The book is available for free until Saturday, so make sure to grab it now.
ENG | https://amazon.com/dp/B0FKZCW59M
DE | https://amazon.de/dp/B0FKZCHXBP
Here is a short summary:
In an abandoned warehouse somewhere in Oklahoma, robots toil away — no, actually just one robot: W4L-DI, Model 7.3, affectionately called “Waldi.”
His job? Cleaning. Around the clock. No breaks. No pay. No complaints. And above all: never press the red button.
If you liked it, please leave me a review, thanks!
My first real month as an author is officially done. I published my debut novel at the start of July and gave it away for free to more than 600 readers. A handful of people purchased it afterward, and I’ve been getting about one new reader per day via Kindle Unlimited (KENP). Not exactly a bestseller success story—but it’s a start.
Here’s a breakdown of how everything went:
As I’ve mentioned before, my strategy is to give all my books away for free in order to build a readership. Being free is really the only “selling point” I have as an indie author trying to break into an oversaturated market where nobody knows who I am. So, free it is.
This is my weekly short story project where I release a new short story ebook on Amazon which allows me to give it away from Monday until Saturday. Here are the download numbers so far:
Amazon’s KDP system allows me to offer books for free for 5 days every 3 months. After a year, I’ll have enough content to give away a new short story each week, every year—until I get old and wrinkly.
The goal is not to make money from short stories, but to create promotional material that gets readers interested in my other work at no cost. Frankly, I don’t think it’s even possible to earn anything substantial with short stories on Amazon.
From my perspective, this is a success. Forever was downloaded 630 times in German and 44 times in English, resulting in 13 ratings on Amazon. With an average rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars, new readers can see that I don’t write complete trash—but actually offer some real entertainment.
As mentioned earlier, the book also brought in Kindle Unlimited readers—roughly one new reader per day—and led to a few purchases of the digital version.
To everyone who bought or reviewed one of my books: You’re awesome—thank you!
If you haven’t checked it out, grab it here: US – English | DE – German
Still very much a work in progress. I’m experimenting with scheduling and trying to figure out what kind of content would be interesting and helpful to you.
Newsletter
Short-term goal: Finish a novelette to give away to new newsletter subscribers.
Long-term goal: Once I reach 100 real subscribers, I’ll begin sending out weekly emails with updates, tips, behind-the-scenes content, and more—for readers, writers, and anyone curious about this author journey.
The website itself
Last month, website traffic increased even though I barely touched it, which is a good sign. That said, I haven’t received many comments yet—just the usual spam. The main purpose of the site is to become a central hub for the community I hope to build. So if you’re reading this: drop a comment and say hi. You might be the first to do so.
I’m still figuring out a posting routine here. What I’ve already learned: You won’t gain traction unless you follow people first.
At first, I wanted to be “that cool guy” who follows no one but gets tons of followers anyway. After a month, I realized: if you don’t follow anyone, nobody even notices you exist.
Unless you bring an audience from somewhere else (which I don’t have), you’re essentially invisible. So, my new approach is to follow about 10 new people daily—mostly in certain communities—and get some traction with follow backs.
Content-wise, I post daily thoughts about movies, shows, and books—kind of like a mini review each day. I’m planning to write more about writing and the author life too, but only once I’ve built up an audience that actually engages (likes, comments, retweets).
Follow me here on Twitter if you’re interested: @michael_brig
I secured my handle and uploaded a few book covers. That’s it.
So far, I have absolutely no idea how to grow on Instagram or what to post there. I’ll focus on figuring that out later—after I’ve established a working system for the platforms that currently matter more to me: Twitter, my website, and Amazon.
You can follow me here and say hi: @michaelbrig
My tutorial channel is holding steady at around 10,000 subscribers. But honestly, it feels like there’s not much growth potential left—I might never hit the 100K mark.
To be honest, I believe YouTube has placed my entire profile in a kind of sandbox. Creating videos often feels like I’m fighting windmills. My two author channels, OnPaper and StoryLines, barely get any impressions, even though I see brand-new channels pulling in 100 views per video with far worse thumbnails than mine.
There’s not much I can do about that. All I can do is evaluate whether YouTube is still worth my time and effort.
I’m super happy with how writing went in July. I’ve found a routine that really works for me—one that might even allow me to finish a new book each month in the near future.
Right now, I’m juggling:
I’m already writing Part 5, even though I haven’t published Part 1 yet. I’m about 15% into the newest isntallment.
This is my second series—think Harry Potter, but in a secret school for spies and criminals. I’ve written about 25% of Book One.
This is my next standalone project: a serial killer thriller with ties to Aleister Crowley. I’m roughly 10% into the first draft.
AI tools have been a game-changer for me—they catch way more typos than I ever could. That’s helped me move much faster than before in the editing stage. Still, editing and translating remain the parts I enjoy the least about being an author.
