The Year Behind & The Year Ahead

Happy New Years eve! If you saw my Instagram post titled the same as this email, this will essentially be a longer-winded version of that with extras like sales data and a writing update.

In this issue:

• The results of my Bookbub Featured Deal

• An update on how bookselling on Itchio has gone

• A progress report on my upcoming novel, The Howling Dark

• A reflection on 2025 (Can*Con, bookish secrets, life ramblings)

• Professional and personal plans to look forward to in 2026

FIRST THINGS FIRST: BOOKBUB FEATURED DEAL RESULTS

The Details:

• The Cardplay Duology digital box set was discounted from $6.99 to $0.99 (additionally, I priced both ebooks individually at $0.99, made The Howling Dark available for preorder, and made The Calypsis Project 1 & 2 free to take advantage of the increased sales traffic)

• Enrolled the duology box set and individual ebooks in Kindle Select so I could fetch the 70% royalty rate and KU page read royalties

• Cost was $292 CAD ($202 USD) for the Teen & Young Adult category

• Bookbub Teen & Young Adult mailing list subscriber count: 1,010,000+

• Est. sales for this category ranged from 50-2,450

• Amazon US only (but had individual ebooks discounted in the UK as well)

• Duration: November 17th to 21st. However, I set the countdown deal to run through the 23rd to take advantage of trickle-off sales and late email-openers, so those are the dates I’ll be covering here.

The Results:

Below numbers include ALL orders placed (free and paid, individual and box sets) but I'll single out box set numbers since that's what the Bookbub deal was focused on.

Nov. 17th: 66 (65 box sets – Est. $53 CAD)
Nov. 18th: 40 (37 box sets – Est. $30. CAD)
Nov. 10th: 32 (13 box sets – Est. $10 CAD)
Nov. 20th: 16 (2 box sets – Est. $2 CAD)
Nov. 21st: 10 (2 box sets – Est. $3 CAD)
Nov. 22nd: 11 (all free downloads)
Nov. 23rd: 12 (all free downloads)

Total Orders: 187 (119 box sets, 7 individual ebooks, 61 free downloads + 4 preorders I haven’t calculated in the total)
Estimated Total Earnings: Approx. $98 CAD

Starting rank: I've lost my screenshot, so I don’t have start ranks for specific categories, but I think it was around #1..6 mil overall in the Kindle Store.
Highest ranks reached: #5,652 in Kindle Store
#5 Teen & YA Magical Realism Fiction
#6 Teen & YA Magical Realism eBooks
#19 in LGBTQ+ Fantasy

In the end, I made back about a third of my cost. I went into this prepared for it to go either way since I've heard mixed results from other authors the past couple years, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping for more. It would've been nice to at least break even, but I am very happy to see nearly 200 copies of my books find their way into new readers' hands! Hoping this will lead to some new reviews and a bump in KENP royalties down the road.

What went wrong? It could just be timing. Or the economy. Or both. I mean, I am within their vast estimated sales range. That said, I do wonder if using the BS cover as the box set case design would've fetched more attention than the unique one I put together for it (wasn't considering a Bookbub deal when I made that). It’s possible it could’ve been more striking to a first-time buyer, and it’s clearer at first glance.

As well, the competition in my category was a lot of New York Times Bestsellers. It could've been that those known authors/titles were more attractive than mine with my little indie book. Lots of variables to consider, and all or none of them may have had an impact.

I will say, too, that I had some misgivings about the ad copy. 🫣 No idea how this might've affected sales, though, so let me be clear that I am not casting any blame on the BB editors. I'm sure they put solid effort into these and I appreciate them for their hard work! Just thinking out loud.

Would I do it again? Probably! But maybe a bit differently. I might only try for single-book deals in the future instead of box sets. Or if I go for a box set again, I'll rethink my cover choice. I may also wait until I have new works to submit, rather than trying this series again. This isn’t the first time I've paid around this much to market my work without knowing how much I’d get in return, and it was worth it to get my books in front of a ton of new readers.

I'm super grateful I got the chance to take one of these deals for a spin. If there’s a next time, perhaps it'll be more fruitful!

SECOND THINGS SECOND: ITCH.IO PERFORMANCE

Earlier this year, I decided to remove Bloody Spade and Bleeding Heart from Kindle Unlimited/Kindle Select and take Itch.io for a spin instead. For one thing, it would mean my books would be more widely available. For another, I’d be able to keep a higher percentage of the earnings. Plus, it’d allow me to participate in bundles, which seemed like a cool bonus!

The goal was to see if it could make me more than the maybe $40-$60 I was making yearly off KU page read royalties, so I’m pleased to say that since publishing on Itch.io on March 1st, I have made a total of $358.76 USD.

I won’t get into the nitty gritty stats because I don’t have time to figure that out, but I can tell you that probably about 90% of those earnings came from bundles. For me, there hasn’t been much competition between Itchio/Amazon where individual ebook sales are concerned. Still, it’s been worth it even with all the hubbub around payment processors, and BS/BH will return to Itch.io as soon as their current temporary KU enrollment period is up.

