Update on Sleepwalkers by Christopher Henckel

Hi everyone. Thanks to all of you who’ve pre-ordered a copy of my book Sleepwalkers. I entered this book in the InkShare Mystery/Suspense contest which closed in December 2018. The judges at InkShare have recently finished reading and judging all submissions. (It takes quite a while to read 160 novels). Unfortunately, Sleepwalkers didn’t win.

So does this mean Sleepwalkers won’t be published?

Not necessarily. Sleepwalkers will not be published by InkShare. But I may choose to engage another publisher at a later date.

What about refunds?

For all of you who were kind enough to pre-order a copy of Sleepwalkers, Inkshare has made full refunds about two weeks ago. If you have any questions about your refund, please email hello@inkshares.com.

But I’m dying to read your stories, Chris. Do you have any others published?

Yes! So You Wanna Be a Desperado Demon Slayer is available in ebook from Amazon. Think of this story as Blazing Saddles as a heist.

Also, My short story, Cowboy for a day, is published in the Writing Bloc: Escape Anthology, available in ebook or paperback from Amazon. Think of this story as Don Quixote in the old west.

Any other forthcoming books and or stories?

Oh yeah! Bootlegger is a full length novel that is mostly finished. Think of this story as Dukes of Hazard meets Firefly.

Outlaws and Villains: City in the Sky is another one of my full length novels and is mostly finished. Think of this story as Stand by Me meets Stargate.

Temporal Keep is a completed novelette. It story won an Honourable Mention in the 2018 Writers of the Future Contest. I’ll publish this at some point in 2019. Think of this story as The Cell meets Shawshank Redemption.

The Illusionist is a short story I’m currently writing this year’s Writing Bloc Anthology. Think of this story as The Prestige meets Chocolate.

Wow, you’re awesome, Chris. I want to be like you when I grow up.

Stop it. I’m blushing. 

Well folks,

It looks like I’m not going to reach my funding goal for We’re the Whiteheads. I figured it was a long shot, but I wanted to try one more time to see if I could reach a goal of 750 pre-orders. I want to thank everyone who supported, followed, and/or pre-ordered my book. After my campaign ends, you should receive a refund. If not, email Inkshares at hello@inkshares.com.

We’re the Whiteheads has been a personal project of mine for over a year, and the idea for it has been in the making for over several years. I still have plans to publish my family’s story, but now’s the time for me to publish through another avenue. It has been a privilege to write on this site! I’ll come back from time to time to update anyone who’s still interested in my story’s progress.

Good luck to all writers on this site!

Durena Burns

Hey, everyone. I hope you made it through January with your sanity intact. Things continue to chug along with BoAT. Inkshares has kindly granted another extension on the campaign. We continue to be the top title in funding in terms of pre-orders, and one of the top titles trending on the entire Inkshares site.

But we are still a looong way from hitting the 750 pre-order mark. You may be asking at this point, and rightly so, if that goal is even obtainable.

The fact is, I don’t have to hit 750 to get this book published with Inkshares.

That’s right. The Inkshares team has seen enough to know that pre-sales alone are not a full measure of a title’s popularity or marketability. It is tough to convince strangers to pre-order a book which they can’t actually have and read yet, even if they like it.

That’s why Inkshares also has a program called Blink that tracks metrics like page visits and time spent reading chapters. Inkshares will also chose a book for publication based on these metrics, aside from number of pre-orders.

The thing is, I have no idea how well I am doing on these other metrics. Inkshares doesn’t share them with me. I could be close, or still miles away. That’s why I have kept the focus with you on reaching 750 – it is the clear and obvious goal that I can track through my Inkshares dashboard. 

But I have done plenty to drive those non-pre-order metrics.

I have reached out to hundreds and hundreds of people, tried Tweet promotion on Twitter, post boosts on Facebook, secured local newspaper coverage, posted flyers and business cards in my local coffee shops, library and gym. Many of you I know have also been spreading the word to friends and family and supporting my efforts on social media with shares, likes and retweets, and I thank you.

Together, we are driving eyeballs to BoAT’s page, even if those pre-orders are slow to come.

So, let’s keep at it. While pre-orders remain of utmost importance, know that the needle is moving on other key indicators behind the scenes, too.

Lastly, I want to give a shout out to Ricky Ruszin, who launched a campaign for a suspense thriller called Showtime only 17 days ago and has already racked up enough pre-orders to make BoAT look like it’s standing still. That’s hustle for you. 

As always, I remain truly humbled and grateful for the support each of you have lent this dream of mine thus far.

Cheers

Leo