The Unlived Lives trilogy reminds readers of other books addressing similar themes, particularly The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. But the concept of lives not lived is not new or unique to Matt or me.

An exact match for a Google search for “unlived lives” returns approximately 21,000 URLs. Remove the quotes, and Google finds 25,000,000 to 30,000,000 matching URLs globally.

I started writing The Unlived Lives of Raymond Quinn a little over ten years ago. No plan for what I would do with it; just something to occupy my time. I’ve since added The Unlived Lives of Shelly Bennett and The Unlived Lives Reckoning, completing the Unlived Lives trilogy. 

​That’s enough “unlived lives” from me; we’ll now see what others interested in the concept might have in mind.

In the meantime, take some time to contemplate the lives you might have lived had you made different choices in the past. As content as you are with where you are today, there’s always room for improvement. 

You’ll never know for sure what might have been, but you could change what happens tomorrow if you choose differently today.

Hardly a day goes by without emails, texts, and messages from readers of the Unlived Lives trilogy. The majority are about how the books prompted them to examine their life choices. That wasn't my intent; I was just writing fiction. But I understand why it happened, because it did for me as well.

But you don't need to read a book about past choices to wonder how different your life would be if you had acted differently. The Unlived Lives trilogy just makes it very hard not to think about it, in most cases, leading you to conclude that your regrets outweigh your happiness.

Examine your life, but do so with an eye for what you got right as well as what you didn't. Learn from it, remember it when making that next important decision. 

We all get second (third, fourth, etc.) chances in life; apply what you've learned from the past to improve your future. It’s never too late to change.

All three books in the Unlived trilogy are now available in print, digital, and audio formats. Total sales for each are running about as expected, except for audio.

To date, Raymond has sold the most total and audio because:

• It has been available a year longer than Shelly and a year and a half longer than Reckoning.
  
• I've encouraged those interested in the trilogy to first read or listen to Raymond, then Shelly, and, if they're still interested, Reckoning, to follow the trilogy storyline. 
  
• Raymond has benefited from far more financial marketing support than Shelly and Reckoning to this point.

As of today, audio accounts for 13% of Raymond's total sales, 15% of Shelly's, and 17% of Reckoning's, not enough on its own to justify the cost of producing an audio version.

That doesn't mean I regret offering audio, but I do question whether it will ever become part of the "cake" or, at best, remain a thin coating of "icing" on the "cake".

I don't control audio pricing; ACX does. Without a subscription, audio versions cost two to three times as much as print or digital editions.

What percentage more than a digital copy, the least expensive of the three formats, would you be willing to pay for books you read or listen to?

Based on the image in this post, doesn't it seem as though writing and marketing your own books is a good way to make a living? All you have to do is read one of these "how-to" books, self-publish, and deposit royalty payments.

I've been following a few subreddits where first-time, unknown authors ask questions about writing, self-publishing, and book marketing.

If you are an unknown self-published author hoping or assuming you will make money selling your books, here are the current statistics for sales:

• The absolute baseline average for a self-published book is roughly 250 copies over its lifetime.  
• Approximately 90% of self-published books sell fewer than 100 copies in total. For many debut titles, the majority of initial traction (often fewer than 20–50 copies in the first month) comes almost exclusively from friends and family.
• 75% of self-published authors earn less than $1,000 per year from their catalog. Eighteen percent earn between $1,000 and $10,000 annually. Only about 7% earn more than $10,000 a year, which usually requires a multi-book catalog or backlist.

I am you, and these statistics apply to me as much as they do to you, with one exception. My Unlived Lives books in all three formats have sold over 1,700 copies to date. How?

I invested serious marketing money to make that happen, and as of now, the Unlived Lives project is neither profitable nor at break-even. I didn't expect it to be. I did it to build awareness for future sales once all three books were available in all three formats.

They are now; it remains to be seen how good an investment that will be.

​I'm not trying to discourage you from writing. On the contrary, if you enjoy writing, write! But do so with realistic expectations about the financial side.

Don't spend money you need for other aspects of your life. Earning a living writing is an extremely tough game. You could be one of the very few who make it work, but what if you're not?

You've worked hard writing your book, now work even harder/smarter with reasonable expectations for how and what it will cost to market it.

Now that all three books in the Unlived Lives trilogy are published in all three formats (well, not exactly. Still waiting for Reckoning in audiobook format to clear the ACX review process. Should be any day now), I thought I would check in on the Many Worlds Interpretation debate/argument. 

Emphasis on "argument."

Generally, two science nerds, one who believes there are an infinite number of universes parallel to the one we inhabit, the other certain there are not, arguing about something that cannot be proved or disproved.

