Approaching 300!

1/24/2017

I've let you know before when my total sales reached 100,000 and 200,000 respectively. Well, I've just learned that I'm at 292k right now!

Which means that soon...soon, my pretties...the 300k milestone will be upon us.

Just so you know, here's my methodology for counting sales: if someone reads an entire book of mine, and it makes me as much money as buying it outright, that's a sale.

So...obviously when someone buys a book, that's one sale. But when someone reads an entire book of mine in Kindle Unlimited, I make just as much money and they've read just as much book, so that's one sale. The Traveler's Gate Trilogy, if someone reads the entire collection in Kindle Unlimited, counts as three sales (although I make as much money as for five sales, I only count it for three, because it's three books. So uh...go re-read that in Kindle Unlimited if you want to make me very happy). If someone buys the collection outright, that's also three sales, because they're buying three books and I'm making $6, which is roughly what I'd get for selling them separately anyway.

That's just as a point of full disclosure. I don't count a $6 profit from the Trilogy the same as a $2 profit from House of Blades; I spread it all around so every "sale" is more or less equally weighted. It's the only way I've found to count sales equitably.

And obviously free promotions don't count as sales at all. They're just good for spreading word-of-mouth awareness.

I'd like to do something sort of special for 300k, since it's not every day you cross another 100,000 sales, but I'm not sure what. I'm already trying to release Blackflame ASAP. Maybe that counts.

Is there something relatively easy I could do on the blog to celebrate? Like a video or a poll or an AMA or something?

-Will

146 Comments

Chad

1/24/2017 07:17:37 am

Congratulations! I love it when independents are successful.

Will link

1/24/2017 07:21:58 am

So do I, Chad. I want everyone to join me here on the Indie Side. Stick it to The Man.

Jay

1/24/2017 08:12:24 am

Well, if everyone is in the Kindle Unlimited world, which I am told is more of a fixed pie divvied up among all the contributors according to some arcane Amazonian calculations, how would all authors benefit from joining you? Or, in your experience working with KU directly, have you seen them growing the pie?

Jay

1/24/2017 08:16:05 am

Same Jay again, forgot to type what I came to the comments section originally for.

Congratulations!! Big milestone coming up, here's wishing in advance to the next hundred thousand..

Will link

1/24/2017 09:17:27 am

Amazon makes the pie bigger based on how many people sign up for Kindle Unlimited (well, presumably that's what it's based on).

So the more money they make through KU, the more money they pump into it, and the more money WE make through KU.

Brian P

1/24/2017 07:19:02 am

You could do a poll to let the users choose something. The next short story you write, the name of a person/place/thing in Blackflame, the name and/or gender of Simon's first real crush, etc. Y'know, something fun that you can limit to what you actually want to do, but gives the fans a feeling of having contributed.

Will link

1/24/2017 07:26:57 am

That's a good idea, if I can narrow it down to the right thing. You know, I've long wanted to try a Kickstarter-esque project where contributors get to come up with their own characters/locations/magical creatures/spells/whatever, and then I'd write the story.

I've always thought it would invite a cool sense of community participation. Also, before I wrote House of Blades, I was looking for someone else's Kickstarter to do the same thing. I really wanted to contribute and be part of that, as a reader.

It would be kind of a headache to organize--I'd have to deal with Kickstarter, as well as untangling intellectual property rights. But it would also be a cool way to generate a cool community world that anyone could write in. A shared world we built together, like Forgotten Realms or that sort of thing.

Would be neat.

I know that's not what you were suggesting, you just got me thinking about a pipe dream.

John

1/24/2017 07:45:37 am

Maybe a video of you dancing to cheap thrills since you are nice enough to price your very successful books so reasonably. :-)

Raj Thimmiah

1/24/2017 09:09:42 am

Have you considered patreon? I think it would be more or less what you need, as people can give you money and contribute to some of the story.

Will link

1/24/2017 09:23:30 am

I haven't really considered anything yet, since it's just an idea. I haven't made a plan or looked into it or anything; I have more than enough on my plate as it is.

Plus, I'm not sure I'd actually need funding. The only expenses involved in a novel are my time, an editor's time, and the cover, all of which I can pretty much guarantee I would make back from sales.

I would only need funding if I were to give the book away for free, or if I were to spend such a large amount of time working on it that I'd be losing money from not writing something else. Or if I'm hiring someone for other assets, like art or music.

The payment would also work as a gate, though, keeping out low-effort ideas and allowing me to sell a limited number of something (only ten people can come up with a theme for a country, for instance, because I don't need more than ten countries). It might be worthwhile to have an up-front cost just to ensure commitment, rather than to fund the project. Which would also make it cheap.

I don't know, I haven't planned it out thoroughly or anything. It's just an idea I'd like to try someday.

John

1/26/2017 07:19:47 pm

That is what I was going to suggest, or maybe you could write a chapter on twitch. We could all watch you write. Creepy, cool or both?

Lashan

1/28/2017 03:42:21 pm

Will, have you seen Marco Kloos using names of his donors in his books. Instead of untangling intellectual rights - we "hire" you to write a book using our ideas and everyone who does donates to a cause you designate. And obviously prebuys the book.

Ritley

2/6/2017 09:35:41 pm

Internet contests are a terrible idea. You will end up with a magical creature called the dickbutt who captains the Boaty McBoatface

Tiny Timmy link

2/7/2017 09:56:40 am

**Spoilers**

She tapped on his shoulder. "Captain Dickbutt, were being followed sir." When he turned and looked behind he shouted. "I see at least three sails following us. Lets see if we can get old Boaty McBoatface to pick up a little more speed. Archlord Lindon said these sails he made would make this ship fly. I want to Miss Boatface skipping across these waters as if she's a sixteen year old headed to her first dance."