I’ve made a commitment: until I earn money from my writing, I won’t spend money from my other projects on it. My author career has to stand on its own two feet or not stand at all.
A novelette I plan to give away for free to anyone who signs up for my newsletter. I aim to put it out in August.
A mix of James Bond, Sherlock Holmes, and Jack Reacher. I’m in the final editing phase, so this should go live in September 2025.
I finished writing this one in July. Next up: the first editing round. If all goes well, it will be released in October 2025.
There’s still so much to learn, to test, and to figure out. But the most important part? It’s fun. And for the first time, with Forever, I feel like I’ve found a way to attract some readers.
I’m still a long way from being able to call myself a “real” author—but the journey has begun. And the good thing about starting from zero is that the only way from here is up.
Thanks to everyone who reads my stuff. Writing wouldn’t be nearly as fun without you.
See you next time,
Brig
The book is available on Amazon for free until Saturday, so grab a copy now. It’s available in German and English here:
ENG | https://shorturl.at/Sd1IP
DE | https://shorturl.at/zQNym
If you liked the story please leave me review on Amazon, thanks.
Those Who Go to War – A Short Story
Colonel Voss is a hero. A warrior of Earth. Determined, ruthless, ready to wipe out the alien race that once attacked humanity. But on the enemy’s homeworld, time flows differently—slow, stretched, almost frozen. While Voss fights, time on Earth races forward. Generations rise and fall. The world he’s trying to save has long forgotten he ever fought for it.
Those Who Go to War is an atmospheric sci-fi short story about the futility of war in the face of time slipping through one’s fingers — approximately 13,000 words long.
When you don’t have an audience and no marketing budget, giving away your books for free is the only strategy I can think of to get the ball rolling. From day one, I decided that everything I do will be available for free — at least to some degree. If you want to read my work without ever spending a dime, I’ll make that possible.
Of course, I can’t just afford to buy 10,000 copies and hand them out — I’m not rich. But I can use Amazon’s tools to offer the digital versions (Kindle) for free as much as possible. That includes enrolling all my books in Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program and taking advantage of the 5-day promotional periods Amazon allows every 90 days for each title.
Three weeks ago, I finished my latest full-length novel Forever. I made it available for free as soon as Amazon processed it. From July 7th to July 13th, both the English and German versions were downloadable for $0.
The German version had 630 downloads — an average of 126 per day, peaking at 273 on July 10th. The English version wasn’t as successful but still reached 44 potential readers.
This is by far the biggest success I’ve had with a title on Amazon.
It didn’t make me a single dollar — so why do I call it a success?
Simple: before I launched my “author in progress” project, I had already published two titles on Amazon. But without an audience or marketing budget, almost no one bought them.
Forever (or Für Immer, the German title) didn’t just get 674 downloads that might leader to future readers — it already has 13 reviews. The high download numbers also gave it a slight ranking boost. Both factors helped attract Kindle Unlimited readers (KENP) and even paying customers after the promo ended.
Right now, I’m averaging one new reader per day on Amazon — either buying the book directly or reading it through Kindle Unlimited. I’m convinced I never would’ve reached those readers without first giving the book away for free.
Free Is the Most Honest Way to Find Readers
People know Stephen King. They know George R. R. Martin. But they don’t know me. When King or Martin release a new book, people check it out because they entertained us before. When I release a new book, no one checks it out — because I haven’t earned that trust yet.
That’s why I need to give people a reason to take a chance on me before I ask them for money. By offering my writing for free, I’m doing exactly that: inviting you to give me a chance at no risk. And if I succeed in entertaining you, you’ll know me — and maybe you’ll come back for more, even if it costs something next time.
I’ll stick to this strategy until reality proves me wrong. But so far, the numbers have clearly convinced me I’m right.
By the way, if you want to check out the book, you can get it here:
US – English | DE – German
Man, what a ride this guy had through life. Ozzy Osbourne was one of rock’s greatest voices—if not the greatest of them all. Today, he sadly passed away at the age of 76. Just two weeks ago, he played his final concert, bringing together some of the biggest names in music for one last, unforgettable hurrah.
I remember hearing him for the first time—falling in love with that kind of music and his unique voice. Later, I saw him on that MTV show, The Osbournes, which in Germany only aired with subtitles. My English wasn’t good enough at first to understand everything, but after watching rerun after rerun, not only did I get why so many liked it—I also came to love Ozzy Osbourne the person.
He always struck me as a great guy with a kind heart. And he managed to do what many men strive for: he stayed true to himself and lived his dream all the way to the end.
His music with Black Sabbath made me pick up a guitar. His work with Randy Rhoads is rock history at its finest. And his solo career later on produced hit after hit—for good reason. My father loved his music so much, he wanted Ozzy’s song Dreamer to be played at his funeral.
A man can’t live forever.
But his work can.
RIP Prince of Darkness.