What's Next in the World of PsyCop?
Dear <<First Name>>,
Every now and then, someone will make a comment about the PsyCop series as if it’s finished. I can see why, since it’s been a while since my last novel-length release. But I’ve had PsyCop 8 in the works for quite some time. I’ve been penning it for well over a year now, and I’m currently making my way through the last few scenes of the rough draft. My goal is to release this book this spring. That’s as specific as I can be at the moment!
Because this story is from Crash’s point of view and because of the time it spans, I had a hard time deciding whether I’d refer to it as a PsyCop Crash Prequel or PsyCop 8. I think it’ll be less confusing to call it PsyCop 8, because although it stretches from the time before the start of the series and through the end of Spook Squad, that’s where it lands in the reading order. As you can imagine, it’ll be lengthy. I’m not sure exactly how lengthy until I get through edits and rewrites. But really long.
Having a new release is always totally freaking exciting for me. I love unveiling the cover art. I love it when reviewers squee over getting advance copies of the book. I love hearing that readers are anticipating the release as much as I am. And these days—you’d better believe this is better than Christmas and my birthday rolled into one—I LOVE hearing the audio during the production process.
A couple things about this particular audio concern me. First, the higher number a book is in a series, the fewer copies that book will sell. Second, the longer a novel is, the more expensive it is to produce. Because of the way things are currently set up, I have no control over the audiobook selling price. This is particularly difficult with Whispersynch. I love Whispersynch’s functionality, the way it lets a reader switch back and forth between the audio and the ebook. I use it myself. But I don’t love the way Audible or Amazon will sell a whispersynched audio for $1.99. I make about 70¢ on each of those sales, which ultimately means it’s unlikely I’ll profit from releasing long audios, and in fact, I will probably lose money. Potentially a lot of money.
Since it’s important to me to offer PsyCop 8 in audio, I’m going to try to raise some cash to defray the production cost by selling items like special PsyCop shirts and mugs. Right now, I’m surveying folks to gauge interest level. If you think you'll want to support the audio production of the next PsyCop novel, take this quick and anonymous 3-question poll to help me start planning the fundraising.
I’d love it if you could send me some good writing vibes, too. Finishing this novel is like straining to roll a boulder uphill on a mudslide.
xo
Jordan
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