Honestly Will i like the way this story is going. But I can't remember what book this was from.

Will link

2/12/2017 07:38:05 pm

Internet contests CAN BE a terrible idea if you give up control.

But if someone wanted Captain Dickface of the Boaty McBoatFace, I would respond with something like this:

Captain Johnson, who captains a boat with his own face painted on both sides of the hull.

stacey

1/24/2017 07:52:53 am

commemorative t-shirts. and cake.

Kim

1/30/2017 06:05:46 am

I love that idea! Especially the cake.

Alexander

1/24/2017 07:53:49 am

Congratulations on the sales! Perhaps have a poll for who we see in the next death match?

Michael Tang

1/24/2017 08:11:45 am

Ooh! Not an AMA, but could you answer a question?

What books were helpful for improving your writing to where it is today?

Will link

1/24/2017 09:32:31 am

"Save the Cat" by Blake Snyder is a great book on screenwriting that is easily adapted to plotting out a novel.

"Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" by Renni Browne and Dave King

Jim Butcher's old LiveJournal including his writing and plotting tips.

Other than that, I got a lot of experience in giving and taking feedback in college, which has been invaluable. I read all the time, which can't be underestimated.

And these are the books that helped my writing the most:

House of Blades
The Crimson Vault
City of Light
The Traveler's Gate Chronicles
Of Sea and Shadow
Of Shadow and Sea
Of Darkness and Dawn
Of Dawn and Darkness
Unsouled
Soulsmith
Blackflame

Practice means a lot. Whatever you think about the stories, I've grown by leaps and bounds as a writer since House of Blades. Which is to be expected; I've written and published over a million words in the past three and a half years. That's a lot of practice.

Zach

2/4/2017 07:23:11 pm

Yeah your writing is definately getting better, but you always had great imagination....can't wait to see what's next

Enryu Red Tower

1/24/2017 09:00:49 am

Congrats BroWill!
And yes a poll to see what your fans want would be best, BlackFlame coming out soon also be seen as a reward although i still want to see Simon winter short story ^__^

Will link

1/24/2017 09:25:23 am

Ah yes, the Simon winter short story...

(；ꏿ︿ꏿ)

That's something I still have to write, isn't it?

Brian C

1/24/2017 10:30:42 am

Maybe allow us to submit a name of a Path, just the names, nothing else about them. If that gets the creative juices flowing then choices the top choices you like and inspire you the most and allow that be a short story sometime down the line.

Will link

1/24/2017 11:03:59 am

Hey, that's a great idea! Even if I don't actually use them, they would still make cool little background cameos.

Brian C

1/24/2017 08:30:15 pm

Honestly I what I hope for to happen would be a Stan Lee cameo. It randomly appears in your story somewhere, gets a brief nod and then you continue your story. Just something for the longterm fans that I would mention in a review which I believe would draw my readers to you because everyone wants to be in on an "inside joke" as it were. Who knows, maybe it would become a thing for every 100k or 300k sales you hit or other big milestone, you open something like this up again (This is my hope to be honest).

Family of Raccoons in a trench coat trying to sneak into a movie theatre

1/24/2017 11:26:45 am

This is a great idea. Hearing about all these different paths is one of my favorite aspects of the story. Really makes the world feel larger.

Will link

1/24/2017 11:41:02 am

Then you're going to enjoy a particular scene in Blackflame, Family of Raccoons. Lindon gets an up-close tour of five or six different Paths from the Blackflame Empire.

And I hope you get into that movie theater.

Finn

1/24/2017 01:42:34 pm

Yeah, that would be be super great. I love reading about the different Paths. Also, maybe you could make some sort of "Path compendium" when you finish Blackflame. Or a writing guide. Whenever I try I get writer's block within the first five pages. Also, do you mean open mouthed Pac-man so like 60% done or 70-75% done, or close-mouthed Pac-man. (which I'm hoping for but doubt will be true)

Finn

1/24/2017 01:44:42 pm

Oh, I forgot what I meant to write. Congrats on 300,000 and good luck on 400,000. 😀

Family of raccoons in a trench coat trying to purchase groceries, but the employee operating the checkout booth suspects something is amiss

1/25/2017 07:26:57 am

Looking forward to that then!

Side note: the movie we saw was monster trucks. Shouldn't have bothered going.

jim

1/24/2017 12:22:33 pm

What if you read your book multiple times on Kindle Unlimited?

jim

1/24/2017 12:24:59 pm

Also, does the pacman include editing time, or just a draft?

Jim

1/24/2017 12:32:10 pm

At the most conservative, if you continue working at the same pace, we're looking at 40 more days if you take pacman to be 75 percent. ~20 more days if pacman is at ~85% (With the assumption that you've been working the full 120 days between Sep. 26, 2016 and today, but that's almost certainly not accurate because of the time you spend planning)

Or, if we take the difference between "pacman" and "50" (~6 days), we're left with 3-6 more days before release. Or sending to your editors.

Finn

1/24/2017 01:46:15 pm

Yes, pease post a picture of the Pac-man. Please!

Will link

1/25/2017 05:45:07 am

All right, so in the future, I really need to just ignore all time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I try to work then, but I rarely get much done, because there's always something--someone's in town, I have to go buy something, I have to clean the house...

It's always hard to pin down uninterrupted writing time.

Therefore, the four months since Soulsmith came out should (in terms of how much time I've spent working) be considered three months.

