Aaron N. Hall's Blog

Writing, publishing, and promoting a book can feel like a mountain to climb. And in many ways, it is. But you can do it. You just need to break the process down in a way that’s approachable.

What’s even better is you can do it all (from ideation to publication) in a single year. Yep. One year. After writing and publishing eight books of my own, I’ve created a timeline that works for me. Let me share it with you.

If you’re reading this, you ...

It isn’t lost on me that I haven’t posted on my blog in over a year. Probably because my 2024 was nuts and made me focus my priorities elsewhere.

Let me break it down from the beginning.

At the very tail end of December 2023, I started drafting The Legend of Uh. I was determined to knock the first draft out in a couple of months, so I was spending loads of time working on it. And I wrote at a terrific pace. I was pumping out over 1200 words per day aside from my day job.

But January wor...

“Are you okay?”

That’s what some people have asked me after reading Love Letters to a House on Fire.

The simple answer to that question? Yeah. But when I was writing some of the things in that book, no.

Love Letters, for the most part, is a fun and quirky collection of short stories, poems, and ransom notes. There’s a lot of humor sprinkled throughout the stories and poems because I love making people laugh. But Love Letters also takes the opportunity to be poignant, introspective, and ...

There it is! At long last, the sequel to My Name is Hammerfist is out and ready for you.

Not gonna lie, my journey writing this book was a little tough. This is going to be a place where I serve some tea about my process of writing Hammerfist 2, including the thoughts I was having and the expectations I felt.

My Name is Hammerfist is one of my lowest-selling books. It’s ironic, because although it’s one of my lowest sellers, it’s one of my highest rated. It’s like an Edgar Wright film that...

Woo! Yah! Wahoo!

You probably read that in his voice, didn’t you?

Here we go again. Another video game movie. That means it’s time to roll our eyes and get the cheapest movie ticket we can because this one is probably gonna suck. Video game movies have a storied history of stinking to high heavens, so this one would be no different, right? Right?

Wrong. The Super Mario Bros Movie is actually a bucket of fun.

I don’t know what movie some of these critics watched, because I don’t know ...

Authors are solitary people. It can be hard to find your audience, let alone get in front of them. Trust me, I get it. With years of writing and marketing experience behind me, though, I’ve found several tools that have helped me strengthen my brand as an author.

Are these tools going to suddenly rocket you to success? Are you going to sell so many books that you’ll quit your job and move to a seaside cottage where you write nonstop? Probably not. But they should help you foster a personal br...

I wrote the following short story for the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future contest. Since I didn’t win it, I now have full authority to publish it wherever I want!

In retrospect, it’s probably best that I didn’t win because I’m not sure I want my name attached to anything associated with L. Ron Hubbard. So maybe things work out? Anyway, feast your eyes and enjoy. This story will be featured in my upcoming collection titled Love Letters to a House on Fire.

Exe...

Phew. Well, that certainly was something.

Look, you don’t need me to reiterate the story leading up to this series. At this point, we all know how much it cost and what a gamble Amazon took with it. No use rehashing that.

But what we do need to discuss is the results. Was this a big win for Amazon?

I mean, sure.

According to Amazon via the LA Times, more than 25 million people watched the series premiere on launch day and the show has experienced over 100 million watchers total. For ...

I like shoes. I have a lot of them—about thirty pairs, actually. But I’ve never been terribly interested in limited-edition drops or fancy partnerships. I care more about the designs that have stood the test of time. You know, the classics.

Classics like the Vans Old Skool.

You’ve seen these sneakers on everyone from punks, to nerds, to rappers, to try-hard youth ministers. In my opinion, it’s a perfect shoe. And here’s why.

You recognize them from the get-go. It’s a multi-pan...

Yeah. I said it.

I know it’s early, okay? And don’t think this is a knock on The Mandalorian—it’s not. The Mandalorian rips. Rarely has a sci-fi western been done so well. The only one that might be better (which this writer has seen) is Cowboy Bebop.

But if Andor continues being this good… wow. Disney might have hit another home run.

This is going to be a review of the first three episodes. There’s still a lot more to see and plenty of room for Disney to break our hearts, but here’s wh...