Nathan’s Novel Writing Month — that’s actually every month but November is a special kick. We’ll see how far I get.

In other news, I signed a contract with Podium to produce the audiobook versions of Ishmael Wang books. All six Shares plus the three Seeker’s. Make sure you’ve got your MP3s of my narrations because they’re going to come down when the new books go up on Audible. I fought it as long as I could but Audible – like KDP – is the 6000 pound gorilla. The upside here is that Podium has some of the best audio in the business and they hire only the best narrators. The downside is that I have no control over the process now.

It also means I’ll have more time to write new stories without having to worry about when I’m going to get the audiobooks done.

So I’ll be going mostly dark over November and working on cranking out as many words as I can while the November madness is upon us.

Let the wild rumpus start!

Milk Run – Smuggler 1 – due at editor: 11/1 – release Dec 2015 Sept 2016
To Fire Called – Seeker 2 – due at editor: 12/1 – release Feb 2016 Nov 2016
Suicide Run – Smuggler 2 – due at editor: 1/1 – release Apr 2016 Jan 2017

Assuming I make my deadlines. I’m behind on Milk Run because I’ve been so distracted by the launch.

Milk Run is REALLY late.

Will I publish it in paper?

Yes, but I’m behind on Milk Run and can’t afford the time right now. I want the paperback out by Christmas which means I need to convert and publish in November.

In Ashes Born is currently available in paper.

Will I publish it in audio?

Yes, but I’m behind on three titles in audio now and I can’t afford the three months it will take to get them done. I’m working to offload some of the post-production work but that’s still a lot of time. Unfortunately, I can’t outsource the reading. I’m apparently the only Nathan Lowell voice out there at the moment. This is going to have to wait until I get the next three books written and in the pipeline. Which will put me behind by SIX titles for audio. The first few months of 2016 will be playing catch-up. Again.

Audio will be both podiobook and audiobook, but the audiobooks will not be on Audible. I’ll need to find another mechanism to get those out to you. I’ll have to charge for the audiobook because I’ll need to offset the expense of hiring the post-production engineer on those.

Podium is publishing all the Ishmael books in Audible format. Quarter, and Half are out. Look for Full in August and then one a month until they get to Ashes.

That’s what I got for now. See current posts for up to date information going forward.

The new book is out! Yay!

It’s only on Amazon! BOO!

Yeah. Unfortunately, I’ve had to take a hard look at my business and I just can’t afford not to be in Amazon Select any more. I totaled up the sales on all the other platforms combined and it amounted to just under 6%. Even paperbacks have generated more revenue than that. I started re-evaluating the market and came to the realization that I just don’t know what’s going on. I need more data.

So, I pulled the books in the middle of September and enrolled everything (except Light in the Dark) in Select. The page reads more than offset the income from Kobo, iBooks, and Nook combined already — by a factor of ten. I’ve got a marketing plan that will include running some promotional activities, buying ads, and developing audiobooks in addition to podcasts.

I’m giving it six months and then we’ll see if I stay with Amazon. The Nook marketplace is probably going to die. The iBook store is next to useless. In a year there I sold as many books as I sell in a day on Amazon. Kobo was only slightly better, but they’re trying to give Amazon a run. I’d love it if Kobo could become a contender in the rest of the English speaking world. So far, I’ve been unable to gain any traction with them. Google Play isn’t accepting new titles and until they solve the “random discounting” problem, I’m unlikely to list there anyway.

I hate to boil it down to money, but I also have to be realistic. When Select offered nothing of use, I could afford to ignore it. My thinking was that the secondary markets needed time to develop and grow, and that I needed to be in them to grow with them. My ratio of sales in the secondary markets is not growing. It’s shrinking. And now Select is offering new revenues that – at least for the moment – offset those secondary market sales in a huge way.

In the end, it comes down to money. I was willing to leave a bit on Amazon’s table to get into a wider global marketplace, but things have gotten way beyond “a bit” and I had to make a decision that – frankly – I’m not happy about.

But the bottom line is: I have to make a living at this or I have to get a day job.

The next book out should be the first in the new Smuggler’s Tales. It’s due at the editor’s desk November 1 and I’m still fumbling for the story line. Nothing like a good deadline to get my fingers moving.

The next Seeker’s Tale is due at the editor’s on December 1, and a new Smuggler on January 1.

Between the new titles, the changes in market, and the new promotional activities, I’m hoping that I’ll be able to keep writing.

Stay tuned!