Also, you're right in that most of that was spent planning and world-building. That's even more significant for this book, because in Blackflame, I'm establishing a setting that will be used for at least the two books afterwards. Possibly three.

If everything goes according to schedule from here on out, you've got about another month. But editing might reveal a huge flaw that takes a lot of time to address, so as usual, that's not a promise.

JOhn

1/24/2017 01:30:44 pm

It only counts the pages once per reader. The only real glitch is that if you read it in Kindle Unlimited and then buy the book, the author gets paid twice. You can't do it in the reverse order though, the system won't let you check out a book you have bought on kindle unlimited.

Tacroy

1/24/2017 07:32:09 pm

Hah, then I've "bought" Will's books twice over - I read all his books using Kindle Unlimited on my wife's account, then read them all again when my wife got tired of my eBooks cluttering up her Kindle library and told me to go make my own account.

Will link

1/25/2017 05:45:49 am

Good, Tacroy, gooooood.

Alec link

1/27/2017 06:57:57 am

I did kinda the same thing. I read Unsouled on KU, then after I finished bought a permanent copy for myself. Stupidly,I also bought Soulforged at the same time. In the future I'll be reading books in KU, then buying them if I really loved them.

kaden

1/24/2017 12:35:58 pm

Just a question pacman as in nearly done or pacman as in just starting

Will link

1/25/2017 05:46:10 am

Pac-Man as in "Oh no! Ghosts!"

kaden

1/28/2017 06:48:06 pm

I'm going to take this on a positive note and say almost done hopefully

Adarsh

1/24/2017 12:42:02 pm

Ok, so since I have KU and its been a while since I read the whole TG series, i got the collection from KU. I started reading it, and i realized that the beginning of the first book is nothing like i remember. Were there major revisions or something?

Mahfuz

1/24/2017 07:01:21 pm

Nah, man. It's just that every time you read a Traveler's Gate book, Will Smith shows up and whips out his little black thing (GEDDIT?) and waves it in front of your face so you forget everything!
Don't believe me? How else do you explain people re-reading those books so much?

Tacroy

1/24/2017 07:33:17 pm

Yeah I definitely remember the beginning of House of Blades being a *lot* more confusing the first time around.

Brian P

1/25/2017 05:22:56 am

(in answer to your question, Adarsh, yes there were major revisions to House of Blades)

Will link

1/25/2017 05:47:29 am

Yeah, if you read House of Blades right after it first came out, the beginning is different.

I completely re-wrote the first four chapters, as well as tweaking a few small details all throughout the book, after CoL came out.

I still wish I could re-write them again.

Gage

1/27/2017 11:41:19 pm

You could. Video games get remastered all the time, aside from it being unconventional what's to stop you from remastering your own books?

Nick

1/24/2017 12:46:44 pm

Congrats! I just started (and finished) reading your books. I love your work, and it's great to hear you're doing so well.

Will link

1/25/2017 05:47:46 am

Thanks, Nick! And thanks for giving me a shot!

Sean K

1/24/2017 05:31:15 pm

Congratz! I just want to say one more time that the Cradle books have been amazing! I even had to buy my friend Unsouled for his birthday! I also bought the Crimson Throne, but I haven't gotten to read it yet as I was finishing up the Nice Dragons Finish Last.

On a side note, how has your total sales growth been growing? I remember you mentioning that you had a huge sales growth on all of your books when you released Unsouled and Soulsmith. Do you normally sell 1k books a month? Which months are the slow month (So I know when you buy friends books!).

Granted, feel free to tell me "STFU, that's my income, I aint tellin you!" I'm just curious more so about the growth of your sales as you keep on adding so many great books as opposed to the sales figure!

Will link

1/25/2017 06:02:07 am

I'm always more than happy to talk about my sales numbers. It's hard to find information like that out there from other independent Kindle authors.

Every time I add a new book, everything else gets a small bump in sales (especially previous books in the series). Putting a book on sale tends to do something similar.

I normally sell way more than 1k books a month. 1k would be a slow month. 10k would be a high month (probably a release month), but on average would be somewhere around 5k sales.

Which months are slow months? I'm honestly not sure. I'd have to look through my records, and it's still hard to tell. It depends on when I release, really. Release months are big months, and the sales trend steadily downward over about 4-5 months until the next release.

That fact, combined with the fact that there's a two-month delay between me selling the books and receiving the money, is what makes my income so...swingy. I have to save most of it and predict how much I'll be making for the next few months, otherwise I could find myself in an uncomfortable scenario.

I.e., "I'm not making any income, and even if I released a book tomorrow, I won't be making anything for the next two months."

The amount the books have generated is pretty huge (at least by my standards): almost $600k in three and a half years.

"How could you ever have financial problems?" you may be thinking. "That's way more money than you need!"

It's true, that's way more money than *I* need. And honestly, I haven't had any financial problems, but only because I've saved and planned ahead.

The problem is, that's gross income. Not profit for Will. So all taxes come out of that--and being a self-employed single guy means I'm paying a ridiculous amount of taxes--and so do all business expenses (all trips to conventions, everything I do to isolate myself and write, any computer equipment required for me to write, all book shipping, covers, editing, ordering hard copies so we have some to give away, and so on and so forth). On top of that, I pay all my insurance, which a salaried position would usually cover, out of pocket.

So bottom line, my PERSONAL takeaway is basically like a 50-60k salary.

Which is still very comfortable for me personally. It's WAY, WAY more than I ever expected to make writing, and I could certainly do with a lot less.

