Good morning everyone! 

I know it hasn’t been long since my last supporter email, but this one is a special announcement. You all know my novel by its name Human Resources. What I haven’t told you previously is that the title is changing. There are various reasons for needing to change the title. Human Resources was a great title in some respects: it was understated and linked back to the corporate dystopia, as well as the way humans are treated in the novel. However, despite that, there were signs it would make the book harder to sell. Some of the issues were:

• Human Resources is not a unique title. There weren’t any other science-fiction books I could find with that title, but hundreds of business books. That meant searching for the book could be difficult.
• It confused people. Right throughout my campaign I encountered people who thought I’d written a non-fiction business manual. This can be addressed to an extent with a good cover, but I still had people misunderstand after I started including a cover image of a person with a big sword.
• It’s out of genre. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but by switching it to a title that is more recognizably from the genre of the book, it makes it stand out to people who read that genre.

So, without further ado, the new title is Blood Capital. This title isn’t as subtle, but ties it firmly in the genre. It also links back to the corporate dystopia, the treatment of humans in the world, and (bonus) the city the novel is set in. Work is underway on the final cover image, and I can’t wait to share the outcome of that. In the meantime, Inkshares have posted a (short) video of Matt Harry (Head of Story Development at Inkshares) talking about Blood Capital.

Matt Harry of Inkshares Discussing Blood Capital (July 2018) by Robbie Batten: https://vimeo.com/240758751

Robert Batten.

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,

It has been a busy month here at the Codex Arcanum! We had five book events in the last three weeks, and so many people came out to show their support. We sold out at several events, and recently passed over 2000 copies sold! Not bad for less than a month in release. 

But the best part of all has been seeing everyone post pictures of their books, and watching young readers enjoy them. It really does make it all worth it. 

But we have another favor to ask. The Goodreads Choice Awards are currently accepting submissions for 2017. SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS wasn’t an official selection (boo), but they accept write-in candidates (yay!). So if you could go to the link below, scroll down to the bottom, type in SORCERY FOR BEGINNERS in the write-in box, and hit VOTE, then we can magic our way into the running!

2017 GOODREADS CHOICE AWARDS - BEST MIDDLE GRADE

As an indie book, we need all the visibility we can get. It takes less than 10 seconds and we really, really appreciate it! Thanks for all the support --

mh

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY!

Hello all,

I didn’t provide an update on Human Resources last month, so some of you may be wondering what I’ve been up to. Never fear — I’m still working on the book!

September and October were intense. In addition to the book, I had some critical deadlines in my “day job” and an overseas holiday with my family, which is just ending now. The good news is my laptop travelled with me and I continued work on the manuscript whenever time would allow. My dreams of ten hours typing like a maniac on international flights were thwarted by our toddler (who has decided planes require constant Daddy Cuddles), but I did manage to sit down in hotel lobbies and make some solid progress on the rewrite. 

Now I’m back in Australia, I’m aiming to buckle down and finish the rewrite ASAP. Act One is looking solid as I implement some polish using my editor’s notes. Act Two is done, but needs a lot more work before it is “ready” and Act Three is sitting in my cross-hairs. 

You’ve all been amazingly supportive and patient and I thank you for that. Stick with me a little longer :). 

Robert. 

Friends, Readers, and Sorcerers All,