Business Post - On Strategic Decisions for Starlit Publishing (Patreon)

I did a giant post last year about all the ways we looked at our various series, the basic strategies we used and the like. And a lot of that still holds the same - we'll continue to push and expand System Apocalypse with our co-authors, continue to launch and grow A Thousand Li with the emphasis on building that overall to draw in new fantasy readers while staying the course with Adventures on Brad and Hidden Wishes.

All our side projects are (mostly) left to flounder along, between shorts and novelletes. I do want to get back to writing more shorts, but haven't had the time to do it recently, so instead people are getting Climbing the Ranks right now. 

But eventually, having about 10-12 shorts in ATL and SA means I'll have enough to out together a proper anthology. Though I'm going to start tackling some of the other characters who are introduced, instead of creating new ones. 

Anyway, same-old, same-old.

Two major things happening this year in terms of strategy changes.

Launch of a New Series

At some point this year or early next year, we'll have to launch a new series. It'll be another (hopefully) flagship series to take over from System Apocalypse. No guarantee that it'll do as well, of course, but we can hope. 

As mentioned in other writing updates, no idea what that will be. However, the launch is going to be somewhat different than normal because of the second, wider ranging, strategic change.

Extending Timelines and Moving Away from Amazon

Yup, I'm switching things up and moving farther and farther from Amazon. The goal, eventually, is to build up a process which has Amazon and ACX at the end of the pipeline and not the start.  Or, maybe 2nd last item on the pipeline.

Currently, how that might look for the new main series is something like this:

Patreon -> Kickstarter -> Starlit Publishing-> Amazon & KU / ACX -> Wide (potentially)

That's why you're seeing the push for the System Finale Audiobook right now. We're possibly going to do something similar(ish) with A Thousand Li: the Third Kingdom audiobook too (and certainly have it up on the Starlit Publishing website before Amazon).

It's why the German audiobook came out early on Starlit Publishing (as usual) and why we haven't even pushed the German ebook out anywhere but on that site.

Not only do we earn more (a LOT more when it's audiobooks); it also pulls people into areas where we have control (and often, ability to contact customers if they give us the right). 

There's a lot of changes going on right now, from iOS and Android removing cookies, the worsening targetting in FB ads and the increasing cost of AMS ads, all of which is punishing margins.

So, gaining control and bringing things in-house makes a lot of sense for us especially as I extend my writing and production timelines.