Jumping into a very large pond (and trying not to drown).

rwm4768

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Last night, I released The Shadowed Land. It wasn't nearly as nerve-wracking as releasing the first book, but it still made me kind of nervous.
 

Catherine

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Hooray for you! Hope it goes well--fingers crossed.
 

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I just wanted to pop in to say I appreciate you sharing your self-pubbing experience and the progress of your book sales. It doesn't look like you are drowning at all, rwm. Keep on swimming. :Clap:
 

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Last night, I released The Shadowed Land. It wasn't nearly as nerve-wracking as releasing the first book, but it still made me kind of nervous.

Yeah, there's always that undercurrent. That feeling of kicking your children out of the nest. Time for them to fly!

But you've proven that you can write and release, and you've proven it twice. The first time wasn't a fluke. You've got what it takes to keep doing this.

From here on, any time you doubt yourself, remember what you've done. Which is more than most of the world's done, and that's no small thing.
 

rwm4768

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I'm trying not to stress too much about it. At the moment, I'm in my second-to-last year of Engineering school, and I enjoy the field enough that I won't mind working in it. (I'm only a part-time student, which gives me some time to write.) I'd love to be able to make a living with writing, but that probably won't happen.

Any time I start putting that kind of pressure on myself, I lose all the joy that comes with writing.
 

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I'm trying not to stress too much about it. At the moment, I'm in my second-to-last year of Engineering school, and I enjoy the field enough that I won't mind working in it. (I'm only a part-time student, which gives me some time to write.) I'd love to be able to make a living with writing, but that probably won't happen.

Any time I start putting that kind of pressure on myself, I lose all the joy that comes with writing.

First off, great work! I'm really happy for you releasing your next book. I know exactly how nerve wracking it can be, but I'm really impressed with your perseverance. I'll have to give the first one a look ^^

You said it well. Don't stress over your release. Just plan it carefully and hope for the best. I'm about to re-release a rewrite of my first self published book, and it's way less "scary" now that I know how to do it, and that it has a small, but supportive following. Keep it up, buddy!
 

rwm4768

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I just used Book Report and found out that some of my KU pages read have been for the second book. I hope that's somebody who finished the first book and liked it enough to pick up the second. Otherwise, that person would probably be very confused.
 

rwm4768

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I started my first free promotion on Empire of Chains today. At the same time, I've done a Kindle Countdown deal to drop the price of The Shadowed Land to $1.99. Not sure how it'll go, but that's the fun thing about self-publishing. You can experiment with different marketing strategies and see what works and what doesn't.
 

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Hey there--I saw your pinned tweet has your book, but it's helpful if you tweet when it's free--with the link. I'd be happy to retweet to help get the word out.
 

rwm4768

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Hey there--I saw your pinned tweet has your book, but it's helpful if you tweet when it's free--with the link. I'd be happy to retweet to help get the word out.

Yeah, I should probably make one of my new tweets the pinned tweet.

So far, I think I've had 13 free downloads. That isn't a lot, but it's more than I've ever sold in a single day.
 

WormHeart

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Congratulations!

Welcome to the open waters. :evil

I tried to search just such tales of publications, where we could follow the process and the thoughts behind it step for step. Thank you.

I'm in similar situation with my first English title just launched on Amazon. I'm technically not self-published, but since my publisher is Danish they don't really have a reach here.

A word of advice - I started out as a self-publisher in Denmark 12 years ago before switching to traditional. Starting out with a series is great if the first one is a smash hit - otherwise you are narrowing you target audience.

Empire of Chains has the whole world as potential audience.

The Shadowed Land has only those who read Empire of Chains. Which is not the whole world.

As you build on your succes and strengthen your brand, you might want to consider stand-alone novels. They can cross-pollinate readers, so a fan of one can seek out the others. A series can't really do that, since you can only read them in a specific order.

Like a chain (fittingly) one weak entry will turn of the readership for future novels.

And from a practical standpoint - you are getting better at writing. We all are. Your later installments will hopefully be stronger and better than the earlier titles, but they still depends on readers going through ever one in the series.

I'm putting together an article collecting everything I learned from my launch - review sites, marketing - the works. You might find something useful: Hunting the Beast

I scooped up Empire of Chains and will take a look. :)

WormHeart
 

rwm4768

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I actually intend to have my next release be the first book in a new series. I'd love to write more standalone novels, but it's just not the way my writer brain works.
 

rwm4768

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Just realized that I've been very quiet in here. Here are my October and November numbers.

October

Empire of Chains: 12 e-book sales, 976 pages read
The Shadowed Land: 0 sales, 190 pages read


November

Empire of Chains: 8 e-book sales, 98 free downloads, 4445 pages read
The Shadowed Land: 4 e-book sales, 1188 pages read

I had no print sales in October or November.


