The Case of the Missing Writer

Hello, there!

Miss me?

I know, I went from being pretty prolific in my social media to being a veritable ghost!  Unfortunately, I kind of expected that when I knew I had to go back to a day job.

I mean, I’ve balanced my work life, home life, and writing life before, but it was always a delicate balance, and being a neurodivergent person, a lot of my (limited) success in that arena depended on things being stable amongst all three.

Life has been anything but stable.  For a long time.  And now that I’ve started not just a new job, but a new career, one of those three things has obviously been upended.  Plus, my home life has been out of balance for a long time, due to having to move frequently (thank you Denver Metro for having a horrific housing/rental market…)

So what does that mean for the future?  Am I back on social media starting today?

No.  :(

The New Career

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I started a new career as a technical writer!  Well, it’s actually a bit more than just that.  Officially my title is “Business Process Analyst” which I’ve learned basically translates to “Technical Writer+”.

I generally keep my job separate from social media, but given that my job involves writing, I did want to touch on it just a bit, in a very general and vague sense.

Technical writing is a very different beast from creative writing, as you might imagine.  However, I was already semi-familiar with it, because as a computer sys admin, a big part of what I did was document processes and procedures for everything I did, quite meticulously.  And I was also a bit of an outsider in doing so – sys admins generally aren’t good writers.  They generally don’t like writing.  Every job I ever worked had a dearth of documentation, and I usually spent a considerable amount of time and effort fixing that.

My bosses loved me for that.  (In fact, my current manager hired me in this new career because he remembered how diligent I was with documentation!)  People who took over after I’ve left a job loved the documentation!  It is something that’s very much needed in the technical field, and yet is so very often ignored or overlooked.

But becoming a Technical Writer, let alone a Technical Writer+ (err, I mean, a BPA), it’s a whole other bag of worms!  Because I’m not just learning how to manage my system and then writing procedures as I figure it out for myself.  I’m not even just focusing on one system.

I’m focusing on an entire program!

Things that I previously ‘let other people deal with,’ like program management, suddenly is front-and-center for me.  Policies, processes, procedures, for all aspects of a technical program, are now my business.  I have to learn it all, so that I can write about it all.

So the past two months have been a bit of an information overload.  That, more than anything, is why I’ve not been on social media.  Why I haven’t been writing, or editing, or really doing much of anything creative-writing-related.  Because when I get home, I’m exhausted.

However, there is one good thing about all of this – I’m SO much happier where I’m at, doing what I’m doing!  Before now, I went from one toxic work environment to another.  But finally, I’m in what finally feels like a good-quality work environment with coworkers who actually care (about their work AND about their coworkers).  My manager is encouraging and helpful, and I’m not frustrated every single day!

And I’m not stressing out over keeping computers operational.  Instead, it’s now my job to help enable the people responsible for keeping systems operational.  Basically, I’m more of a support person now.  And my stress levels are ever-so-grateful for that!

When Is My Next Book Coming Out?

So with my writing life being impacted so heavily by my new career, when is my next novel coming out?

Believe it or not, that’s not being impacted by this at all, not yet (and hopefully not at all).  Project Sirius 2 is still coming out this year!

Unfortunately, there’s a move coming up for us soon.  We live in a really ratty, stressful apartment complex right now, and so we’re gonna move soon.

Once that move is done, I’m gonna give myself some time to unwind and relax and live life.

So, my current plan?  Project Sirius 2 should be out this Fall.  That’s my goal.

The Awakening came out in September, but I don’t think I’ll make the one-year mark on book 2.  Instead, I’m thinking closer to the end of October.

What comes after that?  I still have to write the Sword of Dragons 5.  2 chapters are written, and that’s all.  I fully intend to use NaNoWriMo this year to make a huge dent in it, but I’d be shocked if I finished the entire novel in that single month.  Then again, I’ve shocked myself before.  And if home life gets better (IE: our new apartment is less stressful to live in), who knows, I could find myself with another major creative outpouring :)

But for 2024, only a single novel is expected to be published.  My goal for Sword of Dragons 5 is sometime in 2025.

I wish I could write more.  I wish I could do what I did in 2020 and get 4 novels written!  But as long as I have a day job and don’t make enough on writing…that’s just not possible.

Speaking of my writing career and how it’s doing!

Surging Popularity of the Sword of Dragons!

I’m pleased to report that the Sword of Dragons saga is enjoying more attention than ever before!  For the first time ever, book, eBook, and Kindle reads are consistently happening!  I mean, as consistent as can be.

Let me put it to you this way – in years past, there were times where I’d only get a single sale in a month, and then a surge of four or five, then something more middling, then nothing at all.  KENP reads came in spurts.  A single person would apparently read book 1, then 2, maybe 3, and then possibly 4.  I could almost always track when a new person found the books because there was never any evidence that more than one person was reading at the same time.