But imagine you're living on a 50k salary, but sometimes your boss says "Eh, you might not get paid for the next two months."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I try to keep up frequent releases.

Robin

1/25/2017 08:26:53 am

So now I'm looking through your website to find out how to order hard copies.

jim

1/25/2017 01:45:07 pm

So is "I'm a best-selling author" your go-to pickup line now?

Will link

1/25/2017 08:39:54 pm

Haha no, best-selling writers have no use for pickup lines, because we don't meet people. We're inside writing. Alone.

lashan

1/28/2017 06:33:35 am

Will, gratz on milestone - take a look at foreign income tax exclusion - something like 100k tax free. Alec can probably tell you more seeing he is living in China. Also have you considered translating your work?
Looking forward to Blackfkame.

Lightness ng link

1/24/2017 09:04:02 pm

Maybe the first chapter of blackflame or just the first 5 pages. Wet our appetites for the release. I also want to thank you for the great prices and for putting it on KU.

Nocturniquet

1/25/2017 03:21:57 am

This guy gets it. Hype train and all. First chapter pls!

Sean K

1/25/2017 05:07:30 am

CHOO CHOO!!

All aboard the hype train!!

CHOO CHOO!

Will link

1/25/2017 06:07:45 am

First chapter, that's...harder than you think.

First of all, the book hasn't been edited yet, so anything you get would be rough. But also I suspect I'll have to rewrite large chunks of the beginning, which would likely impact the first chapter.

So, frankly, I'm not sure if I've written the first chapter yet or not. Maybe it'll stay as it is, but maybe not.

Will link

1/25/2017 06:06:17 am

Thanks, Lightness! I'm a firm believer in cheap prices--maybe not always $2.99, but cheap.

Lightness link

1/25/2017 01:27:00 pm

Honestly, I've probably read a few hundred books on my kindle now(I have KU). I'm always looking for new stuff to try out and because of the KU I've found a load of them. That's how I came a crossed your books and I read all of them within a week. I love indie and new authors coming out and putting their stuff on KU. I think its a great marketing strategy. I just love reading and think authors deserves to make good money.
That being said I can't stand it when i'm reading a series and it goes from KU or $2.99 to $10.00-$20.00 for the new book. I think $5.00 or $6.00 is a decent amount for the new book. I want the authors to get paid but there are plenty of series I haven't finished because of this. Sure if its an actual paper or hardback I'll pay more. But an e-copy, no bueno.

Will link

1/25/2017 08:42:11 pm

I don't think any independently published people are pricing their ebooks quite that high. I think traditional publishers are the only ones so...let's charitably call it "ambitious."

Looking at you, Random House.

Tacroy

1/26/2017 05:19:41 pm

Lightness' issue is why I haven't finished Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence yet - I liked that series a lot, but the Kindle edition of the last book is $15 and I just can't bring myself to pay that much for an eBook after spending $40 on the ones before it. At that point I might as well spring for an extra $3 and buy the hardcover, but I don't know if I like the series *that* much.

Alec link

1/27/2017 07:02:27 am

Lightness, I think what you're seeing is what happens when a major publishing house buys the rights to a successful indie author's works. They have a vested interest in decreasing ebook sales and funneling readers toward their print offerings, so they price ebooks ridiculously high. I doubt many true indies would price sequels at those levels voluntarily.

Gage

1/27/2017 11:47:46 pm

You're one of the only authors I know of where I legitimately find myself thinking you sell your books too cheaply. Less than $6 is criminally low imo.

Also I'd totally buy your books hardback in a heartbeat. and I don't buy hardbacks.

Lyrian

1/25/2017 04:45:06 am

Maybe to start celebrating, you could start taking some medecines to cure that allergy to cameras of yours, ya know?

Will link

1/25/2017 06:09:54 am

There are a few photos of me out there. Some say even on this very site...

They're simply all taken under duress. I took pictures with a couple of fans, and with a bunch of fantasy authors I met a few years ago (Brent Weeks, Robin Hobb, Steven Erikson, and so on and so forth).

But I don't like having my picture taken, that's true. I never have, even as a child.

John

1/25/2017 02:58:02 pm

Taking your picture steals your soul. Making you, ummm, unsouled.

Robin

1/25/2017 08:56:55 am

Congratulations on Your Awesomeness!!!!

If you are giving US a gift to celebrate YOUR accomplishment...

Please offer a drawing to win a hard copy of my choice. A t-shirt would be nice, too, even if you just wrote on it with a giant sharpie rather than having one printed.

Adarsh

1/25/2017 09:01:20 pm

You know, you could put up like five chapters of Blackflame as a separate "book" thats available on KU before releasing the actual book. That way we get to read some of it early, and you make money twice on those chapters.

Win Win right?

harlequin

1/25/2017 09:11:02 pm

First, I congratulate you by gifting you a plate of imaginary cookies. Next I recommend you go out and buy some cookies.

Other than you celebrating either by yourself, or with friends or family i have no real idea for anything you should be doing... 0.0

Hmm...whatevever hope you have fun with it!

Lyrian

1/25/2017 10:55:16 pm

Wait, are you Harlequin as in The Fairy King Harlequin?(If u have no idea what I am talking about, go watch nanatsu no taizai)

Will link

1/27/2017 09:35:14 pm

I understand the manga reference, but I always assumed it was Harlequin as in the legendary jester.

Lyrian

1/28/2017 02:07:13 am

Why can't he be both? King is pretty funny in the manga as well.

David Titus

1/26/2017 02:46:50 pm

I join your other fans in congratulating you on a huge milestone-300k sold is fantastic. Thank you for your honesty and openness on how KU works. My sense is you regard yourself as well treated by KU, something I had hoped is true but had no info about.

