Just Because I'm Not Writing Novels, That Doesn't Mean I Stopped Writing Fiction

I announced a little while back in So My Novels Have Been Unpublished (For Now) that the 3 novels of mine that have been unpublished should start coming back into print under a new publisher sometime this fall, and with luck all three of them will be back on the market by the end of the year. In addition to those 3 novels, though, I have one self-published dagger-and-witchcraft novel, as well as a collection of short stories that are still in-print, and those are all the physical books of my work currently out in the world.

Over the past year and change, however, I've had more than a few folks ask me when I'm going to put out a new novel. Will I write another noir cat mystery? More grim sci fi? Or will I show up with an entirely new premise?

Sadly, it's unlikely that I'll be writing novels for several years to come, if at all, again. And I wanted to talk about why that is, while also mentioning that just because I'm not writing novels that doesn't mean I've stopped writing fiction.

If anything, I put out more of that than ever these days.

And even better, a lot of it is free!

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Lastly, don't forget to check out my Vocal archive for additional fiction, articles, explorations of weird history, and more! And, of course, check me out on Blue Sky, since that's what we're talking about today!

Struggles and Realities

Full disclosure for folks who don't know, and thought the name of my blog was just a quirky little joke, but I'm a professional writer. This is my job, day in, and day out. And over the past decade or so, my margins have gotten thinner, and thinner with regards to what kind of earnings I need to justify my time and energy. And I know that, for me, writing a novel takes anywhere from 8 to 12 months for the rough draft, another month or so to edit it, and then once I turn it over to the publisher I've got between 3 and 12 months before it hits the market.

So writing a novel is an investment of somewhere between a year and two years of effort. And given that I tend to write them at around 500 words at a time, well, that's not that big of a deal, is it? Can I just not find time for that in my packed schedule?

No, actually. I can't. Not anymore.

Let me run you through what goes on behind the scenes.

During an average day I spend several hours on social media promotion (honestly it's one of the most frustrating tasks that is one of the most necessary for paying my bills). Then I have to add material to the two tabletop RPG supplements I have to turn in every month (because those have both an up-front payment and a royalty attached to them, so they're a priority). I update one of the two blogs I run (which are funded through my Patreon, and whose links earn me additional money if I make a sale through them). I record/edit video for the Azukail Games YouTube channel, The A.L.I.C.E. Files, or sometimes both. If I have any time left at the end of the day, I will work on a fiction assignment for a client if I have one, because when I hand those in, there's a check in my hand.

With all of that, I have enough free time to eat a few meals a day, go to the downstairs gym 3 times a week, and attend my bi-weekly RPG session for 2 evenings out of the month. That's it. My day starts when I roll out of bed, and it doesn't end until somewhere between midnight and 1 in the morning, depending on when I put the final words on that day's last project.

Now, this isn't me saying that I don't want to write novels anymore, or that I'm just not up to the task. If anything, I'd love to crack my knuckles, sit down with an outline, and get back to work on a full-sized book again. And if my books find an audience when they're re-released? If a good marketing campaign causes a booktok stir, or for some reason everyone starts paying attention to them? Well, if I don't have to cram so much stuff into every, single day, then I might just be able to find a little bit of room in my schedule to start working on another book.

I've got outlines and plots for days. Somewhere between 20 and 30 of them, at last glance through my notebooks. I could do nothing but write novels between now and whenever I die, and I'd probably still have more I wanted to write... but thanks to capitalism, that's not going to happen without folks out there raising a clamor, boosting the signal, and getting their friends into my fan club.

A Novel's Worth of Text Has Gone Into "The A.L.I.C.E. Files"

While I've written at least 17 RPG supplements this year, as well as 4 short stories, and a slew of blog entries, one thing I've been pouring a lot of work into is the ongoing audio drama of The A.L.I.C.E. Files. I launched this YouTube channel with Alice Liddell earlier this year, and we were hoping to grow it into a monetized channel where we could tell stories, dramatize some parts of our own books, and provide a fun tale for listeners to follow.

Well, I just finished editing the final episode for Season 1, and by my calculations, there's at least a novel worth of text that's been put on the screen thus far... and that's just for the main series plot. Alice herself has narrated the entirety of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as a companion piece, and she's just started in on Through The Looking Glass to make sure folks don't run out of things to enjoy.

