Update: Release, Bloopers, Isekai Terry, and the Next Week or So (Patreon)

Not that anyone really needs the reminders, but the Volume Three chapters will mostly be moving out of the public section and behind the paywall for the $3 tier tomorrow to satisfy Amazon's exclusivity clauses. Also, the Volume Three ebook goes live on Tuesday, July 2. You can preorder a copy here.

Now, I talked with my publisher. If everything goes right right, the audiobook for Volume Three will get a simultaneous release on Tuesday. The ACX/Audible people have said that it will, but we're relying on their people to do things behind the scenes that we have no control over. It didn't get submitted early enough for a pre-order window, sadly, but you should be able to grab a copy on the 2nd. Yes, I'll post a link after it goes live.

I usually do a little reminder note in the last chapter of each volume that I'll be (theoretically) taking a few days off and that a bloopers chapters is coming. Things are a bit different this time around. A bloopers chapter for Volume Nine will appear in the next few days, assuming I can find a way to funny up a pretty dark volume. I usually have some ideas about which scenes will get the humor treatment, but not so much this time.

While I would normally take a few days off right now, there is the matter of Isekai Terry. Unlike a lot of the things that I post sporadically on here, that book is already under contract and the first draft is supposed to be done tomorrow. Clearly, that's not going to happen. I wasn't very motivated these last few weeks for reasons that most of you are aware of, so it's only about half done. Here's the thing. I still need to finish it. It's not optional. So, for the next week or so, or until it's done, that will be my primary project. At that point, I really will need a break.

That turn of events is also probably a good thing. I've been working pretty relentlessly on Unintended Cultivator for the last 14 months straight. I've written 9 books in that series alone. Over 1 million words of story with Sen. That's about the same number of books that more traditional authors put out in a decade. Working on something else full time for a little while will be a nice mental break for me.

Even so, all of that is also what I've been told is an unhealthy work/life balance. I mean, I don't even take weekends off, which I think has set up unhealthy expectations from some subscribers. I have people unsubscribe if I only post one chapter on a day. It's worse if I miss a day entirely. I don't know if I'm the most productive writer on Patreon, but I'd hazard that I'm probably in the top 5%.

The truth is, I like writing every day. I'm probably going to keep doing it. I'm less of a fan of feeling like I'm jeopardizing my living if I don't want to work seven days a week, every week. So, after I finish Isekai Terry and take a few days off, expect that there will be a formal change to the admittedly vague posting schedule. I'm not sure exactly what it's going to look like, but it'll likely be a five days per week schedule. I imagine I'll stick with the 2 chapters per day thing.

I may still post chapters on weekends. Hell, I probably will sometimes, but it needs to come with the understanding that those chapters are bonus chapters. I probably won't assign myself times to post. At least not at first. My sleep schedule has been so erratic that would be setting myself up for failure.

I know that this will frustrate some subscribers. I know some people will unsubscribe because of it. It's not what I want, but I'll just have to live with that. It does come with some advantages, though. If I'm writing on days when I'm not posting, it'll let me build up a little reserve of chapters that I can use if I get a migraine. I won't be working, but you'll still get chapters. It will also give me some room to work on some of the backburner projects that people routinely ask about, like Rinn's Run and Forde Voss.

In the meantime, though, expect a bloopers chapter and, if you're in the appropriate tier, a flurry of Isekai Terry chapters. Who knows? An Unintended Cultivator short story might even appear.