Back in August of 2014 I posted plans to follow the Liliana Nirvana technique or more so thoughts to do so... The idea of this is to release multiple works at once followed by another work approximately 30 days later. The idea here, in brief, is rapid shot exposure of your name and books hopefully taking multiple spots on the Amazon Hot New Release list and stoking the ever-burning mysterious fires of the Amazon algo system to hopefully propel yourself into decent sales...
... but I didn't do it and here is why. 1. I wasn't ready I was still learning the ropes of Indie publishing. I was new to Twitter and I knew nothing of Facebook ads (actually I didn't have a Facebook page). I also did not have my covers and considering Saints of Wura was my first trilogy, I was still learning about WRITING AND EDITING a trilogy. I'm not going to get into it now but consistency is king and sometimes that consistency gets dethroned inadvertently causing plot issues. 2. Book Three was not in a concrete state I still changed stuff... not small stuff either, fairly large plot-centric ideas that I've warped a bit from the original forms. Heck, I was missing a whole sub-plot that developed in book two. This is really an experience issue more than anything. Thankfully, I'm not new anymore. :) 3. Financial Issues The mere costs of pushing 4-5 books at once is prohibitive to this for *most* new authors. I've struggled for a myriad of reasons just to deliver book three and finish out the trilogy. I feel this technique is best employed once you have a few books out or if you have that one hit wonder that shoots up the lists and you then have the income to work on that many books at once. SO? What is the point of this you ask? As I close out this year I will have one complete trilogy. (YAY!) But I'm already on book three of a *new* 5 book series set in the same world as my first three. I am strongly considering attempting this (The Liliana Nirvana Technique) again, perhaps even with crowd funding to help financially support it. But my reason is one that I didn't have before... my readers. I didn't have many readers back in August of 2014. Now I do and I am beyond thankful for them! I don't want to make people wait. I want to provide an escape into a fantasy world just as quickly as I can write it and deliver a story that delivers everything that readers expect. I don't want to give you one book and make you wait 6 months. I want you to have a new set of books. This aspiration may seem strange but the truth is there are a lot of much more well know indies producing a novel a month. This isn't an impossible feat and it is one that I aspire to because of my love of creation. 3 years ago the world of the Saints of Wura was merely a snowy mountain, an assassin, and a vampire lord. Now, that world has grown to five novels, numerous short stories, and at least three additional novels that are in the plotting phase... and to think, it all started off as a simple sentence. We will see what 2016 brings. :) As the release for book three in my Saints of Wura trilogy draws near, I am actively working on my next project: a four book series centered on characters familiar to readers but in much less familiar forms. The story itself takes place well before the genocides of elves, dwarves, and other magical creatures and is set during the war of magic. For a quick reference:
I realized at this very moment I really need to get a timeline up *adds to to-do list* In these books I will have much more familiar fantasy tropes including the introduction of Orcs. This is not for a blind *kill ‘em all* cannon fodder baddies reason but a very plot specific arc that actually changes the face of the western part of the world and sees one of the last great culture treasures of the west (a pseudo Carthage/ Atlantis) fall to ruin (Not necessarily by the orcs… mind you.) I am not ready to reveal the main character but if you follow any of my tweets AND have read my books you can likely figure it out. This character sees many loved ones die, more than any characters of my previous works, and really shows how he ends up with the reputation he holds in the Saints of Wura books. Though there are four novels in this series, I plan to have a decent length novella to spur it off. These books are slated for release in Spring 2016. Today marks the completion of the first draft of book two and the beginning plot work of book three. Also, as a side note, book one of the Saints of Wura trilogy is 0.99 right now. You should pick it up if you haven’t had a chance or alternatively you can sign up for my mailing list above and get a short story introduction to this fantasy world free in your inbox. Either way, I hope you will join me as the trilogy finalizes in book three later this month! |
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