Being somewhat new to you and your blog, I may have missed an estimate of how many volumes you expect Cradle to be. Hearing from you on this, even if it is a rough guess, would be a great way to share with you where all of us are in the Journey, and a nice way to celebrate 300k sold.

Or, maybe you could share with us a tidbit on the creative process. Is there any recurring challenge, and how do you come out on top, or try to? When or how do you know you have a good idea for a series? Really any insight into how you work would really interest us and would be a way your fans could join you in celebrating a major milestone in your literary career.

Oh, and many thanks for this blog, which I am enjoying, while waiting for Blackflame.

Will link

1/26/2017 11:06:13 pm

I can't speak for anyone else's experience, but I've been VERY well-treated by KU. It's the bulk of my monthly income nowadays.

As for the Cradle volumes...SPOILER WARNING, I guess, although this is so fluid and subject to change that anything I say can't really be much of a spoiler because I haven't made my own mind up yet.

I'm planning 12 volumes actually on Cradle. It could end there...or not. It depends.

The answer to most of those creative process questions you've asked is "I fly by the seat of my pants."

Recurring challenge: getting up every day and going to work. I get paid regardless, there are no deadlines, and no single day is going to matter in the completion of a book. I combat that by putting myself in scenarios where I have no choice but to write--I'm locked in a hotel room without the WiFi password and no books or games. Writing it is.

***

Recurring challenge #2: demotivation.
In every book so far, roughly into the 2/3 - 3/4 mark, I'm convinced that it's a pile of crap, the worst thing I've ever written, and completely broken from stem to stern. I just know that I'm going to have to throw it all out and start over.

It hasn't been true yet, but each time I'm sure that THIS is going to be the time.

And that's where I'm currently at with Blackflame. I am convinced it's garbage. But by this point I'm learning to predict my own issues, and I was ready for this. A week or two from now I'll be saying "Hm, this is better than I remember it being."

Or maybe for the first time it really is crap, and the book will be delayed.

***

How I know when I have a good idea for a series: when it sells well, because that means people are reading it.

For instance, I thought Elder Empire was a great idea. Much better than the ideas behind Traveler's Gate or Cradle. I crammed too much into the setting, that's true, but the "dueling perspectives" thing and the "epic fantasy with a Lovecraft backdrop" thing are both rich ideas. Plus it's more character-driven by definition, which is a neat change of pace for me.

Then not many people read it, so evidently it was not a great idea. Live and learn. Unsouled has outsold all of the Elder Empire books combined, I think, and if it hasn't yet it will soon.

So apparently that was the better series concept.

***
Less jaded and cynical answer to the same question:

I choose which new series to write based on what book I think I can enjoy writing AND what I can complete in a reasonable amount of time.

With Cradle, for instance, I'd been reading a lot of translated wuxia and xianxia novels, so I wanted to try writing one. I was passionate about the genre, I had a few twists on the established formula I was excited to include, and it seemed like it would be very possible to write without any hidden obstacles along the way.

That's pretty much it.

Xianxia stories are fairly formulaic to start with, so I knew I could at least write the first 80-90k words of one without much trouble. And initially I'd planned to release Unsouled as a free twice-weekly release here on the blog, but that's another story.

***

That was a much longer answer than I intended, I'm sorry. The creative process is a big topic--maybe I should talk about HOW I work more.

Problem is, I often feel like the answer is "I just kind of make stuff up until it all fits together." It's like doing a jigsaw puzzle, but instead of looking for the right piece, you just 3D print one to fit.

Phil Harmonic

1/27/2017 08:52:24 pm

I really like Elder Empire... The Calder half of the books are especially awesome. The worldbuilding is fantastic and the characters motivations are heartfelt.

P.S. I would not want to play cards with Kelerac

Will link

1/27/2017 09:38:42 pm

Thanks Phil! In a lot of ways, I think it's still the strongest writing I've done (all the events of the plot are driven by a protagonist's actions and strongly held opinions).

Although there are still a few things I'd like to go back and change.

P.S. Nor should you. You'd have to win, which would be next to impossible, and eventually you'd find that even winning somehow played into his insidious schemes.

kaden

1/28/2017 07:03:15 pm

I'm with Phil on this one elder empire is one of my favorite series #shera for the win and is up next to shadowhunters and harry potter in my book shelf which is why I nearly did a spit take of the perfectly good sprite I was drinking when you said delay of cradle which means okak is delayed once again plz let your writing be the best piece yet written by mankind so I can not only read the new cradle but get to read EE faster

Hart of the Star

1/29/2017 05:49:37 am

"For instance, I thought Elder Empire was a great idea. Much better than the ideas behind Traveler's Gate or Cradle. I crammed too much into the setting, that's true, but the "dueling perspectives" thing and the "epic fantasy with a Lovecraft backdrop" thing are both rich ideas. Plus it's more character-driven by definition, which is a neat change of pace for me.

Then not many people read it, so evidently it was not a great idea. Live and learn. Unsouled has outsold all of the Elder Empire books combined, I think, and if it hasn't yet it will soon.

So apparently that was the better series concept."

That's really odd, because I really, really like the Elder Empire series, it's probably the series i respect the most out of all the books I've read.

I find the way you wrote two stories running in parallel is absolutely incredible and the setting is really cool. I use the series as my go to example for things like innovative world building and unique magic.

I think a big reason why Unsouled might be doing better is that right now i think you might well be the ONLY author outside of China really to be doing something Xixania like. So it gets talked about and spread around a lot by the people who like those sorts of novels.

