Indie Publishing - Part 6: Learning from an Established Author

There is a lot that can be learned from the established authors - those that publish regularly through printed media - that are not in the same category as the "mega-stars" of the publishing industry. These authors do not have the automatic name recognition with the general public, nor do they have the massive marketing resources at their disposal as the million-copy selling "mega-stars" that usually come to mind when people think of a particular genre. Like indie authors, they have to sell their books in part by establishing a following, and by applying the same, practical type of marketing tools that indie authors also have access to.

As I indicated previously, I wanted to select one or two authors and one or two relatively recent books from each category, so that I could track some of the strategies that each author relied on as part of a successful book launch. There are many more fantasy authors that I might have selected - so please don't be offended if your favorite was not one of the ones that I chose to track for these demonstrative purposes.

Among the book launches that I reviewed and tracked was Sara C. Roethle's The Witch of Shadowmarsh, which was released in August 2018. Ms. Roethle is the author of some 21 previous titles - prior to the release of The Witch of Shadowmarsh. These included several previous series - such as her "Tree of Ages" series (five books) and the "Xoe Meyers" series (seven books). She was therefore a well established writer with her own following, her own website (https://www.saracroethle.com/), Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sara-C-Roethle/198150710229162), and Twitter account (www.twitter.com/SaraCRoethle) - all in place at the time that her latest book was released. These are all social media tools which any indie author should likewise be able to exercise to help promote their own work.

The Witch of Shadowmarsh was intended to be the first book in a new series (The Moonstone Chronicles), published through Vulture's Eye Publications. Vulture's Eye specializes in young adult (YA) fantasy fiction, providing Ms. Roethle with a platform that could generate significant sales even without an online site such as Amazon. However, a great deal can still be learned by following the launch of this particular book on Amazon.

Coming from a known author with her own following, The Witch of Shadowmarsh went from only four online reviews at the beginning of September, to 40 by the beginning of November. This is the kind of following that every indie author dreams of. Moreover, during this time period the price quoted for the eBook version of the novel steadily increased, from $0.99 at the beginning of September, to $2.99 at the beginning of October, to $3.99 by early December. In other words, the eBook was priced at a discount when it was first introduced to help encourage online sales, with the price increasing as the title became more established. Again, this is a promotion tactic that every indie author can learn from - without having the same marketing tools at their disposal as the more established, traditional authors.

With a traditional publishing house behind her, Ms. Roethle did not have to rely on online sales to reach her audience. Nonetheless, it is instructive to compare the online sales ranking from this book for the eBook version versus the printed edition. On Amazon, the eBook edition for this book has consistently ranked 50 to 100 times better than the paperback edition. True, there are more paperback or hardcover books listed by Amazon than there are eBooks - but in my experience this translates into only a 2X or 3X difference between the two rankings, not one or two orders of magnitude difference. In other words, for this audience, even for an established author with a consistent following, the vast majority of online sales will be electronic, not printed.

To recap, there are a number of items from Ms. Roethle's latest book release that indie authors in this genre can hope to learn from:

• Price your book low - to generate sales and reviews - early after release. You can always raise the price later as sales and recognition build.
• Have as wide of a social media presence as possible. A personal website or blog, Facebook, and Twitter account all help to build your audience and following - and make it easier to market later novels or additions to a series.
• For the fantasy fiction genre, eBook sales will predominate over the sale of printed copies - at least online.

There are some other lessons to be learned by aspiring authors from this particular book release. Obviously, if your book isn't written well and edited well, then you're not going to get very far - but that should go without saying. Having a beautifully illustrated cover - featuring the protagonists of your book - is always an important part of marketing. But one other item sticks out in my mind when I review the sales strategy for this particular book: the online summary or "book blurb".

Out of the summaries that I reviewed as part of this exercise, this one stood out as being particularly well done:

When the fate of the elves rests on the shoulders of an antisocial swamp witch, will a common enemy be enough to bring two disparate races together?

The Empire rules with an iron fist. The Valeroot elves have barely managed to survive, but at least they’re not Arthali witches like Elmerah. Her people were exiled long ago. Just a child at the time, her only choice was to flee her homeland, or remain among those who’d betrayed their own kind. She was resigned to living out her solitary life in a swamp until pirates kidnap her and throw her in with their other captives, young women destined to be sold into slavery. 

With the help of an elven priestess, Elmerah teaches the pirates what happens to men who cross Arthali witches, but she’s too late to avoid docking near the Capital. While her only goal is to run far from the political intrigue taking place within, she finds herself pulled mercilessly into a plot to overthrow the Empire, and to save the elven races from meeting a bloody end. 

Elmerah will learn of a dark magical threat, and will have to face the thing she fears most: the duplicitous older sister she left behind, far from their home in Shadowmarsh.

The Witch of Shadowmarsh is the first installment in the Moonstone Chronicles, an Epic Fantasy series suitable for all ages.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GSMN6DW/

An opening title or summary to the blurb in bold, followed by a description of the book that draws the reader in, and concluding with a keyword list in italics at the bottom.  Again, probably the best online book blurb that I reviewed when comparing between titles, and a worthy example for any would-be indie author to learn from.

All told, a beautifully executed book launch on the part of Ms. Roethle and her publisher.