I’ve Abandoned Social Media
Lately, I’ve been really out of the social media arena. I hardly ever log onto Twitter these days. Ever since Twitter ruined TweetDeck, I haven’t wanted to play. I don’t see that changing. Twitter is just too much effort to keep up with when it lacks an application to handle it well.
Sorry if you feel abandoned out there, Twitterverse. You survived before me; you’ll continue to go on without me.
The Striped Ones in Jeopardy
The other issue I want to talk about is the Striped Ones series. My original plan was to release the sequel March 2012. There’s a good chance that may not happen. In fact, I’m not sure when the next books of the Striped Ones series will be release.
I’ve entered a winter slump (at least I hope it’s just the season), and I need to take care of me first. I need to step away from some of the situations which stress me out and focus on finding motivation in my life again.
I’ve never liked polishing or editing. Putting in the weeks, months needed to prepare Chasing Shadows for publication isn’t what I need right now on a mental level. I wish I could say I’m self-motivated to edit just to release the next work, but I’m not.
Business Decisions
If I look at the Striped Ones series from the business perspective, the months I’ve put into writing the final two books and the months I need to put into polishing and publishing the final two books really isn’t worth the effort. The prior months I’ve already invested are gone. However, the future months I can use toward more viable business ventures.
Think of it like this. If a traditional publisher buys the rights to a book and after release finds the work bombs, the publisher isn’t going to waste effort on publishing the next in the series. It doesn’t matter if the other books are written. It’s bad business to throw good money after bad. That’s where I am with the Striped Ones series. The next two books are written, but I’m not going to finish polishing them… at least not for now. If sales pick up on that line, I can see myself changing my mind in the future. For now… no. I’ll work on other projects.
Other Projects
I’ve really been into short stories lately. I’m going to focus my efforts on them for now. They take little time to write (a few hours to a week) and little time to edit (a week or two). I want to build up my publication portfolio and see this as a way to do it with a lot less time investment.
Is the Striped Ones Dead?
It doesn’t have to be, but it could end up that way. If you enjoyed Shadow Cat, spread the word to your friends. Encourage folks to try the book. If you haven’t written a review, do so. If sales pick up, then I’ll reconsider it as a a part of my business future. If not, I’ll get to the Striped Ones when I’m good and ready (if I become good and ready). 🙂