I bring this up here for folks who wonder where I've been putting my efforts, and what I've been making, because this is a project that's free, a little experimental for me, and that I've put a lot of sweat and thought into. However, it's also on a ticking time clock. You see, we need to get 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 public watch hours on this channel by the end of 2026, because in 2027, requirements to get a channel monetized are doubling. I mentioned more details in my recent post Thanks To YouTube's Recent Announced Changes, The A.L.I.C.E. Files Needs Your Help!, but I wanted to try to raise awareness of this again.

Especially since we're currently at 362 subscribers and we're just shy of 1,500 watched hours... so we really need folks to help us pull this one out before we run out of time, and find ourselves trapped between a rock and a hard place.

So if you could, please:

- Subscribe to The A.L.I.C.E. Files

- Watch all our episodes (preferably without a VPN or ad blocker on, as those hours get ignored by YT)

- Leave upvotes and comments (especially if you have theories on the ARG elements going on in the stories).

- Share the links on social media, and tell your friends about the series

I have plans for at least a second season of the show, where I'd like to expand the format, the cast, and more... but all of this is going to be dependent on audience interaction, demand, and whether we can hit our numbers.

So if you can help, please do! And if there are other small creators you want to see succeed, do these things for their channels as well. It makes a huge difference at the end of the day!

Support The Literary Mercenary

If you want to see me produce more work, consider some of the following options!

- My Facebook

- My Blue Sky

- My LinkTree

- My Weekly Newsletter

- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)

- The A.L.I.C.E. Files (an audio drama channel I launched with Alice Liddell)

And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, and you want to be sure my supply doesn't run low, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!

Also, if you're curious about how to write for tabletop RPGs, don't forget to check out my show Tabletop Mercenary, which you can find on both the Azukail Games channel above!

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list.

Avoid Gimmicks In Your Writing (They Don't Help)

Have you ever heard of those movies in the 1950s and 1960s that used bizarre presentation or ridiculous premises (some of which bordered on threats) to get people to buy tickets to them? Perhaps the most famous of these is The Tingler, which had buzzers hidden under people's seats to go off during certain spots in the film as a way to frighten the audience.

As a marketing ploy, this over-the-top salesmanship sometimes worked to get people to come see what all the fuss was about. However, it was most notable for movies that were lackluster, boring, or just badly written which leaned on the gimmick to actually get people to come and check them out. And, unfortunately, writers are not immune to this when it comes to our work.

So if you're thinking of doing something outside the text with your story, ask if that actually improves the reader's experience, or if you're just trying to use a gimmick to distract from what's actually on the page.

The book bursts into flames when you hit page 451... you know, as a reference!

But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

The Key Here Is "Outside The Text"

I'm sure right now there are folks out there who are clearing their throats and preparing to name dozens of books that were commercially or critically successful that had bizarre forms of presentation, or which broke conventional rules that publishers balked at. However, before you start putting up counter-examples, the key here is that phrase "outside the text," and what it implies.

Is this thing you're about to bring up an actual part of the experience that is meant to enhance the text of the story as it's being written? Or is it something that exists outside the story whose inclusion won't actually change anything about the story itself, but it is merely meant to seem unique, interesting, or in some cases to distract from the story by being salacious or audacious?

Oh you knew this example was coming, didn't you?

While House of Leaves can be a divisive book (folks seem to either love it or loathe it), but what it does is not a gimmick, despite people accusing it of such. Because while this method of presentation is strange, it is an intended part of the presentation that is specifically meant to alter the experience the reader has while interacting with the text and the story. It is a necessity to that experience, because if you remove it, then you have truncated the book and its story.

So, before you decide to present your story in a strange or unusual way, take a moment to ask yourself why you're doing this. Is this secret code, pages printed backwards so you have to read them in a mirror, or having key pages with a bizarre indent an extra layer that enhances the story? Or are they just meant to be a quirk that shakes your reader out of falling asleep when they turn the page?

As an example, if you are writing a memoir of a spy, then the methods of disguising coded language and slipping in secret messages through the text that have to be decoded could absolutely turn the book into a puzzle that needs to be solved in order to get the full story. That is not a gimmick, but a part of the intended reading experience. Are you writing a fantasy story where the protagonist doesn't understand the language of an underground species of elves they've been taken prisoner by, so you make your own language in order for the reader to learn words along with the protagonist so they can then go back and re-read the parts they didn't understand before? That can be part of the intended experience.

So what is a gimmick, then? Well, a gimmick would be something like claiming there's a secret curse in the book, even if that curse has nothing to do with the story it's telling. Or insisting that the text be written with dialogue in red ink. Perhaps including fake bloodstains on the paper, hoping that will make the horror novel feel that much more gripping. A gimmick is something that exists outside the text, but which isn't actually necessary to the experience of reading that text.

