Archives for July 2020

What’s that in the sky? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No. It’s an inordinately tired author!

Damn, June was crazy for me. After averaging 50 hours a week last month, with at least half that time dedicated to writing, I managed to get a hell of a lot of things done. I worked like a machine sent back through time to sit at a laptop and work like a machine, and yet it was immensely gratifying. Work hard, play hard, right? Well, my take on it is work really hard now, play even harder later.

This is a rate of productivity I’ve been trying to reach since the start of the year. Now I’ve hit it, I would very much like to keep it up if I can. I’ve taken a well-deserved day off to sit down, write this month’s update, and tell you all the stuff that went down:

I’ve been racing towards the end of The Forever King like a greyhound on fire, and think I’ll be finished by end of July (excited flail).

I launched a new How To video series on how to write fantasy books, which I’ll be continuing for the foreseeable,

I managed to get some adventure in on the open seas, and I headed back to one of my favourite writing spots for the first time this year,

aaand the game I’ve been writing for, Veil of Ruin, launched and funded in less than 72 hours on Kickstarter. Now we’re headed for stretch goals. Boom!

But there’s more. Bigger changes are afoot in the realm of Galley. Here’s the lowdown.

Road To A Million

As many of you might know by now, I’m an avid vlogger. Video production is a little hobby of mine. Since 2010, I’ve done almost 100 of my “BenCasts”, chronicling my progression from publishing The Written, through to managing to go full-time in writing, and also my move to Canada. It’s been a rewarding and jovial record of the last 10 years, and as you regular readers will know, I couldn’t be happier with my job and my level of success so far.

But now I want to climb to the next level. What is the next level, you might ask? For me, my goal is to become more independent financially and also location-independent.

How? Call me mad, but to put it simply, I want to sell a million books. I also want to travel the world as I do it, vlogging every step of the way.

Why? Because I think I can do it. From childhood, it has been my dream to be a household name in fantasy. Selling a million books miiiiight just do that. I also work from a laptop 100% of the time, and I think my books will be better for my adventuring. I’ll get to pour every experience back into my fantasy worlds.

Since exploring a chunk of British Columbia the last three years, I’ve learnt that is the life I truly want, and have always wanted, to be honest. It’s time to carpe that diem. I’m scared, but excited. I’ll have to wait for the world to calm down and get back to a new normal, of course, but I’m ready.

This is why I’ve decided to bring the BenCast to a close, to better focus on this new push for success. Fear not, I’m actually going to be producing more episodic updates, just in a new format called Road to a Million. Road to a Million will consist of weekly updates all about my mad aim to sell a million books, plain and simple, while simultaneously seeking adventure and travel. I’ve upped my game in video production, bought some new equipment, and I’m ALL IN. (cue ferocious battle roar)

Forever King Cover Reveal

I’m going to go into more detail in the next and last BenCast, so keep your eyes peeled for that coming in the next week. You’ll especially want to look out for it because I’ll be revealing the Forever King cover…

For a spot of nostalgia, you can watch my old BenCasts at YouTube.com/bengalley. It feels great to put it in writing, as if it confirms the decisions I’ve made. No going back now, right? Hope you’re excited.

Thanks for reading! I’ll be back this time next month with another update, but if you want to catch up daily, I can always be found on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Instagram. Or, if you want to get exclusive news and updates, get involved.
Peace,

Ben

Ben’s Books