Update! Underworld is Coming!

Hey all!

I have some really encouraging news!

First, some background. Codename: Freedom was the story idea that first got me interested in writing LitRPG/GameLit. In October of 2016 I posted my first chapter on RRL. In July of 2017 I published book 1 on Amazon. At the time, the book made it into the 1300s in Amazons ranking system. For a first time author this was huge and much more money that I had expected. It was successful enough that I really pushed myself to get book 1 of Underworld published. 

Underworld - Level Up or Die's success was on a whole other level. It reached into the 300s and blew away all expectations. It was more of a crunchy LitRPG that a lot of the readers of the genre like and was unique enough that a lot of people fell in love with it. 

As you can imagine, I was even more excited to get another book out, but I had promised my readers I would do Codename: Freedom book 2 next. The problem was that it didn't make nearly as much money as Underworld and was going to be much thicker, so it would take more time and I might not get as much money for the time I put into it. I really struggled with whether I should put it on the back burner or not.

There were a few questions though that I didn't have answers to. One, did Freedom only do as good as it did because I was a new author and not as many people were willing to give it a shot? Was the cover art just not what people wanted to see so less people took a chance on it? Was it just the type of story that would only ever pull a smaller audience? These questions bugged me. They caused me to question whether I should get Freedom book 2 out and then just focus on Underworld for multiple books after that. That became my plan because it seemed like the most reasonable thing to do.

There was one last thing though that had me second guessing everything. Freedom book 2 possessed the part of the story that most of my RRL readers fell in love with. There was a chance that book 2 could make or break the series. Publishing the second book would ultimately be the thing that could answer my question.

Come April 11th, I hit the button to publish Codename: Freedom - The Goblin Siege. It started off a little slow the first day, but that was expected since I didn't put it up for preorder. Come day two it was starting to do a little better than book 1, so I would have been happy if it stayed that way. The fact there was a hint that it could do better than book 1 meant there was a future for the series, even if it became my secondary one. Still, it was too early to decide anything, so I waited to see. Day 3 did about the same with a little growth. Nothing outstanding, but it was getting good reviews so I was satisfied. 

But, when day four came and it started to crawl toward Underworld kind of numbers I was shocked. I really didn't believe it would ever get that high in the rankings. It was a second book, which usually pulls in about 80% of what book 1 does. It began to look like it would do as good if not a litte better than book 1.

A week and a half goes by and Freedom book 2 has been consistently pulling Underworld numbers. Just this morning I woke up and its climbed into the 300s! More than that, book 1 has also been climbing in the ranks again. So much so, that this morning I woke up to see it was in the 600s! That's more than twice as good as it did the first time around. 

Now, its still early, but the reason I really wanted to inform you guys, my Patreons, is because we are much closer to me being able to write full time than I dared to hope. It was book 2 of Underworld that I was really depending on to do well to push the financial side of things over the edge. Also, my question has been answered. It seems like book 2 really will make the series. It is now a viable money maker so I can justify putting time into it when my accountant(wife) asks what I'm up to. 

New problem! If Codename: Freedom is just as popular as Underworld, then I have a decision to make. Of course, the next book I'm working on is Underworld book 2. I should have a chapter for you guys tomorrow! But, what about after book 2?

My first thought is, this is an awesome problem to have. If it becomes true and they both do equally well, then I'm going to be able to go full time much sooner than I ever dreamed and you guys are going to get content more often. On the other hand, I don't think I will be able to justify doing book 2 and 3 of Underworld back to back. Even if Underworld does better, I don't want to leave anyone hanging. 

The problem might not be much of a problem after all... If I can work full time and somehow manage a new book every two months, that means I could get 4 more books done before the year is out. No promises, but my rate of publishing will no doubt go up. 

In summary, Codename: Freedom is catching Underworld in sells and popularity. I could possibly go full time much sooner. That means more books more often and more early chapters for you! Also, artwork is something I'm excited about, but is still a side project. 

Buckle up! Hopefully its going to get even more crazy in the coming months!