Now?  Now I’m getting multiple orders of at least book one every month, often leading to sales of the other books in the series!  Usually it’s either book 1, and then a little while later, books 2, 3, and 4 all at once, or sometimes, all 4 books at once (and at least a handful of times, The Orc War Campaigns!)  And KENP reads?  I’m often seeing every single book being read a little bit at a time every single day!  Which means at least 4 people are reading at the same time!

“Oh woopey, 4 people at the same time!  That’s not impressive.”  Oh, yes it is.  For an author who, as I said before, saw maybe one person per month reading, a sudden uptick like this, that has lasted for months, is FREAKING AMAZING!

This is the biggest step forward I’ve ever seen in my writing career!

What’s the source?  Well, it started with a marketing boon.  I finally found a video (click here to see it) that explained the Amazon advertising algorithm, and how to navigate it, in a way that I could understand (previous videos or help documents just didn’t click in my ADHD brain).  So I changed how I managed my ads, and within the first month of that change, I started seeing surges in new readership!

Following that, only a month later, I drastically had to (once again) reduce my advertising budget, killing off all advertising for some titles (Project Sirius :( ) so that I could keep the momentum going for Sword of Dragons.  But it’s still paying off, and in fact I’m seeing momentum building for Sword of Dragons despite not changing how much I’m spending on ads!

Another part of it – with the surge of new readers has come more ratings, and largely good ratings!  (Plus a new, glowing review on Amazon for Rise of the Forgotten!)  I think as my ratings numbers increase, and RotF stays above the 4-stars mark (which it so far has easily done), I might continue to see this momentum building!

In short, it’s a really, really good sign :D  And once things settle with my new career, I intend to take what I learned for advertising with Sword of Dragons, and apply it to Project Sirius to try to get interest in that series going, especially after book 2 comes out!

How You Can Help

I am immensely grateful for each and every one of you who reads my novels!  I know there’s been a slight uptick in new readers to this blog, too, and I’m so glad you’re here!  I hope you’re willing to show me some patience over the coming months as my life undergoes various changes – that’s the first way you can help (showing patience with me) ;)

The other way?  The biggest way you can help?  Please leave ratings for any of my books that you’ve read on Amazon, as well as anywhere else you’re willing to leave a rating on!

Better still, on top of those ratings, please leave a written review!  Something as simple as “I liked it” or “I thought it was okay” is good, but if you have the time and want to go into a little bit more detail, you’d be helping not just me, but you’d be helping future readers decide if they want to give my book a chance!

In fact, that’s one of the best things about reviews – you’re not just helping the author, you’re helping your fellow readers find the right books for them (by steering those with similar taste in the right direction!)

Beyond that, you can like, comment on, and share my social media posts, like this one!

Thank you for reading! :)
-Jon Wasik

Life Update: Voice Acting Level Up, Health and Diet Changes

Hello, there!

It isn’t often that I do a post dedicated to life changes, but some big things have been happening, and I wanted to let you all know what’s going on!

Voice Acting – Completing the Advanced Class

First, as of last night, I completed the advanced Voice Acting class, called “Futures”!

I’ve mentioned before that I was taking voice acting/voice over classes through the Colorado School of Acting online classes.  After my 2nd class, which focused on characters (which I absolutely loved!), I was invited to the advanced class by the instructor, and for the past 7 weeks, that’s been my Tuesday nights!

A lot of it was a continuation of the original beginner’s class, building upon what we’d previously learned for the three major voice acting types of gigs: commercials, audiobook, and, to a much lesser extent, character voicing (IE: animation/video game characters).  In fact, in this class, we almost didn’t even touch the animation/video game characters, probably because there was a separate Monday night class for that, which I didn’t take yet (I hope she’ll do it again!)

Last night was something special, though.  In the previous class, we presented and rehearsed a commercial and an audiobook excerpt with the instructor in preparation to present them to an agent from the Voice Acting industry, which is what we did last night!

Jordan Leigh from Donna Baldwin Agency

The actor/agent in question was Jordan Leigh from the Donna Baldwin Agency, and he was a fantastic voice coach with loads of good feedback!  As both the other students and our instructor pointed out, it seemed like we all did exceptionally well last night, and the advice from Jordan only pushed us to higher heights!

Last night was also, essentially, the final for our class.  So, is my voice acting education complete?

Not by a long shot.

But I am in a much better place as a voice actor than I was 9 months ago when I first started down this rabbit hole.  I felt really good about my performance, and both Jordan and our instructor’s feedback only encouraged me more.  I have plenty of growth left to go, yes, but much like writing, and much like when I was in choir, that’ll never change – the day I decide, “I’m an expert and don’t need to improve anymore!” is the day I should quit, because I’ll have stagnated.

However, there is something that has been weighing on my mind as I’ve ventured down this path…

This Is An Acting Career, Not A ‘Traditional’ Career

I knew it going in, but last night in particular, it hit me.  When Jordan, and then later the head of the school, called us all Actors, it somehow sunk deep into my soul.

I am now an actor.

Not a stage actor nor a screen actor, true, but an actor none-the-less.

And if I really want to wade into this, I have to understand that this will not be a traditional career.

