Friday, November 30, 2018

Kissing the Old Year Out...

This will most likely be the last general info update of the year because tomorrow begins the annual Advent Calendar! :-)

It has been quite a year! And although writing is always a precarious business--and it feels especially precarious at the moment, given the very latest changes on Amazon--I'm feeling mostly satisfied with what I managed to accomplish in 2018 and very much looking forward to 2019.


Patreon has been a big factor in my restored equilibrium. While I can't survive solely on those monthly donations, they've more than once made up the necessary difference in my book earnings--this month is a case in point. Patreon has allowed me to produce new product (the audio for In Other Words...Murder and Green Glass Beads for example(s)) when I really didn't have the funds. And, crucially, my Patreon income allows me to advertise, which is no longer an optional strategy. It's definitely been a learning curve though, and moving forward I will most likely structure my Patreon like a high end subscription service so that (depending on tier) members receive everything I produce during the year as well as the extras and bonus items. I think that will be simpler (and more rewarding) for everybody.


Print. Well, it turns out that pulling all my print books out of Createspace and off Amazon was not necessary. WHOOPS! All that was really required was to take everything out of expanded distribution and then do expanded distribution through IngramSpark. So my old print backlist has been restored to Amazon. We're currently going through one title at a time and reformatting, changing covers, updating back material for IngramSpark and expanded distribution channels (so the Amazon titles will also be updated). The goal is to have this completed by the end of March.

Our first print title is Seance on a Summer's Night (the novel I did for Patreon) and you can order it right now right here.



Audio. I produced a number of audio books this year. The first experiment with going wide was In Other Words...Murder which can be purchased at Nook and Google Play and Scribd and Audiobooks.com as well as the usual places. You can purchase "The Boy Next Door" through PayHip and "Halloween is Murder" through Payhip.  Green Glass Beads will be going up hopefully before Christmas! I have to be honest, so far the results of going wide have not been encouraging. For example, if you search In Other Words...Murder on B&N, the audio book does not come up. It's only available on the Nook. I'm not ready to throw in the towel, but my audio needs to earn out, and going wide so far seriously reduces the chances of that. Yikes.





Ebooks. This year saw the release of The Magician Murders, Murder Takes the High Road, In Other Words...Murder, and Seance on a Summer's Night. The Ghost Had an Early Check-Out comes out December 18th. All in all, more than double what I managed to produce last year!

The first projects scheduled for 2019 will be The Monuments Men Murders, my novella for the Footsteps in the Dark anthology, Blind Side, (Dangerous Ground 6)  and the first book in the new Bedknobs and Broomsticks trilogy I'm writing for Patreon, Mainly by Moonlight.

I haven't talked much about this last project yet, but it's going to combine mystery and paranormal and romance. A bit more romance (and sex) than usual, in fact. I describe it as Adrien English meets McMillan and Wife meets Bewitched. (Okay, I need to clarify that because Cosmo Saville is NOT Adrien English and John Joseph Galbraith is NOT Jake Riordan -- I'm referring more to the intimacy of the characters and their relationship than the actual characters, if that makes sense).

Here's the initial blurb:


Though they’ve only known each other a couple of weeks, San Francisco's first openly gay Police Commissioner John Joseph Galbraith is all set to marry antiques dealer and (little does John know) witch Cosmo Saville in a big, society wedding—until Cosmo is arrested for murder after being discovered standing over the body of longtime rival dealer (and witch) Seamus Reitherman.


I start writing that next month and hope to have the entire trilogy finished by the end of 2019. Fingers crossed because there's already a LOT planned for next year.



Anyway, a good year. Not every plan came to fruition but a very productive year overall. And still some good stuff to come!

See you tomorrow for the beginning of the annual Advent Calendar! :-)



28 comments:

  1. Hi Josh. Should we be able to buy Seance in ebook right now? I'm not seeing it on Amazon.

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    1. Hey there JL! No. The ebook is not listed yet.

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    2. When will it be available as ebook?

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    3. I promised it as a Patreon exclusive, so I feel I need to hold off for at least a few months. So maybe March or April?

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    4. Thanks for clarifying, Josh. Will look forward to it! :)

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  2. I am quite excited about the Bedknobs and Broomsticks trilogy. How could you go wrong with an Adrien English/McMillan and Wife/Bewitched vibe. I loved all of those. I'm really looking forward to the Monuments Men Murders. I love Jason and my Asshole Sam. I'll probably read Blind Side. I mean, if you're going to take the time to write it, somebody should take the time to read it. ;-)It makes me very happy that you're in a relatively good writing place. As I've said before, it thrills me that I can be a small part of that. So I'll raise my glass to next year! Looking forward to the advent calendar. <3

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  3. I'm quite excited about that new Patreon project! See you tomorrow!

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    1. ME TOO. I haven't been this thrilled at the idea of a new project in a long time!

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  4. I love your plan so far :)! Looking forward to it. And Advent Calendar, welcome!!

    Goge

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  5. I’m very pleased with your output this year. You did good work, IMO. This is going to sound stalker-level sappy, but I just want you to do what makes you happy. The small contribution I make is nothing compared to the joy I get reading your stuff. Looking forward to 2019, Josh!

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  6. I'm glad your year ran soother, felt better. Whatever needs to be done to find that comfortable writing spot, I hope it keeps repeating! I know there's lots of new, exciting stuff to look forward to, but I need to thank you for the wonderful year we just had. You write good stuff, Josh Lanyon! ...and we, the readers, reap the rewards. <3

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    1. Thank you so much, Karan. A girl likes to hear that now and again. ;-)

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  7. Are you not doing the sequel to The Haunted Heart next year?

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    1. Yes, I am, but I'm planning on that one for Halloween. :-)

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  8. Really looking forward to meeting Cosmo (does he need a cat?)(asking for a friend)
    Sounds like a great year ahead! (do you need a cat?)(asking for a friend)
    Yea to the Advent Calendar. It's the wonderful time of the year!

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    1. He does indeed have a cat. The cat's name is Pyewacket in a nod to Bell, Book and Candle (as well as early witchcraft). Not sure yet if he's as genial as adorable Mr. Pinkerton. :-D

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    2. I knew a cat named Pyewacket! He got into such mischief.... I would not recommend changing a water heater with his assistance....and he was no where close to as adorable as I.

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  9. I have problems to sign in.I have written this comment now so often, that it gets shorter and shorter. 😜
    I love to be a patreon, all the beautiful extras and if it gives you a tad more rest of mind: wonderful!
    Your books given me always hours of relaxation, the space to think about totally other things than work, health and politics. Thank you!

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    1. You know the blog has been set to moderation because it's a target for all these spammers, so sometimes the comments don't go through right away. ;-)

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  10. Yay! I love the first one and can't wait to read more of Flynn and Kirk. :)

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  11. Ooh, the Bedknobs and Broomstick trilogy sounds amazing! I can't wait to read it.

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    1. Fingers crossed, but I think it's going to be a lot of fun--plus I plan on writing it in quick succession so there won't be years between installments.

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  12. Looking forward to all. Is Ghost had an early checkout a novel or short story? (Amazon lists it at 59 pages...wondering if that is an accurate page count)

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    1. Short novel or long novella (45K) so the 59 pages is Amazon being weird. It will be over 100 pages at the least.

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