Dustin

1/29/2017 12:54:48 pm

I love your writing Will, but I haven't given the Elder Empire series a chance yet. It's because of the dueling perspective that I haven't. I'm not a big fan of multiple viewpoints in a story. There's nothing more annoying to me than getting really into what's going on in a story only to have it change to someone else and I have to wait 100 pages or more before it goes back to what I was enjoying. It takes me out of the story. If it's brief and just serving to expand a little bit on what's going on I don't mind, but having multiple "main" characters off doing there own thing is not my cup of tea.

kaden

1/30/2017 05:06:40 am

Dustin they are in two separate books so you don't have to see both view points if you don't want to

Will link

1/31/2017 12:37:15 pm

This has gotten a lot of response, so let me clarify:

By "Cradle sold better, so it must be the better idea," I really mean that it engaged more readers than EE did. That's the measure of an idea, to me: if people enjoy it and react to it, that means it must have been a good idea.

I still love Elder Empire, it's a pet project of mine, and I'm not salty about it or throwing it out or anything. I regret nothing.

Zach

2/4/2017 07:41:39 pm

I like me all but I can definately see unsouled get more attention due to the cover art and genre... I mean nobody likes pirates unless there from the Caribbean. But definately better characters thus far in EE. Either way can't wait for either to come out but I d really like to finish EE.

Reyna

1/26/2017 03:09:32 pm

I have nothing against a video of celebration.

Will link

1/26/2017 10:48:04 pm

"Celebration" will be me playing Stardew Valley alone in my room for an hour or two before I go to bed.

Lyrian

1/27/2017 12:54:16 am

Hey, you could start a new youtube gaming channel as well, You just need to be able to talk non stop about any topic in the world while playing a game. You could probably do it

Will link

1/27/2017 09:45:28 pm

Even if I found a format I could do well, YouTube videos would take a lot of time away from writing, and I suspect I wouldn't enjoy it much. I've never liked performing.

Brandon

1/26/2017 05:05:15 pm

Congratulations sirrah! You deserve every sale and more. My 2016 was made better by your writing prowess. My 2017 is feeling a little lackluster though... Perhaps, Blackflame? (Not to pester, just to maintain that feeling of dire emergency that it deserves!) Congrats again!

Will link

1/26/2017 10:47:35 pm

If everything goes according to plan, Brandon, your 2017 will be very rich indeed.

And thanks!

Azqa

1/26/2017 05:44:27 pm

Hurrah! Congrats on the milestone and thank you again for giving us such great entertainment to consume!

You already tend to answer most questions people ask, and I don't have any idea if a video would be fun and "easy" for you or stressful, so...I'd say that a poll sounds like an excellent idea. I liked the suggestion of Path names by Brian C, that people could vote on for popularity - not necessarily use, of course.

Will link

1/26/2017 10:47:00 pm

I could at least use them in a short story or as random background, though. I always have room for a handful of casually mentioned Path names.

And yeah, doing that would be a lot easier than a video. Not that a video SHOULD be hard, I'd just be filming something quick on my iPhone, but I always expect technical issues to crop up.

Dustin

1/26/2017 07:13:40 pm

I have something special you could do. When you've reached the point where you're stopping work on Blackflame for the day spend 10 extra minutes on it and get it out that much faster. I know that would please me.

Will link

1/26/2017 10:45:14 pm

I stop work on Blackflame for the day when I'm going to sleep, and I start again when I wake up.

There's not a whole lot of extra juice in my day to squeeze out, sadly.

Dustin

1/27/2017 12:48:43 am

Ah well, couldn't hurt to ask. Keep up the great work.

Aaron J.E.

1/26/2017 07:21:26 pm

I knew from the first moment I picked up House of Blades that you were going to go somewhere. It was rough, it was a little schlocky, and I could tell it was a first real foray into writing... but it had something. It had that spark, that flow that so many books - even 'good' books - seem to lack. It's been a lot of fun watching to books get better, and you gain in popularity over the years. Congratulations on 300,000, and I look forward to seeing your worlds grow over the years.

Will link

1/26/2017 10:44:21 pm

Thanks for sticking with me, Aaron!

You know, sometimes I worry that I may drift too far from schlock. That's my comfort zone.

John

1/26/2017 07:34:08 pm

You could do a twitch video of you writing a chapter. Cool? Creepy? Both?

Will link

1/26/2017 10:42:56 pm

I've tried to figure out how to do this before, but the problem is it would be really boring.

I'm not so relaxed when I'm writing that I can deliver commentary about what's going on, so effectively you would just be watching me type while music plays.

And then you'll see me write very stupid things, like "know" instead of "no" or an incredibly cliche dialogue line, because I'm just hammering words out.

Asterion

1/27/2017 12:06:05 am

Congrats on (almost) 300,000, I'm betting you'll triple that and then some. I can't say I've been following you for any significant amount of time (a little while before Unsouled came out), but it has definitely been a pleasure. Your writing has definitely improved, but I still crown Simon above all your other characters and still hate you just a little for Urzaia. If you're anything like Sanderson, I'd appreciate a short story. If taking a little diversionary break disrupts you in any way though, please just put up a poll or something. I'll make sure to submit a Path name that sound great but makes no sense whatsoever (The Path of Cascading Ascendance).

Lyrian

1/27/2017 12:57:11 am

That names sound cool at the very least. Will could probably cook up something to go with it(and hopefully not give us food poisning)

Brandon C

2/10/2017 02:50:52 pm

I like this idea a lot. 'Path of the Devoted Soul' (or something like that) for all of the fans. It would be a cool way to identify ourselves as well.

