Before we get started, check out this amazing art of Rune by noafelixart (https://vgen.co/noafelixart)! I’ve never commissioned art for my work before, and I’m pleased to say it was a breeze. And look at her! She’s perfect!
Anyway, let’s talk Laymen.
With Blue Moon, Laymen is at an end. I don’t want Elliot’s story to get too big, and I like where it ends up. Happy to take my hands off it now and let it go.
Unfortunately, that does mean that I’ll be refraining from monthly posting for a little while. I have a couple of ideas for one-offs, but I’ll be keeping those to myself for now. The reason for this is twofold.
One, I’d like some open time to go back through all of Lonely Ship and redraft the older volumes to a new standard. I like those books, and I’m proud of the editors’ work on ’em, but I’ve learned a lot in two-and-a-bit years and I want to give them another look. That will take time, so I’d rather not have a second set of deadlines to contend with.
Two, my life situation is a little messy. I will need to start a new role in November, if I’m not made redundant from the organisation. New beginnings, new work, new people. A new weekly schedule that fits my daughter’s nursery. Or total unemployment, I guess. I’d like the space to work that out without worrying about posts and things. There’s even a chance my new job, whatever it is, overtakes my evening writing time, which could create more delays while I look for some more.
So, that’s autumn. I’ll re-read all of Lonely Ship and update it, then do some final edits on Lonely Ship 7 once it’s been past another few sets of eyes. I’m hoping to (re-)upload the whole saga by the end of 2026.
When I do, a few things will need to change.
First, I’ll be removing all of my work from Amazon, as soon as 1-7‘s new drafts are finished. I’m grateful to KDP for making my first self-publishing experience so smooth (too smooth, if you want my opinion) but Amazon hasn’t been giving me the exposure and sales I’d like to see from a platform like that. A very large, morally corrupt platform with a monopoly on digital books. No shame to those who continue to work for Bezos, but I can’t do it anymore. So long, my precious 5-star rating! You will be missed!
All books will remain on Itch, Kofi and through a wide-ish distribution via Draft2Digital. The latter’s new anti-poor policy has hurt me, I shan’t deny it. But with Itch refusing to advertise my products because payment processors don’t like boobs, and Kofi not being a marketplace at all, I don’t have many options to get the word out. And D2D has been good to me. Smashwords sales easily eclipse that of any other platform.
However, I will be increasing the price of all Lonely Ship volumes with the new editions. They currently sit at $2.50, which was fair in the early days when I didn’t know what I was doing. Now I know more, and the quality of writing is much higher. They’re big books. I’m thinking $6.99 is fair for each, though I will be putting Season 1 on sale with the new upload. Near Traverse will be free for a bit, to match the pay-what-you-want of Itch and Kofi (which will remain in place with just the suggested price increased). I might even work out an Itch bundle for the whole thing to keep it cheap.
After that, I want to go through all of Laymen like I will have done to Lonely Ship, redraft to a higher standard, match up the quality, then publish for free on the usual channels. It’ll need a nice cover! I’ll split between ‘core’ and WSWO so they aren’t massive. That’ll be nice to have.
And then…? I don’t really know. I’d like to start something new, try this publishing thing from the beginning like I was supposed to this whole time. Y’know, provided I’m employed in some capacity. It’ll need to be something brand new, not Lonely Ship or Laymen or whatever. It might (hold onto your seats) not even be horny… Not sure yet.
In the meantime, I’d like to push for more anthology and magazine submissions. My attempts so far have been futile, but I’m confident in my skill. I’ll find a buyer eventually if I keep at it. Anything that doesn’t get got will end up for free on the usual channels.
Oh, and I’m in the queue for an AO3 account. I’ll throw up all my free stuff there too, provided they’ll have it. Hopefully open my oeuvre up to a new breed to weirdo. Hey, if you came here from AO3, give me a wave!
Lots to do. I’ve adored the journey so far. I’ve made some cool friends. Here’s hoping for more to come.
Thanks for reading!
Ewan Stone 
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