Personally, I don't concern myself with any of that. I chose to write the trilogy as though they did exist simply because it seemed like it could make good fiction.

Back to my update, I searched for "Many Worlds theory argument," and the first result was Joe Scott and his video, The Most Convincing Parallel Universe Story.  

Joe's presentation style eases the viewer into a subject that is challenging for solid C science students like me. But I grasped enough to keep watching to the end.

If you've read or listened to one, two, or all three of the Unlived Lives trilogy and have 18 minutes of free time, watch Joe straddle both sides of the Many Worlds theory debate (argument).

​Doing so won't help you understand what you didn't in my books, but you should enjoy it nevertheless. 

If you've written a book or are contemplating writing a book, look at my Meta Ad Manager page.

Intimidated?

If not, if you know what that's about, move on; there's nothing for you to see here.

If you haven't a clue what this is, don't move on; read on.

I was you when I released The Unlived Lives of Raymond Quinn in October 2024, book one of the Unlived trilogy. I had learned much more by October 2025, when the sequel to Raymond, The Unlived Lives of Shelly Bennett, came out. The Unlived Lives Reckoning is now available, and while I know even more than I did for Raymond and Shelly, I'm still learning.

Don't do as I did and publish your book with no idea how to market it. Don't pay others who promise to do marketing for you.

They will, for a price, and the great majority of them are scams.

I am not a book marketing expert, but I have learned a great deal about marketing my books with sales to prove it. I can help you begin to learn what you need to know to have a chance at sales success for your book.

I won't ask you to pay me anything. I'm just paying forward the help others gave me.  

On August 30, 2024, I published the first entry in what has become the Unlived Lives Trilogy blog.

It wasn't a trilogy then; there was barely one book, and I had no intention of writing any more. But here we are now three books later. 

I'm publishing the text and image again here because what I had to say about the project is as true today as it was on 8/30/2024. The big difference is the story did not end with Raymond. It now includes a full cast of characters exploring their unlived lives, both alone and together, throughout the world and the multiverse.
​

"Raymond's story has a puzzle hidden among all the words. If you enjoy doing puzzles, you will enjoy reading his story.

When you assemble a puzzle, you see the individual pieces and must find how to put them all together. You don't see the complete picture until you put all the pieces where they belong.

There are no physical puzzle pieces in Raymond's story, but it is a puzzle nevertheless. The pieces are the individual interactions he has with others, and none more than with Asian. What they say and do becomes clear to you when you reach the end.

If you read the book, read carefully, paying attention to the details. Do that, and you will be rewarded with the ending.

​The end of the beginning, the beginning of something new for some, maybe you.

Sooner than I dared hope, JT recovered enough to finish The Unlived Lives: Reckoning narration, all 265 pages of it.

I listened to every bit of it. As usual, he did a tremendous job! Over 60,000 words, with only three small corrections.

After he makes the corrections, which should be today, I will let ACX know I have approved the project and paid him. It will then be in their hands for final processing. I expect the audiobook version will be available in the next two to three weeks.

This may not seem like much progress to you, but getting to this point of the trilogy is a very good feeling.

I didn't start what became Raymond's story a little over 10 years ago, thinking I was writing a book, not to mention three books. The Unlived Lives of Shelly Bennett came out of that, and along with both of them, The Unlived Lives: Reckoning. 

Thanks to you who have or will have paid for, read, and enjoyed all three of them. No book is for everyone, mine included, and I am grateful for your support.

First, the good news.

All three Unlived Lives books are available in print and digital formats on various sites, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, and elsewhere outside the US.

The Unlived Lives of Raymond Quinn, and the sequel, The Unlived Lives of Shelly Bennett, are available as audiobooks. The Unlived Lives Reckoning soon will be, albeit later than I had hoped, and in increasing distribution. Check back later if you want more options.

The bad news.

JT, the narrator, has a medical issue he's dealing with and will be late finishing narration. How late, I don't know. I told him to take all the time he needs to recover.

Once he is done, I need to listen to the remaining chapters (he completed 36, I have approved) before turning it over to ACX, which handles publication. That will take another ten days to two weeks.

When it comes to completing the last audiobook in the trilogy, JT and I are forced to live a life we hoped we never would. 

Where are they going?

Away from the life they chose to live, or to one of the infinite lives they could have lived?

Raymond, Asian, Shelly, and all the other characters in the Unlived Lives Trilogy experience their alternative lives.

You can, too.

​Imagine where you would be today had you made better choices in the past.

Learn from that; it's never too late to begin again.