Real Talk on FM7

As some know, I considered splitting FM6 in two due to its size.  The reality of the marketplace is that more releases = better, and bigger books = largely punished.  If you study which authors dominate the sales charts, it's the ones who put out a 200-300 page book every other month, even every month.  Push that product, make sure you're constantly on the new release lists, etc.

I'm not saying I'd ever go that far or even could, but splitting FM6 into two was probably the smartest economic move, even if the mid story cliffhanger would have been annoying for some.  (It would have split when KH grabbed Ceinwyn and teleported to the Geo Realm so...yeah, just a little cliffhanger...)  In the end, I decided not to and instead just raised the price by a dollar.

In retrospect, probably a huge mistake.  Not only did I lose out on the multiple new release bumps, I also still undervalued my work.  The only way Amazon actually rewards large novels is that they changed Amazon Unlimited payouts to be per page.  As such you can get an idea on how Amazon values output.  I priced FM6 at $4.99, earning a 70% royalty around $3.40.  Conversely, Amazon paid me a whole $7 each time someone borrowed and read the book.  According to Amazon, I should have split the book in two AND charged a dollar extra for each, or split it into three parts at my original price.

Now, the be fair, sometimes that goes into my favor.  FM6.5, I get $2 for each sale, while borrow-wise I don't even make $1.50 on it, so as Amazon sees it, I'm slightly overcharging.  Of course if I was only after the money I wouldn't be a man writing a male character in a genre dominated by women writing female characters, or have a rated-r character VERY not fit for broadcast television at that.  But, as much as I hate that it can't all be about the story, business is part of it and these are the facts.

There's also the smaller point of print on demand to consider.  Anyone who has picked up a print copy of FM6 knows it is stretching the laws of pyshics and that it can be used as a blunt weapon to kill skeleton warriors.  Splitting in two would save you lot on arm injuries.

So, all of these are reasons why FM7 likely will be split into two.  It sucks, it does, but...my bad for wanting to write epic stories that really dig into character motivations and who knew two timelines could get so difficult...right?

To me, the most important aspect is the new release list problem.  New releases mean new fans and I want as many people enjoying King Henry as possible.  Money is nice and all, but that's what's most important to me.  FM6 struggled massively on that front, I'd like to correct that.

The question I'm working through is:  how should FM7 be split?  There are two options.

Option A:  Straight down the middle.  The books would release as The Runaway Rumble and the Most Obvious Trap.  Each would contain 4 chapters of school story and about 12 chapters of mainline.  There's a natural cut off point in the story.  Plenty happens in each haf although I admit part 2 will be one of the craziest books I've ever written.  You would hopefully get the first part around a year from now and part 2 later in 2019.

Option B:  Split school and mainline.  School would come first, released as The War to End All Wars.  Maybe even this year.  Next year, The Runaway Rumble would release as the first school story-less FM book.  My biggest fear with this option is that those who don't visit the blog or keep up to date with whats going on will see that FM7 tag, buy it, and be extremely pissed to only be getting a school focused book.

So that's where we stand.  As always I try to be completely open about my process, both ups and downs.  I feel authors hiding progress or roadblocks from fans leads to resentment and VERY UGLY situations.  In addition to keeping you informed, please go ahead and give your thoughts if you'd like.

Just don't riot, okay?