I’ve been in the I.T. industry for twenty years now, and in that time, I’ve almost always been able to rely upon a steady income.  In a way, I’m lucky – I’ve never been laid off, and with one exception, I never had a gap in employment.

I had always hoped to transition to writing full-time one day, but I’m no longer certain that goal is achievable (but I’m not giving up on it, either).  I always knew that my income as a writer would never be constant or even ‘stable.’  So in reality, this idea as a voice actor doesn’t surprise me.

But at the same time, this feels far more achievable than becoming a full-time writer.  Far more realistic.

Skynet is watching…

Uh, A.I. usurping voice actors not withstanding…I’m keeping a very close eye on that right now.  All creatives are.

In any case, that means my original plan with writing, which was to gradually leave I.T. rather than all at once, is still a solid plan.

In addition, it means working both jobs.  That’s been a bit of a problem lately, mostly due to a severe lack of energy.  What energy I’ve had day-to-day was going 100% into my day job, and I’d come home exhausted.  I have at least one other plan to mitigate that, but in the mean time, this leads me to the other topic of today’s update…

Cutting Back on Added/Processed Sugar

About 9 years ago, Not too long after I moved to Colorado, I did an experiment that was, in hindsight, dangerous – I did a Juice Fast for about 5 days.  That’s where you eat no solid foods and rely on juicing to get nutrients, etc.

One good thing came out of it – I had cut out added and processed sugars for five days.  It changed my taste buds, it reset my entire system.  The first piece of candy I tried after that tasted disgustingly sweet and I could only stand one bite.

And it changed everything.  My fitness, my energy levels, most importantly (at that time) my mood.  For the next couple of years, I was a happier person overall, I had a better outlook on life.

Over the course of the last 9 years, I’ve slowly eroded that away, eating and drinking sweets more and more.  Especially after my first hip injury and subsequent surgery, when I turned to sweets to help boost my mood when I felt down or, more often, stressed.

That came to a head when I endured kidney stones earlier this year.  I was not eating or drinking healthy.  I was more active, having mostly recovered from my surgeries, but after the kidney stones, I was wiped.  And I never quite recovered.

I knew something was wrong.  I knew I had to change something.  But what?  I had started recording an audiobook again, but after the kidney stones, I just never had energy, and I just passed out after work every day until it was time to get up and cook dinner.

And as luck would have it, I came across an article randomly about a guy who cut processed sugars for a few weeks, and the results.

Reading through it, I recognized all of what he went through – the withdrawal symptoms for the first 5 to 7 days, but then the steady energy and the absolute night and day change in mood that followed.

It was what happened to me nine years ago.

I determined in that moment that I was going to try it again.  Not the juice fasting, but the cutting back on added or processed sugar.  I knew that cutting 100% processed/added sugar was impossible.  It’s in everything these days.  Bread.  Pasta sauce.  Ketchup (which I can’t have for other reasons.)  Soups.  Basically anything and everything that is not home-made has some added sugar to it.  Lots of chips do.  Even ‘healthy’ snacks like Wheat Thins have it!  You’ll be shocked if you start looking for it on nutrition labels.

But I could drastically reduce it.  I already don’t drink soda, except on very rare occasions.  But I had a lot of snacks with sugar.  I had cereal with lots of sugar in the morning.  I love cookies and store-bought/Starbucks-bought banana bread.  Not to mention Starbucks lattes with vanilla syrup, or more recently, Dutch Bros. Grasshopper mocha.

Plus my alcoholic drink of choice?  Fireball on the rocks.  Which comes to 11 grams of sugar and 108 calories for just a single shot, let alone a whole glass on the rocks!

So, about a week and a half ago, I cut almost all of that out.  No more Fireball.  No more cookies.  I switched to regular Cheerios for cereal (and then was shocked to find it had 1g of added sugar per serving!)  I stopped eating regular bread every day.  I started paying attention to labels, and when we went out, I googled restaurants’ nutrition facts to pick meals with little or no added sugar.

Not all sugar is bad, mind you.  Natural sugar is good (in moderation).  Fruits, milk and other dairy, those are good, and in fact vital, but you don’t get the sugar rush and subsequent crash with them.

And let me tell you, that first week was rough.  Days 1 through 3, my energy levels tanked to the lowest low I’ve ever experienced.  My performance in voice acting class was abysmal.  And I napped often.  But by Friday, all of that changed.  Suddenly I had so much energy throughout the day, consistently, and even at night for a while, I had trouble sleeping even with melatonin!

But then it balanced out this week.  I feel not just steady in my energy, but my mood has significantly improved.  I feel happier, more content, and even hopeful.  And last night, my performance in voice acting was the best one I’ve ever given!  I don’t just feel that way, but the teacher and even my classmates remarked on how well I did!  (Yes, energy is essential to giving a good performance.)

In short, I think I might finally be able to get back to recording my audiobook after work.

I feel like I can finally get things back on track.

I have hope again.

Anyway, thank you for reading.  This ended up being a lot longer than I planned, but there’s a lot of exciting things going on :)

-Jon Wasik