I haven’t written a word of fiction in over a month. I’ve been absorbed by launching my first psi-fi novel, Reluctant Android. He’s slowly finding his legs, in print and online.

• Reluctant Android in print: www.bit.ly/RA-paperback   (Amazon)
• Reluctant Android on Kindle: www.bit.ly/RA-kindle      (mobi format)
• Reluctant Android on Smashwords: www.bit.ly/RA-smash  (epub format)
• Reluctant Android on Goodreads: www.bit.ly/RA-goodreads (sends you to Amazon)

Some readers have told me they’re “half-way through!” and enjoying the story. That’s hopeful. Also hopeful is the fact that I had one copy stolen. I announced the book at a meeting of writers, pointing to copies for sale at the treasurer’s table near the door. At the end of the meeting I saw that I had sold three, but four were gone. I take that as a positive sign.

I’ve been encouraging readers to share their thoughts about the book online. Getting people to write a review is like signing up volunteers for an experimental colonoscopy. People often say, “Great book!” “Loved the book!” But no review. Maybe they’re lying.

I’ve been reading books and online articles about marketing self-published books. I’ve watched dozens of YouTubes and even taken a couple of online “webinars” on the topic. Turns out, there is no silver bullet. Marketing a self-published book is just plain difficult. Half a million new titles are self-published each year (!) so getting noticed is nigh impossible.

I’m as reluctant as an android to purchase advertising, which nobody can tell me is an effective use of funds, and I do not have a “newsletter” for clamoring fans. The idea of a newsletter strikes me as just wrong. A so-called newsletter is neither a letter, nor does it contain news. They are subscription advertisements, and who wants that? I guess some people do. That’s what the experts say. Maybe I’ll try to cobble one together, but I don’t like it.

I’ve been sketching an outline for a booklet-sized nonfiction essay on “How I Built My Publishing Empire.” It was a long, complicated, and sometimes difficult task to get Reluctant Android published as a low-cost, DIY project. Other writers I’ve talked to have a million questions about how to do it. So I thought I could compile my experience into a publication that I could put online for under a dollar.

I’ve also been editing and re-writing, which counts as writing, I guess. I rewrote a prequel to the Newcomers trilogy (of which Reluctant Android is the first). It still needs line-editing. I’m also rewriting the first volume of a second series involving a little green alien from outer space. He’s a tongue-in-cheek character, but he does have important things to say.  Get info on forthcoming projects at www.PsiFiBooks.com.

As for drawing new water direct from the well of creative fiction, I’m not doing it. I can’t get my mind back into that mode while I wrestle with book production and marketing. Producing and selling books is not fiction writing, and I find it impossible to multi-task across those categories. I’m going to keep working on my publishing empire for another month then let it coast while I go back to the well.