What I’ll Write Over The Next Months … Years … Decades (Becoming an Author #3)

I never really made a big plan. When I decided to write 1,000 words every day, I just started — and whatever idea came to mind first, I worked on.
This, as it turns out, was not the best approach. Some ideas I abandoned halfway through; others I finished but chose not to publish because they didn’t work well as standalone novels.

I quickly realized that having a plan isn’t just important when writing a single book — it’s essential when you want to write multiple books every year.

I have dozens of series ideas stored in my swipe file. They all look intriguing, but I know I shouldn’t start them all at once. Instead, it makes more sense to tackle them one by one.

My plan for now is simple: focus on a single series until it’s finished.

In that series, I’ve nearly finished editing Part 1. I’ve already written first drafts for Parts 2 and 3, and I’m currently writing Part 4. Overall, I’ve outlined at least 20 parts, which will eventually bring the series to a satisfying conclusion — or at least a conclusion that I personally find satisfying, tying together the major plotlines that start in Part 1.

The series is called 17, named after the main character.

It’s a crime-thriller-action story in the spirit of Bond, Reacher, Hunt, and Holmes, where the protagonist solves a new case in each book, while a massive conspiracy unfolds across the entire series. I’m blending in elements of conspiracy theories, aiming for a tone that is dark but also has moments of fun.

Whenever I need a break from the series, I’ll work on a standalone novel — not a new series. Just a single novel, perhaps in the sci-fi, mystery, or western genre, something different to refresh my creative energy.

The only other major project I’ll allow myself is a lifelong work I’ve been outlining for years: It began when I watched Disney mishandle Star Wars and HBO rush Game of Thrones to an unsatisfying end. I started thinking about how I could do it better. The result is a sci-fi opera I currently call The Eye Sees It All.

This will be a lifelong project — something I want to build slowly, one page at a time. Honestly, I have no idea how large it will eventually become.
Unlike the 17 series, where I can already estimate that I’ll be able to publish multiple books each year, I might only manage one book for The Eye every couple of years — if that.

So, my loose publishing plan will be:

  1. A 17 part
  2. Another 17 part
  3. A standalone novel
  4. A part of The Eye or another 17 part

That’s the current goal.

If I can successfully set up the system that I have in mind, new books will be out every March, June, September, and December.

I think it’s possible. Hopefully, I’m right.

Write Better Books | Read Better Stories

I don’t consider myself the best writer in the world – though I should be number two, right behind J.R.R. Tolkien.

Jokes aside, I know a thing or two about writing well. And I’m always learning more about how to write better. Just yesterday, I stopped reading two books by authors I won’t name. I quit because both books bored me to death. They were written in a childish way, had characters I didn’t care about, and the plot went in an uninteresting direction.

Both books were bestsellers, written by big names in the industry. That means not only did millions of readers buy and enjoy them, but they were also edited by seasoned professionals.

Still, I didn’t like them – and I did something I rarely do: I didn’t finish the books.

Over the years, I’ve read thousands of books, more writing articles than I can count, and watched hours upon hours of YouTube videos from writers offering advice. Through all that, I developed a better writing style—and an eye for good writing. This eye made me stop reading the two bestsellers – they were simply not good enough for me anymore.

Looking at my early days of writing as a hobby, I’ve come a long way. Today, I sometimes laugh and sometimes cry at my first attempts at writing. The last pages I wrote yesterday, though, are good. Compared to the two bestsellers I quit on, they are awesome.

But what made me write better? And what made me realize bad writing?

I believe it’s simply reading as much as possible. Developing from writing badly to writing not so badly anymore is a process. Sure, writing every day helps. But consuming good writing is the main engine behind that progress.

If you want to write better too, I highly recommend reading better books – and also reading more. Over time, you’ll discover authors you love, genres you enjoy, and styles that resonate with you. Naturally, you’ll start imitating what you’ve read. You’ll “steal” what feels good to you and omit what is bad without even thinking about it – it just happens instinctively. Before you realize it, you’ll write something that makes you proud and let’s you boldly claim that it’s way better than this other author’s bestseller book that you couldn’t finish.

The best part of it? Doing it like that makes learning not feel like work—it actually feels like a lot of fun.

  • Athletes watch other athletes
  • Filmmakers watch films
  • Painters study classic art
  • Musicians listen to music
  • And writers learn by reading

I try to read as much as I can. On average, it’s a book and two to three comics/mangas every single week. I’ve also made it a habit to watch a movie or an episode of a show daily, to learn from that form of storytelling.

Of course, you still have to apply what you read by hammering your daily word count into the keyboard. Just reading without writing anything won’t make anyone a good writer. But if you only write and never read, there’s not much you could apply. Consuming stories exposes you to good and bad storytelling. And the more exposure you get, the more you can identify what’s good and what’s not.

So, the first rule of writing better books is simple: Read and watch better stories.

First Objective: Do More (Becoming an Author #2)

I recently looked through Stephen King’s bibliography. So far, he has published 65 novels—which is actually fewer than I would have guessed. He started in 1974 with Carrie and scored a hit right out of the gate. Lots of bestsellers followed. It’s 50 years of writing. Impressive—not just because of the hits, but because of the consistency.

King’s Twitter is a mess, his politics a joke. But I still admire him. I want to get there too.

My goal is four books a year. One every three months. It’s possible. But to get there I need to do more.