Will link

2/12/2017 07:42:54 pm

Thanks, Asterion! I am going to do that Path contest thing. Once I figure out the specifics.

Nikk

1/27/2017 10:59:52 am

Easy! A Travelers Gate Animated Series! Then at 400k an Elder Empire Animated Series, then at 500k an Unsouled Animated Series, then at 600k a Will Wight Animated Series!

kaden

1/28/2017 07:10:10 pm

That would be amazing

Robin

1/28/2017 04:21:38 am

Next suggestion:

Allow us to sign up for an account so that when we post we can earn a Wooden badge next to our name... and on up.

It would also be great to participate by posting Path names. Maybe if we're lucky it would help speed you along! I know Blackflame will be worth the wait, though.

THAT guy

1/28/2017 10:32:01 am

Wow. So forgive me if finances are something you prefer to keep closer to the chest. But at 300k x $2 per book have you really made 600k in the past few years? That's so much more than I expected a self published author to be making on Amazon.

jim

1/28/2017 01:48:40 pm

He deserves it.

Will link

1/28/2017 03:04:12 pm

Nah, I'm not shy about talking about my finances. Largely because it can be difficult to find actual numbers from self-published authors, so I want to contribute some information out there.

I've done a more detailed breakdown elsewhere in this thread, so you'll have to find it, but here's the basic answer: because I'm self-employed, I'm basically a business of one person, so really the BUSINESS has generated 600k over the last 3.5 years.

A large part of that money goes to taxes, and a lot of the rest goes back into expenses. I'm left with about half of it, and a big chunk of THAT goes to what (in a normal salaried job) the business would cover, like insurance and so on.

What I personally take away, and doesn't go to the business or taxes or whatever, ends up being roughly equivalent to about a 60k/year salary. Ballpark figures.

Which is STILL far better than what you, or I, or anyone else expected I would make as a self-published author on Amazon. I'm still over the moon about it.

The problem is that the income isn't steady. Some months I've generated $1500, other months I've generated over $50k. It's very swingy, and difficult to predict.

I don't know what I actually WILL generate in a year until I've generated it. So I have to be very cautious and conservative and keep a lot of it in reserve in case of a big dip in sales. But a large part of that 600k figure has been generated in the last year, so my finances are looking much steadier this year than they were twelve months ago.

Jim

1/28/2017 05:26:56 pm

If you ever do have money problems, you could write a litRPG novel like Aleron Kong, where status upgrades/levels take 2 pages of copy/paste text to generate easy page counts.

I almost regret saying that, because I typically hate litRPG, but seeing as your thoughts on the genre pretty much exactly align with what I'd like to see out of it, maybe it'd be ok.

Maybe.

Empty

1/28/2017 08:44:07 pm

Fisrt, congrats on the sales.

I've discovered I don't like any of the American litrpg I've read so far, but the Korean ones are highly entertaining.

I've found this is generally because I find characters and world's in amer.litrpg boring, dull, or just uninteresting. They don't have characters with extreme "flaws" that have resulted in some of the funniest things I've read in a book

In Korea you have The Legendary Moonlight Sculpter which features a benevolent main character who is actually selfish, greedy, and may have been an infamous PK'er in an old game.

The you have the extremely vindictive Ark in the ARK series, who goes out if his way to get revenge on people.

If Will wrote one, I'd read it.

Will, if you see this, I have a question about lifespan in Cradle. Like how long do Highgold typically live, and how long can an underlord live?

Brian C

1/28/2017 11:31:51 pm

Empty try Unbound Deathlord. It may change your opinion of American LitRPG. It has a protagonist who's a likable ass, a corrupt agency running the game world *cough EA cough*, and a pretty interesting plot that is something other than simply grind to level up to grind.

Will link

2/12/2017 07:34:58 pm

I typically hate LitRPG too, Jim, but I feel like there's potential. It SHOULD work, which makes me want to try it out.

Lifespan: it does vary based on advancement. I don't want to comment too much further, for fear of treading on future plot points, but typically Underlords live about 200 years. Higher levels live longer.

Lightsyde link

1/28/2017 12:33:26 pm

Congrats Will!! I'm rooting for your 3,000,000,000 as well!! *-*

Matti

1/30/2017 09:24:58 am

But when will the Blackflame Progress turn into Lowgold?

Brian S

1/30/2017 04:03:58 pm

Unbelievable. You can't even keep a consistent font size on your name at the top of the page and you've sold almost 300K in books? What is wrong with us?

April

1/30/2017 11:24:26 pm

I really like the idea of allowing us to nominate/vote on features like paths or character names. I also like the idea of an auction of crowd sourced style event. Funds can either be a bonus for you or go to a charity of your choice.

Not a 300k idea, but I would also love to be able to get a high quality hard bound version of some of your books. Maybe a signed, limited version or something? No clue what it would cost to produce something like that, but might be worth checking into.

Marcos

1/31/2017 01:11:00 pm

I've been here from Day One, and you're one of the few authors I have consistently followed. I thought your Elder Empire series was much deeper and well done. But it feels like your cradle series kind of went back to your roots and what worked well in the Traveler's Gate series. While I really enjoyed the Traveler's gate, it was missing a depth that would make me want to go back and do a re-read. I'm enjoying the Cradle series immensely, and am excited to read the next 10 or so books in the series.

Congrats man, you deserve it. I've enjoyed your books and look forward to enjoying even more of them.

