Books to Write, Books to Read
News from Crowhill Cove
A summary for you on what to expect in this edition in case you want to scroll down to the interesting bits: what I’m working on next; a review of a fellow Substacker’s book; this week on TikTok; and the progress report with an update on my week-on-week sales and writing progress.
What’s Coming Next
The rebrand is officially done, and the first post went up on Saturday, and now I can officially stop talking about it!
I can, instead, talk about what I’m writing next.
A while ago I had voiced concerns with the way that Crowhill Kitchen is selling, and I had wondered if I should carry on with the series at all. I had already booked and paid for a New Releases For Less feature for the fourth book in the series, so I just went ahead and wrote it, because why not at that point.
(I am aware there are plenty reasons why not, but hey, let’s go with it)
I had been pondering on whether to delay the release of the fifth book to a later date. I’ve decided officially to go ahead with it, and it’s what I’m working on now. I have just enough time between client deadlines to get it done before the Amazon deadline passes by, and this is one of the storylines I had been most looking forward to writing with this particular group, so I’m not going to punish myself by cutting it off here.
However, after this, I plan to take a break from writing (my own) books for a little bit. I don’t know exactly how long for. I had Hydropower on my schedule for a release at the end of 2025, but with the actual writing on hiatus (and, I now know, the need for a complete rewrite from the ground up; more on that at a later date once I get my head fully around it) I don’t want to push myself so hard to get that one done and out. It can take some time. I can relax a little.
I’d like to focus on marketing instead. Two things happened recently: first, talking to local authors at the event I attended made it clear to me that a lot of them are doing boots-on-the-ground marketing tactics that I, in my digital world, never considered. Secondly, I fired the ad agency I worked with for a short while because their results were abysmal. Now, I want to focus some real time on this for myself, to see what I can do with it. It’s hard to make marketing work when you’re always just writing the next book.
After that, who knows? I have a few directions to go in. Hydropower needs that rewrite. Serial Investigations has been long awaiting the 13th book. Crowhill Kitchen was always meant to be followed by Crowhill Club, a new series of five. There’s a couple of more serious books, including a semi-autobiographical title, I want to write, and there’s the possibility of submitting for a major imprint which I think I have an actual strong chance of getting into. Taking some time out from the grind will also allow me to figure out where to go next.
And, also, I’m just really super tired. The constant flipping between client work and my own books has been relentless for years. I’d like to now take a breather, enjoy some time, actually have days off. Last Friday I had an unplanned mental health day that my body and brain forced me to take, sitting in front of romcoms on the TV and crocheting and building a book nook kit. On Sunday, a similar kind of thing happened. I’ve been fighting burnout for a long time and it never gets easier and it never seems to go away, because once the burnout dwindles a little, I just go right back to work. On Monday, I took a day off with my family on purpose and it was one of the most fun days I’ve had this year, and all we did was go shopping and have lunch, so I guess that probably tells you about my year.
It’s time for a break. Let’s see if my brain actually allows me to take one. I’m determined that this is the last book penned fully by myself and not for a client for 2025.
Upcoming planned topics for this newsletter include: a deep dive into The Green Knight; the layering of reading and how each thing we read informs and influences us; something about Love, Simon’s structure; the recent experience I had with running ads via a management company; writing in the academic voice; and some ecocriticism/historicism around Haweswater.
One more extra TikTok for you this week: I shared a review yesterday of
’s novel, Lamb, which I’d like to repost here:
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Shorter versions are also up on my Instagram and YouTube channels (all the same username), if you want to share and support there!
Books
Okay, you've read the Substack posts (and maybe you're a little bit confused if that's where you started). Wondering who all of these characters are? Thinking you need a refresher on past books?
Each week, I share the one TikTok video that performed best out of the last seven days.
All of these videos are available on TikTok for free, but if you’re a) not a TikTok user or b) just want the best highlights, this is a convenient place to see it.
This week’s best is below, and it’s my recent book buying trip:
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Yes, my TBR is already extremely long and I had no need to add more books to it, especially not ones I actually had to pay for. Shut up. I’m an adult with adult money and I get to spend it on what I adult like.
Note: Changes are in bold, comments in italics.
TOTAL SALES:
Crowhill Cove series (Don’t Move Out, Don’t Go Outside, Don’t Fly Home, Don’t Leave Town, Don’t Check Out, the 1-5 boxset, and Don’t Move Your Desk): ebook - 1,171, paperback/hardback - 45, KU pages read - 830,081, free downloads - 6,304
Kiss The Cook - ebook - 21, paperback - 1, KU pages read - 7,818 (225 pages = 34 equivalent full-book reads)
Cook Up A Storm - ebook - 19, paperback - 1, KU pages read - 7,434 (212 pages = 35 equivalent full-book reads)
Too Many Cooks: ebook - 8, paperback - 1, KU pages read - 3,440 (218 pages = 15 equivalent full-book reads)
What’s Cooking, Good Looking?: ebook - 12, paperback - n/a, KU pages read - 4,028 (178 pages = 22 equivalent full-book reads)
Serial Investigations full series (Pre-Substack releases: books 1-12, 2 bonus novellas, 2 boxsets): ebook - 503, paperback/hardback - 104, KU pages read - 397,541, free downloads - 1,819
WRITING:
What’s Cooking, Good Looking?: paperback typesetting in process
Cooking on Gas: preorder up, 5k words written
Crowhill Club: all covers, themes, and titles done, characters created and romances/interpersonal relationships between books set up
Mystery project: cover design bought!!!, initial ideas on characters, plot, themes
Hydropower: Mid-season break/hiatus
Client status: One book in writing phase/first edits
SUBSTACK:
Subscribers: free - 85, paid - 1
Followers: 439
CONSUMING:
Read: Lamb by
Reading: Sleep Like Death by Kalynn Bayron
Watched and watching: Jumanji: The Next Level, The Tomorrow War, Venom, The Corpse Bride (rewatch with kid), Cosmos, Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Divorce Insurance, Supernatural S13
By the way, please like this post if you enjoyed it and would like to see more! This helps me decide what to do for future content.
XO Rhiannon