Newbie, just saying hello

I just discovered this group. I am uncertain of the etiquette and am searching the FAQ that I may learn the ways of the IASFA. Apologies if I run afoul of the rules; please chalk it up to the inept bumbling of an untrained padawan fresh off the Internet.

I come to introduce myself. I am an entrepreneur in cybersecurity and crypto, where my day job is to help people protect their identity and intellectual property on the Internet. My world is one of cryptography, cryptocurrency, and tokens, both fungible and non-fungible. I write science fiction to decompress from my day job.

I began a few years ago with a somewhat ribald, frankly male-fantasy tale that I wrote merely for my own private amusement. I had no intention whatever of publishing it. However, a lady-friend had other ideas, and after a concerted barrage, I surrendered and placed it on Amazon. The sales exceeded my wildest expectations. Well, my wildest expectations were meager, so any sales would have exceeded them, but nonetheless, it did okay.

Two sequels followed; they did bupkis. The greatest teacher, failure is. However, though they fall far short of being a best seller, they do trickle along with regular, if unremarkable, sales. They persist at that awkward intersection of too good to unpublish and walk away, but not good enough to go anywhere.

So, I decided to write the fourth book of the trilogy. The new book, a prequel, is still in process (Current working title: “The Hat and the Canary”) and I hope to get it out later this year. So, as a run-up to that release, I am doing a refurb of the existing three stories, a fresh edit, some minor tweaks to close a plot hole or two, new covers, and a bit of promotional polish.

I loosely refer to the series as my “Chromosome Quest” series. The first book is titled Chromosome Quest: Love, Dinosaurs, and the Clockwork Apocalypse. Clockwork Apocalypse refers to the Singularity, the runaway AI that threatens all of humanity with destruction. The second is Chromosome Conspiracy, where the bawdy, uninhibited fur-girls come to Earth and the hero must protect them from the Men in Black. The third is Chromosome Warrior, where a female former “Man in Black” picks up the hero’s mantle and confronts the ultimate villain. A short story from that book is free to read on my site under the title “Deinonychus.” (https://www.nathangregoryauthor.com/deinonychus) As a part of the new polish and promotion, I am considering changing the titles and republishing, but no decision is firm. I am not even committed to “The Hat and the Canary” as the title of the 4th book.

My long-term goal is massive, overwhelming success, including a “made for Netflix” movie of my stories. However, I will still call it successful if I barely break even by selling just enough books to cover the promotion costs, new covers, etc.

I also publish stories on Kindle Vella and am currently using that medium to test-market chapters of “Hat.” It can be found from the link on my author’s website at: https://www.nathangregoryauthor.com/serials — I have other episodic stories there too, and links to my various books, including my non-fiction.

So, pass on what you have learned of the mystical secrets of the IASFA, that I too may one day master the dark art of selling books.