A few posts ago, I talked about comments I've received in response to Unlived series book ads, along with some from those who have read Raymond's story.

Very different interpretations of what the book is about; here's mine.

Raymond and Shelly first meet as young, recent high school graduates "living" unlived lives in Antigua. In another, they are middle-aged in Vietnam after the war, brought together by circumstances. They have no recollection of each other in these separate unlived lives.

Asian, as Raymond refers to him (his name is Giáp) plays a pivotal role: guiding Raymond through his alternate lives.

Enigmatic, a quiet observer of the human soul, he asks questions no one wants or has thought to ask. He forces characters to make choices they'd rather not make.

In some ways, he is who I would want to guide me through my immortality search were I in Raymond's position.

I created Raymond Quinn, and soon to be Shelly Bennett, as surrogates for all of us. Apologies to all whose name actually is Raymond Quinn and/or Shelly Bennett, this is fiction, they don't exist. However, maybe their stories will encourage readers to look back on their own unlived lives resulting from the choices they did (and did not) make.

Why should they, why should you? The answer for that is up to each of us as individuals.

For me, it is as Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living".   

Raymond, Shelly, and soon to follow the stories of other characters confronting their unlived lives isn't about immortality. Whatever that will be largely comes from the lives we do live.

But it does suggest we benefit looking back on our past choices as a way to make better choices in the future.  

When do you need to know what you're writing is any good?

Book sales would be an indication, but that's well after the fact. I need confirmation while I'm writing not after.

For me the answer is a two part early indicator of how things will ultimately turn out. Not proofpositive, just sort of a writer's 'canary in the coal mine' heads up about what I've written. 

Once I have storyline in mind, how quickly I can flesh it out before moving on to whatever will be next is part one. The sooner that happens, the less I struggle putting words in my character's mouths, the more certain I am I've not wasted time.

You might say believing not wasting time is a pretty low bar to get over. You'd be right. But you have to start somewhere, and not having to struggle writing scenes and dialog is where I start.

On to part two, a much higher bar.

If I find myself almost believing I am at the place and time I am writing about with the characters I created, I know I haven't wasted time.

Why all this concern about wasting time?

Writing, rewriting (repeat endlessly) doesn't allow for it. I have a very tight schedule preparing The Unlived Lives of Shelly Bennett for publication later this summer. There isn't a reservoir of time allowing me to write 3,000 words one day only to throw them out the next.

They don't have to be perfect (they won't be) but they must be salvageable for the next phase; countless more hours and days rewriting once the first draft manuscript is 'finished' (hint, it never is.)

These blog posts are an example of that process.

As long as you think what you've read is good, we're good; no wasted time.

And when you don't think it's good, keep it to yourself. You'd be wasting your time expecting me to spend my time reading or listening to your complaints.

Another waste of time. 😉

The number of followers of The Unlived Lives of Raymond Quinn Facebook page  recently exceeded 100. Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to click my ads, visit the book page on my website, and/or follow along here.

And of course, thanks to those of you who have purchased Raymond's story. Without your support nothing more would be possible. 

I mean it; I am sincerely grateful.

A lot of time and money goes into writing and publishing a book, particularly one from a largely unknown author such as myself. Sales are one measure of appreciation, so too is knowing people such as you are aware of what I'm doing.

There is more to come. The Unknown Lives of Shelly Bennett, who first appeared in Raymond's story, is currently being edited.

You'll soon see more about that including the cover and a promotional video as was done for Raymond Quinn. The book, itself will be available in late summer, print, digital, and audio.

(Suggestion for those who have not yet read Raymond's story. Shelly's story will make a lot more sense if you read Raymond's first.)

I've started the third in the Unlived series I plan to release next spring.

After that...!

I get lots of "likes" and "shares" to my weekly posts about The Unlived Lives of Raymond Quinn.

Multiple hundreds of them I very much appreciate.

A much smaller number also comment, which I loosely categorize as being:
A: "I'm interested"
B: "I've bought it/will buy it/read it"
C: "I saw a movie/read a book about it", or
D: "No way, we only have the one life we live".

I sub categorize the D group as being "I don't believe it so it can't happen" or "Just more science mumbo jumbo."

I've had to break up a few comment fights among the D group. Person #1 offers his/her biblical interpretation, which person #2 disputes, and they're off and running.

Like two individuals from different religions showing up at the same time on my front porch, arguing over the words of their lords (which to them are not the same.)

When it's comments about the posts, I let it go for a while hoping they'll get tired and stop commenting. If they don't they overwhelm what interests me, which is, what people think about Raymond's story.

(When they actually are on my front porch, I just don't answer the door.)

None of this surprises me.

Any story about a guy who's been dead for 46 years, and doesn't know it, is bound to generate heat. And who am I to say what they say is not right?

All that aside, some of the better stuff has positively affected the summer sequel, The Unlived Lives of Shelly Bennett.

Thank you for that; keep the likes, shares, and comments coming.  

I opened a Facebook account at the request of a client soon after it launched in 2004. He wanted to know what FB was, and whether it had any potential value to his business. That project completed, not finding much on FB of interest to me, I closed my account in 2013. 

Jump ahead to fall 2024, and the release of The Unlived Lives of Raymond Quinn. I suspected that FB should be part of my book marketing plan while not wanting to get back into it. Nonetheless, I did expecting to find things pretty much as they were eleven years earlier. Very little was the same.

When it comes to selling things, Facebook had evolved into an essential sales juggernaut, one I had to learn in detail to have any chance of successfully promoting my books.

I now spend hours monitoring my FB ads and marketing strategy, including attribution ads appearing on FB synced to Amazon; the undisputed book sales king.

​FB generated the interest, Amazon handled the sale.

You've written and self-published a book. You don't like Amazon, Facebook, maybe both. I feel you. Get over it.

Unknown, self-published, first time authors need both to have any chance of more than the 50 or so sales that is the average for the approximately 2,600,000 new self published books released each year.

Learn all you can how the system works. Do that and you significantly increase the chance of your book doing much better than if you don't.

​It's not all you can or need to do, but it is at the top of the list of what you should do.