Dear Inklings,
Well, I'm back on Kit. And honestly, I can't remember very well why I left it. I think I had some notions about how it would be easier to build an audience on Substack which is probably technically still true. But a lot of this year has been about refilling my creative well and then coming back to worry about building an audience. And being on a platform that not only does very little about Nazi content but actively promotes it was not doing much for refilling my creative well.
Of course, the lack of, you know, marketing has meant that The Wounds of Wisdom has been languishing a bit in sales. I can't remember the last time I sold a copy. Part of it has been finding new homes. I took it off of Kindle Unlimited so I could distribute it outside of Amazon. Moved the physical copies onto Ingramspark and then digital copies onto Draft2Digital. Then Draft2Digital released an absolutely vile policy which said they would charge authors $12 per month if their book made less than $100. They claim the reason they're doing this is to cut down on "bookspam" of low quality AI-generated books. To me, it feels like there should be a better solution that doesn't punish struggling authors.
So where does that leave Wounds right now? I did move ebooks over to Ingramspark. You can still buy it on Amazon (there's even one paperback copy still in stock at the old price), as well as Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Itch.io, oh, and Books-A-Million! The last one makes me really happy. Books-A-Million was my big box bookstore of choice growing up. There was a BAM! in Paducah, about a 20 minute drive from where I grew up. Every weekend, my siblings and I would beg my dad to drive us there and he would grumble but then agree. He would sit in the cafe and read a book or read the newspaper while I perused the shelves and often sat down right on the floor with a book in hand that I wouldn't be able to buy but wanted to read as much of as I could. I made the decision that I was going to commit to being a published author when I was about sixteen in a Books-A-Million. To have my book on sale at least through their website makes me feel kind of warm and fuzzy inside.
Anyway. I will be returning to promoting Wounds this year, hopefully soon. In the meantime, refilling the creative well is more important because, well, I was supposed to have published Book 2 back in 2024. Now we're almost halfway through 2026, and I'm still on draft 3. I've needed to take a lot of time, with all the changes that have happened in the past few years, to fall back in love with writing. And I have. Now it's a matter of getting my ass in gear.
Part of that has been giving myself an actually structured routine for once. Ever since college, I have a far too complex method of determining what to do with my free time, involving lists and dice and time limits. And it's actually served me well as a depressed person who struggles with motivation and making decisions. But I also have a bad habit of trying to switch gears too frequently and give my attention to a million different things at once. I've had conversations recently about how unhealthy that is, and I've definitely felt my cognition take a hit because of it. My brain feels tired, constantly, and too stretched out.
Some of my lists will be remaining, but in a more moderate way. For now, I have a routine that involves working for the day, then doing chores and making dinner to start to switch gears into "home time/me time." Then after dinner, I'll write for a series of pomodoro sessions. I'll update my Ko-fi (and also do some blogging, more on that soon!) and maybe do a bit of marketing. I also plan to delete Discord from my writing laptop, to keep me from getting pulled in different directions.
After that, I'll take a little walk to let my thoughts unspool, shower, and spend the rest of the night doing a "chill mix." For me, that's a mixture of watching shows, reading, gaming, plotting something fun, or just doing some worldbuilding.
I'm also starting to seek out some freelance editing jobs, especially copy editing or developmental editing for fantasy novels. I have a friend interested in hiring me to do so this summer, and there might be consistent work coming from that in the future. It can be a hard industry to break into and I don't think I'll be going full-time any time soon, but it is something I'd like for my future.
I still don't have a set release date for Book 2 of the Time's Sacrifice Trilogy. I don't even know if it will be the next thing I publish. It could be Fox Eyes. Or it could be the first book of the Luminhaven Chronicles. It will be one of those three. But I appreciate everyone who has been patient with me, and I think I'm back on a good track.
This month, I've written about 17,500 words, all between Fox Eyes and Luminhaven. I also discovered the Clair Obscur soundtrack, which is massive and every song on it is stunning. The people yearn to be able to play Clair Obscur. The people yearn to buy a better gaming laptop so they can play games, including Clair Obscur. I'm people. And I've been absolutely feasting off of Critical Role Campaign 4. The people also yearn to have 10+ local friends so that they can run a West Marches style D&D campaign.
That's all I have this month! What are you doing to fill your creative well, or just to align yourself with the live you want to be living?
