Status Update - Book 3: Sixth Draft Complete

It has taken longer than I had anticipated to assemble and incorporate the edits from my beta-readers. Part of the struggle was working around my daughters' schedules for school work and other activities. In the past, I was able to have my beta readers working in series: one would read through the entire draft, I'd incorporate their edits, then the next one would read. This year there's been a lot of overlap between each edit.

So I've finally reached the milestone where I can say that one of my beta-readers finished and all of their edits have been incorporated. For lack of anything better, I'll refer to this as the 6th draft. The word count has grown from 133,000 for the 5th draft, to 134,000 today. Some words and paragraphs needed to be added, some removed - but overall a small change. My other two daughters (who are also beta-reading the book) are coming along right behind.

Tenth Review for Storm's Herald on Amazon

This past week, the tenth review was posted on Amazon's US website for the first book in the Stormfall Chronicles - Storm's Herald.

Another humbling reminder that every review is appreciated, particularly for an author who is just starting out.

Storm's Clouds Reviewed in Bookshine and Readbows

It was a thrill to see Storm's Clouds, the second book in the Stormfall Chronicles, reviewed by Steph Warren on Bookshine and Readbows this past weekend. To quote from her review:

"The main characters are well-developed and interesting.  I liked seeing Eirlon’s mischievous streak, Lynette’s naivety and Baxter’s quiet loyalty as I got to know them better; their personal quirks make them seem more real and empathetic.  I also liked that they still have room to develop."

So glad she enjoyed the book.

https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2020/07/19/storms-clouds-j-w-golan/

Storm's Gate - Book 3 of the Stormfall Chronicles - Now in Pre-Release

Storm's Gate, Book 3 of the Stormfall Chronicles, is now available in pre-release - with a scheduled release date of 19 Nov 2020. An interim blurb has been released as well:

A world descending into war; a fabled healer who might be their last, best hope; and a princess, locked in a tower, guarded by a dragon.

Lynette sets out with Baxter and Eirlon in search of a healer: the fabled Medicine Man of Horru. It is a desperate gambit to revive the fae king and avert a larger war.

But the route they take will prove perilous. They risk losing everything, even each other, in a world gone mad with the stirrings of war. Armies have gathered on the borders of the Feyfell – lured by legends of fae wealth. With King Elyan poisoned and unconscious, the kingdom is visible, and vulnerable to outside invaders for the first time in centuries. And while the fae nobles debate rules of succession, Princess Elise remains missing.

Will it all be too much for Lynette to bear? Will she survive the loss of what she holds dear – and if she does, will she ever be the same? For who among them would dare descend into the realm of the undead, to retrieve a princess from a dragon-guarded tower?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CNNJBBD

I'm expecting to have the Cover Reveal in September, which is when I'm also expecting to have ARC editions available.

The latest draft for Book 3 is with my beta readers now, and I've also added a couple of scenes to Book 4 - which should complete the current story arc. Looking forward to seeing Book 3 in print.

Fourth Review for Storm's Clouds Appears on Amazon

Also this past week, a fourth review was posted on Amazon for Storm's Clouds - the second book in the Stormfall Chronicles.

Particularly for a relatively new author, every review is appreciated and word-of-mouth is all the more essential.

Review for Book 1 on Bookshine and Readbows

I was excited to see Storm's Herald, the first Book in the Stormfall Chronicles, reviewed by Steph Warren on Bookshine and Readbows this past week. To quote from her review:

"The characters are interesting and have plenty of room to grow and develop as the story progresses.  Lynette and Baxter both confounded my initial impressions of them, by having hidden depths and individual motivations, causing them to occasionally act in unexpected ways.  I particularly liked this character complexity."

So glad she enjoyed the book.
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2020/07/06/storms-herald-j-w-golan/

Indie Author SnapShot: Concluding Remarks

As described when I began this series of posts, a single, one-day snapshot was extracted for Amazon rankings and other key parameters for a cross-section of 24 indie authors in the fantasy genre, spanning 259 books. This data was used to interrogate trends for various metrics - exploring which parameters might influence the sales potential for individual titles.

To recap some of the key conclusions from this exercise:

• Having more books in an author's portfolio was proven to be the most influential factor in the overall success of each new title.
• Releasing books in series similarly increased the through-read and sales potential for each book - above and beyond the effect of having additional books in an author's backlog.
• Covers which feature a human image on the cover lead to better sales - even if the person's face is not visible, or that person's back is facing towards the viewer.
• Romance is its own cross-genre classification, with its own opportunities for sales. If a novel can appeal to its conventions, a Romance-themed plot-line can promise a huge sales boost - but only if that novel fully meets the expectations for this genre.
• Within the fantasy genre, female lead characters are more popular than male lead characters.
• Shelf life means something different for the online, digital age than it did for traditional, brick-and-mortar sales strategies.
• A book needs to be priced to fit its market. Charging more doesn't necessarily lead to more revenue if it deters sales.

There were a number of things which I couldn't directly explore with this data set. No clear conclusions, for example, could be drawn regarding how reviews on Amazon might influence sales. The data set available was just too small or lacked the right information to draw such a conclusion.

Likewise, this data set could not draw any conclusions regarding the impact of advertising campaigns or the relative merit of different promotional tools. There is still much which can be learned from the experience and growth of individual authors who have made a career from their writing.

I will be indexing the results from this one-day snapshot for future ease of reference - sort of my own way of paying-forward all I have gained from my many fellow authors in the community. I hope this snapshot may benefit other indie authors, as the examples of past successful writers have likewise inspired me.