Running total (since June 30th)

Empire of Chains: 83 e-book sales, 36118 pages read, 98 free downloads, 9 paperbacks sold
The Shadowed Land: 4 e-book sales, 1732 pages read


Overall, these numbers aren't great or anything, but I'm pleased with the fact that I've at least made back my cover art expenditure on Empire of Chains. I don't expect things to pick up until I get more books out. I'm looking toward February for the first release in a new series, but I might have it ready before then. I'd also like to get the last two books of World in Chains out by the early spring, but that may not happen.
 

rwm4768

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In some good news, Sunweaver, the first book of my next series, is looking like it should be ready earlier than my expected date of late February. I forgot that I had this one in such good shape already. I edited it extensively back when I was pursuing trade publishing, so now I have only a few changes to make before its ready. Mostly, I have to tweak a few things about the world's history based on changes I made in the second and third books.

That's one of my favorite things about self-publishing. I have the freedom to write series the way that works best for me. In that regard, I prefer to write the entire series in first-draft form before publishing any of it. That way, it's easier to work out any possible inconsistencies from book to book.
 

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Good job being ahead of schedule. Congratulations on your book sales. Those numbers are nothing to sneeze about. Hopefully, your new book (when published) will keep the momentum going.
 

rwm4768

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I'm happy to report that I've had steady sales and pages read over the last week or so. It's the best week I've had since probably July, the first month after Empire of Chains came out.

What made this happen? I have no clue.
 

WriteMinded

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I'm happy to report that I've had steady sales and pages read over the last week or so. It's the best week I've had since probably July, the first month after Empire of Chains came out.

What made this happen? I have no clue.
When you figure it out, let us know.

BTW, have a wonderful Christmas.
 

rwm4768

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December update:

Empire of Chains: 12 e-book sales, 1 paperback sale, 4774 KENP read
The Shadowed Land: 1 e-book sale, 592 KENP read

Running totals:

Empire of Chains: 98 e-book sales, 10 paperback sales, 40003 KENP pages read, 98 free giveaways

The Shadowed Land: 5 e-book sales, 1970 KENP pages read

I'm hoping I can get a bump in sales by releasing the first book in a new series later this month.
 
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rwm4768

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I'm almost done with the final proofread of Sunweaver, the first book in my next series. It will likely be published next week. I'm excited to see where it will take me. In general, the more books (or series) you have out, the better chance you have of gaining traction.
 

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Is the World in Chains series done then or are you going to run multiple series together?
 

rwm4768

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Is the World in Chains series done then or are you going to run multiple series together?

I'm publishing them at the same time. My next release will be The Gilded Empire (book 3 of World in Chains). Then I'll release Fireweaver (book 2 of Sunweaver). Then I'll release The Winds of Time (the final book of World in Chains). Finally, I'll release Sunlord (book 3 of Sunweaver).

By that time, I should have my next series ready. I've written the first two books of the trilogy. I'm not sure what my next series will be after that one. I have a few ideas, but I don't currently have any plans to touch them until I've finished drafting the final book of the next trilogy.

That may change, however. I'm starting to get some ideas for another series set in the world of World in Chains. It would take place hundreds of years before the events of World in Chains, and it would stand alone as a story. That is, you wouldn't need to read World in Chains to follow the new series.
 

rwm4768

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I'm also happy to say that the pre-order for Sunweaver is now live.

You can find it by clicking the image of the book in my signature, and it should direct you to whatever country's Amazon site you need.

I do have plans for a paperback release for both The Shadowed Land and Sunweaver. I just need to get back with my cover artists for that.
 

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I'm publishing them at the same time. My next release will be The Gilded Empire (book 3 of World in Chains). Then I'll release Fireweaver (book 2 of Sunweaver). Then I'll release The Winds of Time (the final book of World in Chains). Finally, I'll release Sunlord (book 3 of Sunweaver).

By that time, I should have my next series ready. I've written the first two books of the trilogy. I'm not sure what my next series will be after that one. I have a few ideas, but I don't currently have any plans to touch them until I've finished drafting the final book of the next trilogy.

That may change, however. I'm starting to get some ideas for another series set in the world of World in Chains. It would take place hundreds of years before the events of World in Chains, and it would stand alone as a story. That is, you wouldn't need to read World in Chains to follow the new series.


What's your timetable for all that? Two years to accomplish all that (complete guess on my end based on how fast you are releasing your current crop)?
 

ASeiple

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Your covers continue to be amazing. Don't know your artist, but I'm impressed by the quality and consistency across the series.