Will link

2/12/2017 07:35:59 pm

<3

I have given you a heart, Marcos. In cannibal culture, that means I want you to consume it and gain the strength of an enemy warrior. It's my way of thanking you for this kind comment.

Kurt

1/31/2017 06:48:23 pm

When will we get the January short story?

Lyrian

2/1/2017 05:09:35 am

I do believe that a new blog is in order.

Isaac Xander

2/1/2017 09:08:25 am

Here's an idea. For 300k you can always do that beta reader contest you talked about in your FAQ

kaden

2/1/2017 08:36:07 pm

That's actually a pretty good idea

Nitin

2/1/2017 09:45:24 pm

So....Is gold last stage in progress bar;)? I started reading with house of blades. Eagerly waiting for blackflame.

Lyndrek

2/5/2017 07:43:05 am

Honestly I've read all your books on kindle multiple times. buy your books outright as soon as they come out. You deserve the milestone.

But what your saying is I should be reading the Kindle unlimited versions when I do that since you get paid as if I rebought the books. Got it. Will do!

Congrats on the soon to be milestone.

David Titus

2/5/2017 10:43:50 am

Finn

2/6/2017 03:12:43 pm

Have you ever read Dawn of Wonder?

Will link

2/6/2017 03:15:53 pm

Yes I have.

Family of Raccoons in a trench coat attempting to evade the police in a high-speed car chase, but have crashed into a fruit stand

2/7/2017 05:28:34 am

Once again, Congratulations on so many sales! Out of curiosity, how do you create your characters? Is it a result of the setting they are in, or is the character the first thing you create when writing a new story?

Will link

2/12/2017 08:09:08 pm

It's a little of both, Family of Raccoons in a Trench Coat Attempting to Evade the Police in a High-Speed Car Chase, But Have Crashed into a Fruit Stand and are Covered in Orange Pulp.

I usually start with some kernel of an idea, which CAN be a character, but is usually a concept or scene I really want to see.

When I know what sort of story I'm writing, I know what kind of person I need to drive the plot. Then I make them.

That said, a lot of times I go through the world and just make up cool characters with interesting personalities or backstories and awesome powers. That's fun to do. It's how I made up the Guild Heads in Elder Empire.

But fleshing out characters lead to me discovering world details, which suggest new ideas for characters, which lead to new details...

It's a cycle.

ano123

2/9/2017 03:07:48 am

How do the people on Cradle age?
Is it similar to many other Xianxia's, where the lifespan increases with every new cultivation rank?
If yes, how old could a person approx. get?

Family of Raccoons

2/9/2017 05:13:52 am

Regardless of whether or not their lifespan is increased via ranking up, they will live longer on average. Their immune systems and internal organs appear to become far better at combating pathogens and toxins. As they human body ages, its immune system weakens, but who knows if that is the case with an iron body?

Furthermore, the elderly do seem to cling to life rather tightly, as evidenced by the jai clan. Not to mention that they would be well along their paths, and very hard to kill in combat.

Will link

2/12/2017 07:39:55 pm

As is usually the case with raccoons, Family of Raccoons is correct. Below roughly Underlord, it's just that their spirits compensate for age really well. Living over 100 isn't too uncommon.

At Underlord, you actually start to age slower. It partially depends on your madra, but Underlords can live to be 200+.

More advanced sacred artists can live even longer.

Fan

2/9/2017 07:10:44 am

I have a question regarding the scope of future battles.
Will we see more fist or sword fights, therefore more "realistic" battles, as far as one could call them that in fantasy novels?
Or, are we going to see people, for instance, summoning gigantic flames to burn their enemies?

Will link

2/12/2017 07:33:09 pm

It's going to go from "sort of realistic" to "fireballs that, themselves, throw other fireballs" pretty quickly.

Lyrian Rastler

2/10/2017 07:06:30 am

NEW BLOG PLS!!!!!!!!

Not a Robot

2/10/2017 08:41:45 am

A lack of blog posts indicates that Will is hard at work my friend. I know you're eager for progress reports (we all are) but we want Blackflame to be as good a quality as Will feels it should be. Embrace Tranquility.

Brian C

2/10/2017 01:21:02 pm

Someone has been playing a bit too much overwatch...

Lyrian Rastler

2/11/2017 01:42:29 am

As you say, sensei

John

2/11/2017 08:07:52 pm

It does not need to be a long blog post. Any time the comments get over about 100 it would be nice to have a new post. Even if it is just "I'm busy. Discuss among yourselves."

Gage

2/11/2017 10:55:35 pm

Yup, from what I've noticed about Wills blogging habits is that long delays usually means he's powering through. That and this is about the time he speculated he might be able to finish the book, so I bet that the next blog post is going to be an announcement that he's given it to his beta readers or something similar.

Jeremiah

2/12/2017 04:14:18 am

@john I could see will doing that

Will link

2/12/2017 07:32:15 pm

Gage knows what's up.

And "I'm busy. Discuss among yourselves." is now going to be a future blog post.

I was locked away writing, I only broke out to make a blog post, and now the containment alarm is blaring and facility staff will catch me at any moment. I can only hope I submit this comment successfully before

Tiny Timmy link

2/11/2017 08:37:31 pm

If your looking for something to read Brock E. Deskins' Sorcerers Path series is good enough to pass time. First book is decent and I'm on number three and still reading. Looks like he has 8 in the series. So that should get you through until Will's book is out. They are also in Kindle Unlimited so that's an added Bone Us.

In which we ramble on.
And by we, I mean me.

Approaching 300!

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In which we ramble on.And by we, I mean me.

Approaching 300!

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In which we ramble on.
And by we, I mean me.