About 20 minutes ago I reached the end of chapter 29 on a novel I’m not calling First Born. That put me at 50,258 words, which made me a winner of NaNoWriMo for the third straight year.

It’s been an interesting and enlightening month of writing and reading and listening to podcasts about marketing. When Shara came out, I insisted it was a horror novel despite the fact the protagonist was the werewolf. After Ulrik was released the first time, the whole “urban fantasy” genre was taking off and I could see that my werewolf books maybe crossed over into that, but I still thought of them as horror. By the time Nadia’s Children was published, the line was more blurry. I had to admit that the goal of my books was not to scare the reader. The story had really become the politics of the Pack, and that has definitely carried over to First Born.

So what? you ask. It makes a difference as I plan new, matching covers and how to correctly market the series. In a culture that likes to binge watch an entire season of a new television show in a few settings, a series (or more than one) is the way to make a living as an author, so it’s important I package The Werewolf Saga correctly when I rebrand the back list and release the new book.

Rapid release is another important aspect in making the transition to full-time author. I wrote complete novels in November the previous two years, and it was easier then because of the jobs I had. It was harder this year because of the job and a lack of planning on my part, but I did it. I can do rapid release. I have the ideas to sustain it. I have The Werewolf Saga, which can go on almost indefinitely. The Cody Treat story will be at least a trilogy (Afterlife is the first book). I have series going under both pseudonyms, and I have a sword-and-sorcery series and a western series in the works, plus more standalones.

I can provide the content. Can I get people to notice, to care, and to buy? There’s the real challenge. But tonight I can go to bed satisfied that I won NaNoWriMo2022 ten minutes before time ran out.