Last year, I wrote a lot. I started a simple experiment: write 1,000 words a day. I stuck with it for almost all 365 days. The result? Four finished books—and several more that never made it past the halfway point. The main issue: I didn’t take the time to edit any of them. I treated it more like a writing exercise than an author’s workflow.

But being an author isn’t just about writing—it’s about writing something you’re confident putting out into the world. That’s where plotting and editing come in. Two things I haven’t really focused on yet.

To consistently release a new book every three months, I need to work on both, establish a working process, optimize it, and invest the effort. Simply put: I need to do more.

I’ll continue using the 1K-a-day method for writing. But on top of that, I’ll dedicate at least one hour a day to plotting and editing. Will that be enough to fully prep a book for release every three months? I’m not sure yet. The next few months will tell. I’ll report here on the tools I use, the time it takes, possible adjustments, and the final results.

So stay tuned…

Daily Blogging to Promote Books (Becoming an Author #1)

I like to think I have good ideas. I also believe I can write fairly well. Not everyone will agree, of course, but there have been moments in my life when friends, family, and even complete strangers have complimented me on both.

There’s definitely a lot to learn about writing—it’s one of those skills where the learning never really ends. By writing more, writing regularly, and publishing my work, I should improve over time. Practice makes perfect, they say. And until perfection is achieved, there’s still improvement.

That said, the writing itself has never really been my weak point. My struggle is with marketing.

I’m terrible at self-promotion. And since nobody else is promoting me as a self-published author, my writing isn’t getting the attention I’d like it to get.

If you want to become a successful author, writing books isn’t enough. You have to figure out how to sell them—otherwise, you’re just another office drone or factory worker with an unfulfilled dream of being an author.

Over the past few days, I’ve been trying to figure out how to actually reach readers. I don’t expect to sell millions of books overnight, but over the course of months and years, I’d like to see some growth. So far, that hasn’t happened. The first two books I’ve published aren’t really selling—I get a small handful of readers each month, mostly through Kindle Unlimited. It’s been that way since the beginning, and more than a year later, nothing has changed.

Just putting my work out there wasn’t enough. If I don’t spread the word, nobody will find my work.

I once read that around 7,500 new books are published on Kindle—every single day. It’s certainly even more now. And with AI improving rapidly, that number will only increase.

That makes my books feel like a single raindrop in an ocean of new releases. It’s my job to make that raindrop stand out and get readers interested in what I’ve created.

One way I might do that is through blogging—preferably daily blogging.

These days, most people consume content on social media only. But if there are people who still read blogs, they should also be book readers. So daily blogging might be a good way to find an audience for my writing.

It’s a long-term strategy. It might take years to grow a blog—if I can grow one at all. But it’s a cost-effective promotional tool, and one I actually enjoy using. I like writing fiction for a reason. For the same reason, I should enjoy blogging too.

So, this blog will be one of the tools I use to promote my work. I’ll keep you posted on how effective it turns out to be.


My Books On Amazon USMy Books On Amazon DE

I Try To Become A Real Author Now

Until now, writing has been just a hobby for me. I wrote stories for fun, often discarding them as soon as they were finished. However, I did self-publish two books—mostly to understand how the process works. The first was a Western, 4 Bullets, and the second, a dystopian sci-fi novel, World War 4 (apparently, I have a thing for the number 4 in my titles).

I don’t have many readers – or buyers. In total, I’ve sold fewer than 100 copies of both books combined.

Without a platform, a friend with influence, a big marketing budget, or a major publisher backing you, being an author also means being the CEO of your own marketing efforts. Unfortunately, marketing is not my cup of tea.

Another thing that’s not mine: Editing.

Writing itself comes easily to me. I sit down and write 1,000 words a day, which adds up to over 365,000 words a year. Since a typical novel is around 60,000 words, I could easily write six books a year. Every year. But editing? That’s a different story.

The last book I published took me years to edit. Another completed novel—intended to launch a lifelong series—was finished in late 2023, yet here I am in 2025, still stuck in the editing phase.

Editing is exhausting. I comb through my text endlessly, always feeling like I need to go over it again. And no matter how often I went over it, I still find new typos in the next round of going over it again.

But here’s the good news: AI is changing the game.

This month, I experimented with feeding my novel—page by page—into ChatGPT for editing advice. The results were surprisingly good. While AI isn’t perfect and makes its own mistakes, it corrects many of mine. And fixing AI’s errors somehow feels easier than fixing my own.

This experience made me realize that not only can I improve the quality of my work, but I can also increase my publishing speed. Releasing six books a year no longer seems impossible. If AI continues to evolve, who knows? Maybe I’ll even manage to publish a book a month for the entire year.

Most importantly, this process has rekindled my passion for writing. It has also reignited my ambition to turn this from a hobby into something more.

Up until now, I wrote for fun and published out of curiosity. I never seriously considered making writing a business. Now, I do.

There’s a lot to learn, a lot of work ahead—but also a lot of excitement. Here’s what I’m focusing on:

  • Crafting better storylines
  • Creating more memorable characters
  • Improving writing flow and style
  • Editing more efficiently
  • Translating my German stories into English faster
  • Designing better book covers
  • Writing compelling blurbs
  • Learning about marketing and self-promotion
  • Building a readership and online presence
  • Growing my social media reach
  • Exploring AI-generated audiobooks
  • … and much more.

I plan to document my progress—successes and setbacks alike—right here on this website.

My next book is set to release this summer, marking the beginning of my journey toward becoming a real author. Let’s see if I can reach the finish line.