At the end of the day, ask yourself two things:

- Is the text of my story good and polished?

- Is this other element something that enhances the story, and adds depth to it?

If this thing you're presenting as unique and interesting could just be ignored or removed without changing the reading experience in a meaningful way, then it's a gimmick. And, generally speaking, gimmicks are not something you want to use as a hallmark of your writing.

As always, you can do whatever you want with your story and your book... but consider if people are going to remember the story, or the gimmick. Because if the story isn't center stage, it might be time to go back to the drawing board.

Support The Literary Mercenary

If you want to see me produce more work, consider some of the following options!

- My Facebook

- My Blue Sky

- My LinkTree

- My Weekly Newsletter

- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)

- The A.L.I.C.E. Files (a channel full of short stories, many of which are mine)

And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, and you want to be sure my supply doesn't run low, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!

Also, if you're curious about how to write for tabletop RPGs, don't forget to check out my show Tabletop Mercenary, which you can find on both the Azukail Games channel!

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Craft of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list. 

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!

So My Novels Have Been Unpublished (For Now)

I've been sitting on this update for a little while because I've been waiting for all the particulars to shake out. However, since things seem to have (mostly) settled down I wanted to take some time this week to bring my readers up to date on what is happening with my novels, and what's happening with my career as a fiction writer. Also, if you're inclined to check out some of my work that you might have missed and which is still very much available, I'll have links to that at the end.

Okay. Deep breath. Let's dive in!

 

There's a lot to unpack here...

 

Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!

Lastly, don't forget to check out my Vocal archive for additional fiction, articles, explorations of weird history, and more! And, of course, check me out on Blue Sky, since that's what we're talking about today!

All Right, What The Hell Is Going On Here?

As regular readers (and anyone that's seen me at a convention) know, in addition to all the RPG writing I do, I also have half a dozen books on the market. Short story collections and novels are always available at my table... however, three of my novels are currently off the market, and it's not looking like they're going to be back for a little while. 

How did this happen? Well let's begin at the beginning, shall we?

It was the year 2020 when I was first published by Eric Flint's Ring of Fire. That publisher put out three of my novels, Marked Territory, Painted Cats, and Old Soldiers. And that was overall a positive experience, and I was looking forward to being a part of that house... sadly, it only lasted a few years before we lost Eric Flint, and the company came apart afterward. Fortunately for me some of the folks who's been a part of that publishing house reached out to me, and helped me get my books picked up and republished.

This is the start of the rollercoaster, so follow the timeline with me!

- 2023: My books are republished by Untreed Reads.

- 2024: Untreed Reads (and the parent company Top of The World Publishing) are acquired by Histria Books.

- 2026: Histria decides to start cutting authors out of their catalog, returning rights en masse.

So in the past 6 years my novels have showed up under 3 different publishers, they've been given at least 2 different covers each, and I've had to contact half a dozen different individuals just to get author copies to bring to conventions... and what's worst of all is that I've made something like $50 from these books in sales thanks to the constant publishing, unlisting, relisting, and needing to direct readers to completely different catalogs to find my titles.

The pressure is climbing, let me tell you.

Now, this saga does have a happy ending (fingers crossed) which is part of why I'm writing this update. All three of my titles have been picked up by Misti Media, which has put out titles like (I Just) Died in Your Arms: Crime Fiction Inspired By One-Hit Wonders as well as its sequel Lunatic Fringe: More Crime Fiction Inspired By One-Hit Wonders. And while it seems that Leo and Pollux will be in good company with titles like that, sadly, these things take time. By which I mean to say, my titles likely won't be back in circulation until sometime this fall at the earliest, or just in time for Christmas if things get in the way of that timeline.

I Do Have Plenty of Other Fiction Out There, However

While I very much want all of my books back on the market, I do have other fiction on offer... and if you haven't checked out these titles, I'd recommend you give them a gander. It should keep you busy between now and this Autumn, and if you haven't given these a look, I'd appreciate a boost to my numbers!

- Crier's Knife: My dagger-and-witchcraft fantasy novel, we follow Dirk Crier as he is sent forth from his mountain home to find his wayward cousin and bring him back... but also to make sure those who harmed him learn why the people around Ben Morgh say only a dead man crosses a Crier.

