Jonuary: New Month, New Year, New Goals
Plans for 2024
2023 saw the culmination of years of work in the form of the release of my passion project, Unsecret Identity: Eric Icarus - Book One. Released as a digital ebook on Amazon Kindle, it was immensely rewarding to see something I wrote available as a “real” book. Real in the sense that it is a completed project, a book for sale. It’s only tangible, however, if you read it on your Kindle ereader device, or via the Kindle app on you tablet, phone, or desktop. Despite the several ways to read this full-length YA sci-fi superhero adventure, I have my eyes set on the next edition of my debut novel: the paperback. As excited as I am to enter the world of print, the development of this book has seen obstacles around every corner.
Last year, I also released a prequel novella to Unsecret Identity, a short called, “The Supervillain’s Oath.” I launched this story on Kindle Vella prior to the first full “Eric Icarus” ebook. “The Supervillain’s Oath” takes place years before Unsecret Identity, in the same universe, but you don’t need to know anything about either story to enjoy this tale. Writing a standalone short that is a technically a prequel, including characters involved in some way in “Eric Icarus,” without any specific reference to the main book - though it ties into the larger story - well, that proved to be complicated. And I say “technically” a prequel because “The Supervillain’s Oath” was released first, before Unsecret Identity. I wrote “TSO” after “Eric Icarus - Book One,” so to me it felt like going backward. Despite being a little wonky in my own personal timeline, the actual releases were straightforward - “The Supervillain’s Oath” came out first, followed by Unsecret Identity. “TSO” is a suspenseful thriller set in a time long before Eric Icarus joins the Super Society, and in this story featuring the original team, we follow the sidekick known as Sidebar in his first real night on the job - which could end up his last if he and his teammates aren’t able to stop an enigmatic villain. I loved writing this isolated tale that still manages to impact the main book series, all without necessitating a reader to be familiar with any previous or forthcoming works. The only true hurdle came as learning how to release stories on Vella.
The serialized, “episodic” stories on Kindle Vella are incredibly popular among readers who enjoy a quick adventure or a bite-size piece of interesting literature. Romance dominates Vella, but I wanted to throw my clean sci-fi adventure tale in the mix. “The Supervillain’s Oath” saw its first form of life as a six-part Vella series. When I released the first “episodes,” no other works of mine were available. No Eric Icarus, no other stories whatsoever. I knew going in that I’d be a speck in the grand ether, lucky to get noticed. Instant fame was never an expedition - the real goal was to simply try it. I liked my Vella experience and plan to revisit the platform, but I did find it awkward and tedious having to explain that readers access Kindle Vella inside the Kindle app. What made matters more confusing with people unfamiliar with Vella is that, at least as of this writing, Kindle Vella stories aren’t available on the Kindle device. I got off to the races in a big way. A big, stumbling, unsure way.
“TSO” would eventually get released in its complete form in the Amazon Kindle store, available on the app and the Kindle ereader device. I wanted to get another short out before Unsecret Identity’s launch, so I repeated the Vella-to-Kindle process with a mind-bending science fiction short called “The Variable.” Along with learning the intricacies of uploading works via Amazon, not to mention designing the covers and all additional art myself, there came the next challenge: promotion. Many independent writers could tell you that promoting your book on your own is a daunting undertaking. Social media posts alone are enough to make any author curl up under their writing desks or wherever they do their scribing, and simply sleep until the world goes away.
Cringe, weird, and sometimes confusing - the early goings of promoting wasn’t pretty. Not to say I’ve mastered the art by any means, but the initial stages of letting the world know that I wrote something proved to be an overwhelming challenge. Nevertheless, I persevered and launched “Eric Icarus,” knowing that a slew of new obstacles would present themselves. Ads, a giveaway, trying to engage with other writers and potential readers - mainly via social media - is a constant necessity. We authors press on, even though the mountain of work required to create and distribute our world is a demand that our regular lives’ schedules simply can’t offer. With the majority of the learning curve’s beginning missteps behind me, I’m embarking on the new year’s gauntlet of speed bumps.
Taking “Eric Icarus” to the world of print is the first new goal of 2024. A paperback version will soon fly onto physical bookshelves, ready to be taken in by readers who prefer paper pages to screens. A hardcover edition will be developed at some point after, as well as an audiobook adaptation. The delay in production mainly comes from the fact that, well, it’s pretty much just me doing this. I even intend to record the audio version myself with my own voice performance. Art, editing, voice performing, “marketing” - a full time job for a full staff - is individually done by me. Saying that, though, I don’t expect any accolades. In fact, there are solo-authors carrying their workloads on their own two shoulders and are producing way more than me. But, as with all dreams, your main competition is always yourself.
I am thrilled to announce that “Eric Icarus - Book Two” will be released later this year. In the meantime, I plan on returning to Kindle Vella. I do have a new fictional serialized story in the works, but my immediate targets are launching two nonfiction series. Both will focus on historical fiction but in unique ways. An “official” announcement will come soon.
Recently, I posted a few videos I’ve referred to as “Ask An Aspiring Author Anything” which I will expand into a longer video version on my YouTube channel. This will serve as more conversational, free-flowing discord (okay, it’ll pretty much be me talking to myself) about my general thoughts on entertainment as well as my ongoing journey in learning about all things author-ing.
The new year will be a busy one, full of new ventures, new mistakes, new growth, and new content. I can’t wait to get started (again).
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Unsecret Identity: Eric Icarus - Book One is available now from the Amazon Kindle store.