Update on Projects, The Silver Ninja, and life.

Well it looks like I am overdue for one of my yearly state of the union addresses. In these particular blog posts I talk about my projects, life situations, and goals moving forward.

Let’s get started.

Projects

As of this writing, Narco Hotel is going through the first round of edits. This is a clean up pass where I make sure all my sentences make sense and my descriptions are passable. The story is complete from start to finish and cannot be changed until we enter the rewrite phase.

The first pass edit is also the edit that gets sent to my editor.

Once my editor finishes writing up her notes; we will go over whether the story will require minor or major rewrites. The rewrites are the hardest and second longest part of the editing process. This is because the story is now at a point where one change at the beginning, middle, or end of the story can create a plot hole. If you decide a character needs to die at the beginning of the story, you need to make sure that the character doesn’t show up later as if nothing has happened.

Rewrites are the most frustrating part of the process and the stage of writing I dread the most. The last rewrite I did delayed my book by three years.

After the rewrites, I will then determine whether I should conduct a beta read or not. If you want to beta read The Silver Ninja: Narco Hotel, please make sure to sign up for my newsletter.

Book Cover Artwork

You might be wondering what the cover is going to look like since I still have placeholder art on my website. As of this writing, I should be working with an artist from Artstation. We have not locked down the dates yet, but if all goes according to plan, I should have artwork before the end of summer. However, I also plan to have some bonus artwork for you all to see. If you want to get an exclusive first look and early access, make sure to sign up for the newsletter.

Life Situations

Covid-19 drastically changed the world and I can’t say it was for the better. Although I didn’t get sick from Corona virus, I did end up losing my job. Since February of this year I had been living off of my savings and I still haven’t received ONE FREAKING PAYCHECK from the New Jersey Department of Labor.

Needless to say, 2020 has been an extremely challenging year. Normally I don’t like to share these personal details, but it is important you understand that being a professional author does not mean I have a sustainable income nor that I’m rich. All it means is that I’ve written and sold some books.

I know that a book review can be inconvenient to write, especially if you don’t know what to say or you’re afraid to hurt my feelings. But for me, a book review determines whether I receive a paycheck at the end of sixty days.

Book reviews are a source of income. They determine whether a reader will buy or leave my book. As of this writing, A Bitter Winter still only has 10 ratings and 9 reviews. Other authors in a similar genre have 33-64 ratings.

If you saw a product that had 5 reviews versus a product that had 100 reviews, which one would you buy?

You’re going to pick the one with the most reviews. So if you have read A Bitter Winter and you haven’t left a review. Please leave one even if it’s negative. I will take into consideration any feedback left behind.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DD8GFMV

Also, before anyone gets concerned. I did secure a job offer with an IT company. I should be starting in July assuming nothing goes horribly wrong.

Goals moving forward.

Where do we go from here? 2020 may have gotten off to a rough start but I still plan to make the most of it. Here’s a list of some of the things you will see moving forward:

  1. Over the next couple of months, this website will be going through some minor cosmetic changes. As much as I enjoy people reading the blog, I also need visitors to enjoy reading books.
  2. Release Narco Hotel before the end of the year. I am very nervous about this particular project because a lot of what happens in the book mirrors real-life events. Despite the sensitive nature of the material, I think I needed to write this book.
  3. Although I desperately need to create a bigger Silver Ninja backlist, the next project after Narco Hotel will be in the horror genre. Stay tuned for more details.
  4. Amidst starting a new job, updating the website, marketing the books, I am also going to attempt to speed up my writing. Right now I feel that my current writing pace isn’t fast enough to remain competitive in the market. So I am going to try learning some new techniques to help speed up the process.

And that’s it!

To those of you who have subscribed to my newsletter and left reviews on my books, thank you! Without your help I would have shut down this website and my writing journey would have ended.

I do apologize for not being a faster writer. There are so many different stories that I want to tell and my current writing speed is really hampering me from doing so. I have more stories in my head than just heroic superwomen. In fact, I have some really exciting ideas for the horror genre. I hope you’ll check them out when I’m ready to talk about it.

Click this link to sign up for The Silver Ninja newsletter. https://www.thesilverninja.com/newsletter/

Thank you all for the support and stay safe.


Wilmar Luna

Wilmar Luna

Couldn't be a superhero in real life so he decided to write his own. When he's not creating empowered female characters he can be found watching films, reading books, and playing lots of video games. Buy his books here: https://www.thesilverninja.com/purchase/