215 - November 7, 2021 - Dawn of Assassins, Black Death Survival, Michael Anderle, Craig Martelle, Games Workshop

Jon Cronshaw's Author Diary

Welcome to Jon’s author diary for the week ending November 7, 2021.

I’ve not had the best week in terms of mood. I can definitely feel seasonal affective disorder rearing its ugly head.

This means I feel both restless and tired and my creative energy has been very low.

I usually find this hits me around the end of October, so I’m not surprised that it’s here.

I’ve not written anything new this week, but I did get Dawn of Assassins back from the editor and went through that.

That book is now ready for publication, so that’s exciting.

My original plan was to release it as an experiment on Kindle Vella while I’m working on the second book, but it’s not available yet for UK-based authors, so I’ll be launching the book in January.

Hopefully that will do better than Black Death Survival, which on reflection has been a complete waste of time since starting the project.

In future, I need to remember not to fall for the sunk cost fallacy. I spent a lot of time working on the book, several months I could have spent doing other projects.

I’m sure it’ll pay for itself over time, but it’s not done well at all, and I don’t think a post-apocalyptic story featuring real people in the UK is what the readers want.

But this is good. This is me drawing a line under a project that had been open for over three years.

It’s also me drawing a line under writing post-apocalyptic fiction because what the readers want does not align with the types of stories I want to tell.

So lots of reflection this week. Reflection about my writing career so far, the successes and failures, the ups and downs.

In April 2017, I drew up a five-year plan to make a sustainable full-time income as an author.

The plan worked.

I did it.

But as we’re moving towards the end of 2021, I keep asking myself ‘what next?’

Do I continue writing books and building up my back catalogue?

Or, do I scale the business up?

I feel like it’s time draw up a new five-year plan.

I can write more stories in the Ravenglass universe.

I can work with other authors, outsource tasks, and expand what I do.

I’m inspired by what companies like Games Workshop and authors like Michael Anderle and Craig Martelle have built.

They’ve created universes and a cast of unforgettable characters.

I wrote my twenty-one book series The Ravenglass Chronicles and Dawn of Assassins is set in the same universe.

It’s a universe where I can tell many stories, from stone age fantasy to space opera, and everything between.

And that’s exciting.

That’s potential.

Me doing this alone isn’t sustainable. I need to grow this thing.

In terms of reading, I read Legion and Battle for the Abyss. These were books 7 and 8 in the Warhammer 40k Horus Heresy series.

They couldn’t have been different in terms of quality. Legion was very good, but I struggled to get through Battle for the Abyss.

I’ve found with this series that some books are much better than others, but I like the idea of having a huge overarching story that gives space for many smaller stories to be told.

So, next week is going to be interesting.

I should be going to Egypt.

We’ve got the tickets.

My bags are packed.

I’m still not fully convinced that I’m going, but if I do, I’m sure it will help with the SAD stuff.

Finally, if you haven’t done so already, you can get your free copy of Birth of Assassins by visiting joncronshaw.com.

So, until next time, cheerio.