Dear #MarkedbyOdin, the Mark of Odin team and myself want to wish you a very happy and resilient Christmas holidays and we wish that the New Year 2021 can bring us the light and hope that we all need so much.
This 2020 was a year that promised many good things, in which many of us had many illusions, projects and objectives. Then came the Covid-19 and the damn pandemic ruined many of our plans. Some of us have had to suffer it in our flesh or we have had to say goodbye to loved ones. Not only that, the lockdowns have affected many of our businesses, making it harder to move forward.
Looks like that we live in dystopian times, in which reality exceeds the fiction of many works of science fiction that we have read or seen in the cinema. Not only because of the pandemic, but also because of the attitude and decisions made by those who should care about us. That is why we have no choice but to take control of our lives and do everything possible to not only survive, but to regain hope and illusion. Only in this way will we be able to face the challenges that are looming for 2021, which will not be few, I am afraid.
So, these days I hope that, despite the restrictions, you can all spend a few days with those loved ones with whom you can meet, always with caution of course. To overcome this crisis, it is also necessary to pamper our minds and hearts, so do not forget that it is also essential for your health.
A VERY INTENSE END OF THE YEAR
For me the past weeks have been very intense and exhausting. Almost all my energy has had to be focused on work, since at the beginning of the month we held a free weekend event with Haxity, in which we gathered many international streamers and managed to reach the frontpage of the most broadcast games on Twitch.tv.
In addition, after a thousand tug of war, I managed to close the international distribution agreement for the Mark of Odin: The Awakening audiobook in English. Not only that, but make all the necessary changes and adjustments so that it could be accepted on all platforms. Over the next few days and weeks, the audiobook should already appear in all of them, as we announced this week.
The best part is that I have learned a lot during the past months so I hope that the production for next audiobooks will be quicker.
RAGNAROK IN 2021
In previous letters, I mentioned that I was trying to reserve a window of opportunity so that I could focus on the final production of the third book in the series. It seems that the necessary conditions are finally going to be met so that I can have a few months to focus in exclusive for Mark of Odin.
Although in January I will still have to divide myself a bit, in February I hope I can be 100% dedicated. My idea now is that as soon as I can finish pending tasks, try to rest a little, since I have accumulated a lot of mental exhaustion. In the meantime, as I have done on previous occasions, I hope to be able to reread everything written as if I was a mere reader, to enjoy the saga and thus help ignite the creative spark.
If all goes well, I hope to have the final draft by the summer, or hopefully sooner. Once it is finished and goes to review, my idea is to propose a new crowdfunding campaign for publication. The objective of it, more than the financing itself, which always helps, would be to be able to offer you rewards to thank you for your loyalty and support. My illusion is that those #Marked byOdin who support us can not only get the third book for less money, but also with extras that I have been wanting to share for a long time. An example of this would be the printed editions of the bonus chapters or even the first volumes of the Odinpedia in full color.
There are many ideas and for now, this week I have another meeting with the great singer and composer Milena Brody, to continue advancing in one of the crazy and big surprises that Ragnarok will include. In addition, I will continue with the process of promoting the international expansion of the saga and Intellectual Property. Who knows if finally in 2021 we will be able to reap some fruits of all the efforts carried out to date.
Regarding extended stories, we recently shared Sigrun: The Speedy. As you know, we still have some finished pending publication. I have others that I would like to share, but I am not sure if it will be possible to do so, since they require more complex audiovisual productions. So, if there are not enough resources, I prefer to focus on the third book. Even so, I will try that at least once a month you have some new content.
GIVE AWAY THE MARK OF ODIN
Although for Christmas there is no time, if you are still thinking about what to give for the Three Mage Kings day, I encourage you to take us into account with the Collector’s Pack. Every new reader we get is a great boost so that we can continue to fuel this project. In these times when digital marketing is becoming increasingly hostile to small businesses, word of mouth is more necessary than ever. You are the only way to ensure that we can continue to grow!
I also encourage you to continue sharing your impressions of the books, not only in the Opinions section, but also on external platforms such as Amazon, Google Play, Apple, Kobo, Lektu or Goodreads. Having a good evaluation and opinions there helps us a lot to attract new readers. Also, I am very excited to have you on Discord so that we can share impressions, both of the saga and other topics. Who hasn’t watched the end of the second season of The Mandalorian yet? In fact, we are making some changes to improve the community, with a new organization of channels (specially to talk about the history of the books with spoilers), and I also hope that we can put a Bot to facilitate the user experience.
Thank you very much for all your support! I hope I can reward you with a new series of the saga in this new year and that we can all enjoy it with great health. Be strong and resilient!
And don’t forget, everything is connected.
Xavier Marcé