- The Rejects: A short story collection of mine, this book contains all the stories I've written that were always bridesmaids, but never brides. From trolls that eat child molesters, to angels in Los Angeles, to serial killers stalking the personal ads, there's a little bit of everything in here.

- Tales From The Moot: A tie-in collection for Werewolf: The Apocalypse, I was one of the main drivers behind this anthology. I wrote the introductory fiction, as well as the Silver Fang story Late Bloomer, and many of the other tales were contributed by talented people I tapped to help make the project a reality.

If you're in the market for fresh fiction, but you don't have any money to spare, then I'd highly recommend checking out The A.L.I.C.E. Files. This is an ongoing audio drama podcast by myself and Alice Liddell as we bring our stories (and others) to life, while weaving a narrative about the mysterious, dimensional-exploring organization known as the Carroll Institute. And if you enjoy audio dramas and RPG fiction, I highly recommend heading over to The Azukail Games YouTube channel and checking out the 50+ audio stories I've contributed there as well!

Lastly, if you want some more free fiction (both fan stories and original tales), then I highly recommend checking out my contributions in the Vocal communities Fiction and Futurism! There's probably two dozen stories on there that are completely open for readers, and every read puts a penny in my pocket, so if you read something you like make sure you share it around on your own socials to help fellow fiction enthusiasts find it!

Support The Literary Mercenary

If you want to see me produce more work, consider some of the following options!

- My Facebook

- My Blue Sky

- My LinkTree

- My Weekly Newsletter

- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)

- The A.L.I.C.E. Files (an audio drama channel I launched with Alice Liddell)

And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, and you want to be sure my supply doesn't run low, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!

Also, if you're curious about how to write for tabletop RPGs, don't forget to check out my show Tabletop Mercenary, which you can find on both the Azukail Games channel above!

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Business of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list.

Why You Need To Let Your Book Cool (It's Not The Story... It's You!)

Most of us have the experience of going nose-blind to something. If you're a cat owner, it might be your furry companion's litterbox. If you have (or were) a teenage boy, it's the fact that their room has that particular funk in it that only handling your laundry and doing some deep cleaning will fix. In short, when you spend all day, every day hip deep in something, you grow desensitized to it. It's only by leaving to go run errands, or to take a weekend trip, that you realize exactly how bad the smell is, making you wonder if something happened while you were gone.

This is why it's important for you to take a break between writing a story, and editing it. It's not for the book... it's for you. Because if you go back in desensitized to all the flaws, you aren't going to be able to clean it up the way it deserves.

And trust me... you want all those smells out of your story.

But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning, consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.

Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!

You Need To Be Fresh Before You Edit

We've all been at that point where we cross the finish line on a story, panting and exhausted. We've been in this world for so long, and we're tired of it. We don't want to think about it anymore, we just want it to be done. And for your first draft, that is perfectly acceptable. However, to return to one of my favorite metaphors, this is why you take breaks between sets at the gym.

Yes, I'm going somewhere with this.

When you lift weights, you need to maintain good form in order for the exercise to put the strain on the right places, and to not hurt yourself. However, when you get tired, your form starts to slip. This means you start compensating with other muscles, and sometimes you just push through to get the right number of reps instead of focusing on the quality of those reps. This is one reason you're supposed to rest between sets; it gives your body time to recuperate, and to come back at it with the proper energy.

If you don't take time to rest when it comes to editing, then you're not going to be going in with good form. You're just going to be performing the action (physically reading the words on the page) without actually getting the intended result (analyzing your story to see where improvements need to be made). Because just reading your story again won't make it better... that's just going through the motions because, well, that's the next step.

That's the point of hitting save, and then not looking at your story again for a little while. A week, at least. Two weeks is better. Because this gives your brain time to rest and recuperate. It's even better if you can work on something totally different as a palate cleanser. Even if it's just something small like doing some outlining, it makes a difference. Because then you can come back to the job of improving your story with a refreshed mind, and a sharpened wit.

And you'll be able to actually smell the bad parts once you've been out of the house for a while, so to speak.

Support The Literary Mercenary

If you want to see me produce more work, consider some of the following options!

- My Facebook

- My Blue Sky

- My LinkTree

- My Weekly Newsletter

- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)

- The A.L.I.C.E. Files (a channel full of short stories, many of which are mine)

And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, and you want to be sure my supply doesn't run low, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!

Also, if you're curious about how to write for tabletop RPGs, don't forget to check out my show Tabletop Mercenary, which you can find on both the Azukail Games channel!

Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!

That's all for this week's Craft of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!

 

And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list. 

If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!