Dear wanderers between the worlds,
My voice trembled slightly as I read out the first pages of my book last night. Your names appeared on the screen, one after the other. Comments flashed up, questions followed later. In that moment, I briefly forgot the adversity of the day.
And there were quite a few of them:
- 🎥 The camera went on strike in the middle of the preparations
- 🎙️ The microphone gave up the ghost without warning
- 🎨 The color settings refused any adjustment
- 🧃 The streaming software deleted the setup I had painstakingly set up
- 🦷 And since the morning, a persistent toothache has been throbbing, which even now, on Saturday evening, refuses to give way
But as I read, all that faded away. The screen in front of me became a window between our worlds. Every comment, every emoji, every word from you formed a bridge. Suddenly I was no longer alone in my study, surrounded by technical problems and painkillers. You were there, listening, experiencing the first steps of this story with me.
And that touched me deeply.
Your presence turned my fears into determination. You listened as I brought the first pages of my story to life. Suddenly it was no longer just in my head, but real, alive, in your minds.
For the last two days, my manuscript remained untouched. Instead, I spent hours with tables and figures spread out before me like a map to unknown territories. The question that drove me was: Is this book series realistically achievable? Can I follow this path without getting lost?
The answer is ambivalent: it will be difficult not to make a loss with this book series - two planned trilogies. Make a living from it? Simply unrealistic. The figures show that even with very ambitious sales figures for a debut author, I won't make a profit for a few years. And that only works with a strong community, with people who are passionate about this story together with me. Fellow campaigners who trot around the country as heralds and tell others about this story and its protagonists. With you as ambassadors of this world who captivate others.
Nevertheless, the decision is clear: I want this. With everything I have.
It is 2:41 am. The display of my cell phone glows blue in the darkness. My eyes are burning from being awake so long, and yet my thoughts are still revolving around the next chapter. Outside, everything is quiet, with only the occasional rustle of leaves in the night breeze filtering through the tilted window. The perfect time to write - if it weren't for the exhaustion that is slowly gaining the upper hand.
I've actually already gone through the book to the end. What I need to do now is a massive reorganization. Part 1 was originally a whopping 60 to 65 percent of the book with 16 chapters. Now I'm working on shortening this first part to 10 chapters and reducing it to 35 to 40 percent - which I won't be able to do completely, because I don't want to lose too many little pieces of gold in the text. I also don't want it to feel like two books in one. The 16 chapters have now been reduced to seven; I want to make it ten and end with the Halloween chapter before Part 2 begins.
What's even more exciting is that this rewriting expands the potential market enormously. Without this revision, we would be limited to e-book sales; a print release would not be financially feasible. That's why Toni, Basti and I decided: We're switching from Young Adult with 14-year-old protagonists and a snowy, Christmassy atmosphere to New Adult with dark fantasy elements and a little pinch of romance. Our characters age from 14-15 to 16-18. This gives us the opportunity to explore deeper themes, set more complex challenges and make the plot more explicit.
What drives me forward the most: Just a few more days, then the beginning will be revised. Then I'll finally get over the Halloween chapter and reach the point I actually wanted to reach with my stories. Preliminary skirmish over. The real core begins. The place where everything comes together and makes sense. 🎃🖤
With deep gratitude for your support on this journey, Max