Speaking of the hubbub, you can read more about that and how to take action here: https://anti-censorship-campaign.carrd.co/

Amazon is also up to some bullshit of the AI variety. Whoopee! @akcaggiano on Instagram has a solid post on this, which includes an email you copy+paste to them if you’re a fellow author (I highly encourage readers to make noise about this as well): https://www.instagram.com/p/DSQMOC5EegT/?img_index=6

THIRD THINGS THIRD: THD PROGRESS REPORT

I can see the light at the end of the second revision tunnel for The Howling Dark.

It’s been slow going so far, and it’s been hard not to feel demoralized by this, but I’ve done the only thing I can do: press on. I started this round in November of 2024 and hoped to wrap it up before the end of 2025. While I won’t be making that goal, it shouldn’t be too much longer now.

Once I’m through this pre-beta pass on the final chapters of Act 3, I’ll be moving on to the fourth and final act, which contains the last 100ish pages of the book. After that, my next job will be to apply the very helpful beta reader feedback I’ve accumulated along the way, as well as other tweaks I’ve noted down for myself. I’m looking forward to that part—shoring up the story, adding depth where needed, trimming off the excess.

If you’re interested in joining the next round of beta reading after I’ve done that, keep an eye out on socials! And keep in mind, the next round will likely have a tight deadline (probably a 2-3 month turnaround) since this will probably take place in the summer and I am aiming for a November 9th release.

Guess I should get back to work on that cover art soon, huh?

LAST THINGS LAST: THE YEAR BEHIND AND THE YEAR AHEAD

I’m not going to lie, 2025 has been hard for me emotionally, largely due to problems persisting from prior years that I’m just kind of at my limit with. Despite that, though, the latter half of the year in particular has given me more to look back fondly on, and as we sit on the cusp of the new year, I find myself looking more forward to 2026 than dreading what fresh horrors it might drop on me.

Some highlights…

• I opened a TFSA with Questrade to try and shore up my financial future. If anybody else wants to take them for a spin, I have a referral link (or a code: 536704931487705) you can use that’ll give us both a $50 cash bonus if you deposit $250 or more into your account within 60 days of opening. 👁️👄👁️

• I became an ambassador for Devon+Lang, which I still need to put more effort into, but hey, it’s there, meaning I have another thing to advertise! Want to treat yourself to some cool undies with fun designs? I have a referral link and a code (BRINANNERS) for them too, which’ll get you 15% off!

• In August, I joined Bumble. My introverted ace-ass on a dating app? What a concept! I didn’t have high hopes for it, and I didn’t actually intend to use it until going to the city next year (see temp move plans below), but I decided set up my account in advance and poke around, annnd my poking around led me to someone I’m very excited to explore a relationship with in the new year. This feels like the start of a beautiful thing, wherever it may lead 🤭

• In September, I received some very HOLY SHIT exciting book news which I cannot share yet, but I can promise you’ll be hearing all about it later in the spring. I can’t wait for you guys to see what’s being cooked up over here!! My inbox has been blessed with pretty things these past few months!

• In October, I volunteered for the first time. A friend had brought Can*Con (an Ottawa-based spec-fic literature convention) to my attention, and volunteering seemed like a great way to check out the event before deciding if I wanted to vend at it. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a big ball of anxiety going into it, but despite some hiccups along the way, it went okay! The staff and other volunteers were lovely, the whole convention had a warm, welcoming atmosphere, I made new friends, and got to meet some online friends in person. In fact, it left such a good impression on me that I think I’m going to apply not only to be a vendor next year, but panelist. 🫢 A low-key terrifying idea. With the right co-panelists, though, I think it could be fun!

However, the biggest change, which I am equal parts excited for and anxious about, will come next year when I leave my home to move in with friends in Ottawa for three months.

On the surface, it doesn’t seem like it should be a big deal. It’s only temporary, after all. For me, the anxiety is a result of me being a creature of habit. I get set into my little routines, stuck in the way things are and have been for so long that they’ve become stagnant, to the point that—even as desperately as I want and need this—the thought of uprooting myself gets my brain buzzing overtime about what could go wrong. But being half an hour’s drive from the nearest town and being unable to drive myself anywhere (yay photosensitive epilepsy) has become increasingly difficult and isolating in recent years. I need more freedom, and this will give me a taste of that.

It’ll be nice to be closer to people I otherwise don’t see often, and liberating to step out the door and simply walk myself places or take public transit. To not have to ask for a ride whenever I want to go somewhere. My hope, too, is that I’ll come out on the other side of this with more confidence in traveling solo and less wariness of…everything.

Feels appropriate that during all this, I’m working on a book about a brother who’s afraid of change, and a brother who’s desperate for it (after also being stuck in the same place for around twenty years. Funny how that works). That said, I hope my road to change is less rocky than theirs. 😂

Anyway, that’ll do it for my annual reflective ramble.

Thank you for reading! I hope 2026 treats you all kindly <3

P.S., speaking of reading, here’s everything I read this year! Ignore Goodreads’ inclusion of Dark Rise; I only made it about 100 pages in and then DNF’d it (just didn’t gell with me, unfortunately). Had an enjoyable time with everything else I read, though!

Recent reads: Assassinorum: Kingmaker
Recent watches: 911, Mighty Nein, Smosh Reddit Stories
Recent games: Baldur’s Gate 3
Recent music: I of the Storm by Of Monsters and Men