Pivots, Publishing, and Walking My Own Path

It has been about nine months since I launched this Substack back in April. When I first hit "publish," I was fueled by the sheer fun of creation—coming up with new stories in worlds I had played around in before and finally sharing them with the world.

I launched with six serialized stories. Looking back, that was probably a lot. At the time, I was hyper-focused on the logistics: Could I maintain that schedule? I wasn't asking the harder question: Is this schedule working to attract the right audience?

Getting subscribers has been an uphill climb, but I am incredibly thankful for every single one of you who has joined me on this ride. I know engagement has dipped recently, and I take responsibility for that; I haven't spent nearly enough time on Notes or interacting with the incredible author community here. That changes this year, but so does my approach to the content itself.

The Pivot: Quality Over Quantity

I've realized I need to take a more measured approach to serialized fiction. Rather than keeping six plates spinning indefinitely, I'm going to finish up the stock of chapters I have for some stories and let them conclude naturally. Moving forward, I will only continue the ones where I really want to tell a longer, sustained narrative.

As those serialized runs end, I'll be cycling in something new: short stories. Some of these will feature characters from my upcoming novel, Imperial Dawn, while others will explore corners of my shared universes, the Deepline and Endless Runtime. I'm excited to dive into these bite-sized expansions of my worlds.

The Big Launch: Imperial Dawn

Speaking of Imperial Dawn, I am thrilled to announce that I am publishing this historical fantasy about Ancient Rome this May!

For the last two months, I've been deep in the trenches of copyediting, proofreading, formatting, and setting everything up for self-publishing on Amazon and IngramSpark. Getting this close to the publication date has been a wake-up call regarding just how much more there is to publishing than just writing. It's a long game with a steep learning curve.

I'm currently figuring out the marketing puzzle—experimenting with Reels and TikToks, and I'll likely dive into ads as we get closer to launch.

Call for Readers: I am running an ARC (Advance Review Copy) campaign for Imperial Dawn. If you are interested in reading the book early and leaving a review, please let me know in the comments!

The Workflow

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my workflow and how it includes AI. I view my work from an engineering point of view—being able to operate at a bigger scale and speed allows me to explore ideas I simply couldn't have before.

I realize this stance impacts my networking opportunities in the traditional author community. That's a reality I've accepted. My hope is that there are readers who will enjoy the stories for what they are. I'd rather walk my own path than try to fit into something that doesn't feel authentic to how I create.

Looking Ahead

At the end of the day, I write as a form of self-expression. I enjoy the work of getting stories out of my head and into a published form. I want to tell good stories, but I am not in the business of manufacturing consensus or ensuring everyone loves them. If a large audience finds them, great. If not, I'll move on to the next idea.

Writing isn't my main source of income, and it probably never will be. I like my full-time job and the career path I am on. That financial freedom allows me to treat this space as pure creative exploration.

So, here's to 2026 being another step in self-actualization and self-fulfillment. Thank you for reading.