have a taste for Kindles). I don’t mind if you buy them, get them through Kindle Unlimited, or download them on a free book weekend. Readers are readers.
- Give the books a star rating. I can’t overstate what a difference this makes to independent writers on Amazon. Most people don’t like taking risks, so they only pick up books that have a certain number of ratings. The actual star score is often a secondary concern, because everyone knows they’re a bit meaningless. But the number of ratings matters.
- Follow my author page. Amazon provides each registered author with a page where all their books can be found, and this page has a follow button. Anyone with an Amazon account can follow an author, which just means you receive an email when I publish something new. This really helps me out (and it’s not like your inbox will be inundated with my publications).
- Follow the blog! Finally, you can follow this blog. I publish posts weekly, and WordPress allows me to send emails to my subscribers to keep them in the loop.
In summary…
A big thank you to all the readers out there. I’m slowly coming around to the idea that my hobby might bring some (very small) amount of good to the world. I’ll honour my end of the bargain and keep writing, and the third book in the Highmoor series should materialise sometime soon. Happy reading, and have a lovely week!
Links:
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/C.-W.-Clayton/author/B09YZXSQ3D
The Starlit Ship series: https://cwclaytonauthor.co.uk/the-starlit-ship-series/
Highmoor series: https://cwclaytonauthor.co.uk/highmoor/
Blog post archive: https://cwclaytonauthor.co.uk/post-archive/
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C. W. Clayton 