Do you need help to figure it out?
How
to get better: part one of 3682 or more.
I
suffer from a disease called ICFIO.
I
blame my grandparents.
It's
not a genetic disease, since my grandfather was a step, but an inherited one
none the less.
They
were children of the depression, and double whammy, poor farming children of
the depression.
They
had to either make due, or make it happen.
There
were no other options at the time.
My
grandfather grew up farming, and when that failed, went to work at a papermill
in Pine Bluff, the largest town in southern Arkansas.
Imagine
going from a population of twelve to ten thousand in a weekend.
Now
it's easy.
Just
move to NYC or LA, or some other metro area, but he told me that on their farm
growing up, you could go a week without seeing a new person.
He
got injured at the mill, and let go.
This
was in the late forties, a time when injured workers didn't get special
compensation.
He
had to learn a new trade or find new work to support my grandmother and her
three children.
He
became a carpenter.
Back
then, it was as simple as getting a hammer, saw and measuring tape, then
finding work.
He
was moderately successful at it, enough that he bought land, and then built
houses on the land, and rented them out.
He
got together with a group of like minded men who started a church up the street
from where they lived.
He
built the church and became a deacon, led scout troops and camp outs.
He
built houses and learned to plumb, run electric, frame, landscape.
His
hobby was working on cars, and engines, and he tinkered with race cars,
dragsters mostly, large powerful engines designed to go short distances.
By
the time I knew him, I thought he could do anything.
He
told me from a very young age, "Even if you don't know, you can figure it
out."
I
Can Figure It Out.
ICFIO.
I
carried that creedo and ethic with me into adulthood where I have been at
different times, a carpenter, a manager, a Corporate Director, a filmmaker, a
screenwriter, a bartender, a ditchdigger, a day laborer, pool cleaner and small
business owner.
I
never worried about what might happen because I always had a secret
weapon.
I
could figure it out.
If
someone offered an interesting opportunity, I could figure it out.
If
someone was successful before me, I knew they designed a roadmap to follow.
I
just had to know how to figure it out.
Why
such a long post when all we want is data?
Figure
it out.
Just
kidding. If you've bothered to read this
far you need to know one thing. I came
into this biz at the same time as Michael Anderele thinking I could figure it
out.
Because
while I wore many hats over my adult life, I was always a writer.
We
both started in Nov of 2015.
And
though I had read the rules of being successful from people who pioneered
before me, I ignored them. To my great
detriment.
I
jumped genres. I made covers. I thought
a large body of work with no cohesive timeline would work. I published a ton of
non-fiction, and just a few fiction pieces.
Then
in Nov, I decided to buckle down and finish at least 1 of the 4 series I had
started.
I
published Battlefield Z on Nov 4. I
published the sequel on Nov 16. Books 3,
4 and 5 followed so that I had 5 books in 90 Days.
Covers
still sucked. No money to play with
them. Not much to buy ads with.
Blurbs
good though, and the women who read the post apocalyptic series loved it.
Men,
not so much. (I know why, the book is about a Dad hunting for his children
after a zombie plague, and it's got a ton of feeling, but the title says
Battlefield and male readers expect more gore and guts.
Female
readers like the honesty from a Dad who's not quite okay with being a parent
every other weekend.)
Alright,
now for the data.
But
before I get there, let me share this: I should have written these faster, but
a darn stupid other idea popped in my head and demanded attention so I had to
write it in January, then outline books 2 and 3.
Then
another series came along and dragged me with it, so I knocked out another
short book on it.
That
is to say, even though I KNOW what to do, I don't always do it. Like exercising and eating right.
We
all KNOW what we're supposed to do, but chocolate chip cookies and beer are delicious.
Sometimes
even together.
In
the 4 months I've put out the 5 books in the series, it's carried me from under
$1000 a month to double that in 90 Days.
Although
Feb is slower and lower, my page reads across the titles have been consistent
with no outside marketing except for Twitter and using Free Days on KDP.
Book
6 is underway and out in March.
Along
with two books in a UF series and the publication of the book I wrote in
January. (a passion piece about US Marshal's in Fort Smith. working for the
hanging Judge, Isaac Parker.)
What
is the key takeaway?
I
thought I Could Figure It Out.
I
tried on my own, and I did start to FIO in Nov.
I
discovered this group in January, which confirmed what I should have been
doing.
Here's
the magic pill.
Find
1 Genre you like.
Sci
Fi, Post Apoc, Paranormal, UF, or Romance.
You
can combine elements in those genres.
Write
6 - 10 books in that series. Write them
as fast as you can.
Put
them in KU.
Get
awesome covers. (this is where I am in
the formula. Working on getting better
covers.)
Write
your blurb and test it here.
Ask
for help.
Don't
try to Figure it out on your own.
Publish
every 3 weeks or 4 weeks for 6 months.
Join
in newsletter swaps, and promote other authors in your genre.
Now
I could go on with a ton of other tips, but you guys reading this far have as
much as you need right now to be successful.
If
you write well, if you tell great stories, if your covers attract attention,
and your blurbs make people want to read the book, you have all the tools you
need.
Do
the work.
Don't
waste a year suffering from ICFIO.
Even
now it flares up on me.
I
try to avoid the distraction, focus on the 6 - 10 books in the series and
getting them done.
But
there are so many stories I want to tell, and dang it, read. Today I'm hit with an idea for an action
adventure thriller started by a Lithuanian book smuggler.
Or
the first book in a 7 part series on the race to reach the new EXOPLANETS.
Or
just to finish the other books I've started in the other 3 series, all
different genres from the one I'm having small success in.
Sigh. What's the phrase? No rest for the Wicked.
There's
an easy answer to get it all done.
Ass
in Seat. Fingers on Keys. Ready, Set, Write.
Take
the pill folks. It's easy to swallow.
I
post on Blogger and Medium where you can read for free,
including an epic sci fi novel in progress.
Want
exclusive content and advance
notices? Become a Patron and get a free book each month.
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Watch
me
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JAKE BURBANK
-MYSTERY THRILLER SERIES
DRINKS
AFTER WORK
TWO
FINGERS OF JUSTICE
DEEP
END OF A DIVE BAR
HONKY
TONK AVENUE
HONKY
TONK CRAZY
SHADOWBOXER
SERIES
ASSET – a Brill
Winger Thriller
OPERATIVE – a Brill
Winger Thriller
SIDEWAYS – a Brill
Winger Thriller
CHOKEPOINT – a Brill
Winger Thriller
DECREED - a Brill
Winger Thriller
IN THE DARK – a Brill
Winger Thriller
TRUE
NATURE
DEEP
STATE
DISAVOWED
CREDIBLE
THREAT
Webb of Lies – An action
thriller
Sci-Fi Comedy
All Jacked Up – The Dipole
Series
Good Eats Café – The Dipole
Series
Whiskey Bent – The Dipole
Series
Love Machine – The Dipole
Series
Planet
10 – The Dipole Series
Half
Cocked – The Dipole Series
Berserker
Brigade – The Dipole Series
Apogee
– The Dipole Series
Apex
– The Dipole Series
Sci Fi Western
Backwoods
Station – Bootleg
Backwoods
Station – Martian Roulette
Sci Fi
Dystopian- Alien Invasion
Phalanx - Invasion Earth
Pyrrhic - Invasion Earth
Beachhead - Invasion Earth
Bridgehead - Invasion Earth
Lodgement – Invasion Earth
Ultima Thule – Invasion
Earth
Infiltrate – Invasion
Earth
Dustoff – Invasion
Earth
Riki Tik- Invasion
Earth
Snakebit – Invasion
Earth
Defilade
– Invasion Earth
SITUATION
NORMAL - INVASION EARTH
FUBAR
GEAR ADRIFT
HMFIC
2IC
BOHICA
Science
Fiction Adventure
Moon Men
Epoch - The Future Templar
Eon- The Future Templar
Era - The Future Templar
Super Secret Space Mission
The Herd Shot Round the World
High Steaks
Star Squad –
Frag
Star Squad –
Nanowarriors
Star Squad –
Pogue
BATTLEFIELD Z
SERIES
Grab
your copy of the sci fi comedy about a dad hunting for his kids in a post
apocalyptic wasteland where zombies aren’t the worst thing to survive.
Battlefield Z
Children's Brigade
Sweet Home Zombie
Zombie Blues Highway
Mardi Gras Zombie
Bluegrass Zombie
Outcast Zombie
Renegade Zombie
Everglades Zombie
Children's Brigade
Sweet Home Zombie
Zombie Blues Highway
Mardi Gras Zombie
Bluegrass Zombie
Outcast Zombie
Renegade Zombie
Everglades Zombie
Flyover Zombie - the
Battlefield Z series
Headshots - the Battlefield Z series
Overland Zombie
Lone Star Zombie
Headshots - the Battlefield Z series
Overland Zombie
Lone Star Zombie
The
Pass Zombie
Dust
Devil Zombie
Terminal
Zombie
Ronin
Zombie
Urban
Fantasy
GUNS AND MAGIC - a Marshal of Magic story
WITCH BLUES - a Marshal of Magic story
BIG EASY WITCH - a Marshal of Magic story
VIVA
WITCH VEGAS – a Marshal of Magic Tale
The
Marshal of Magic – Hail Fellow
The
Marshal of Magic – The Devil You Know
The
Marshal of Magic - Small Medium at Large
The
Marshal of Magic - Low Elf Esteem
The
Marshal of Magic - Big Trouble
CRESCENT CITY
COVEN SERIES
Release
the Cats of War
Kitten
Murder Mittens
Historical
Fantasy
Western
Fort
Smith - Carried by Six
Fort
Smith – Texas Cakewalk
Fort
Smith – Dead Shot
Evasion
- Destruction Earth
Omnibus
Collections
Sanctioned – Shadowboxer
Files
Unsanctioned – Shadowboxer
Files
DISAVOWED – Free book
Pod
– a sci fi thriller
Evasion
– a post apoc short
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