Hello, everyone.
So it’s been over a week since Tallow Jones: Wizard Detective has been released and I could really use your help.
I’ve been delaying writing this post for months, but I thought it would be best to be frank with all of you. This has been a long year. The last two Bowl of Souls books have under-performed and sales of my books have slowed down to a trickle. My wife went back to work a few months ago, but even with her income we are barely able to pay bills.
Now I’m not sure why things have come to this point. In the past when I have released a book, Amazon has told people about it, a sizeable amount of my readers continue with the story, and a slew of new readers start from the beginning. The same thing happened with new audiobooks. That trend has ended.
The feedback I’ve gotten from readers over my last three books has been great, but Noose Jumpers didn’t sell at all and less than half of the people who purchased the Bowl of Souls series up to Troll King purchased Priestess of War. I had hoped that the release of Behemoth to finish out the Jharro Grove Saga would bring people back, but I realized that Amazon isn’t sending out emails to my readers to tell them my new books are out. Most of the purchases have been from active Facebook fans who actually hear when the books are released.
This is why I decided to finally write that Wizard Detective story that has been in my head for so long. The Bowl of Souls series had fatigued, which meant that instead of writing book one of the next saga I needed to start a new series and bring new blood in. So I worked really hard, slept very little, and finished the book in less than three months.
That brings us to today. I’m really excited about Tallow Jones and I think it is my best book yet, but for whatever reason only a small percentage of my readership have picked it up and Amazon hasn’t been recommending it. Things have come to the point where if things don’t pick up soon, I will need to go back to a day job.
If that happens, this won’t mean I will have to stop writing altogether. My plans on the horizon are to write more Tallow Jones books, start the Dark Prophet Saga of the Bowl of Souls, and eventually continue the Noose Jumpers series. (I have so many ideas for that one.) It will mean, however, that I won’t be able to write my books very quickly. My previous pace of 2-3 books a year will dwindle.
How can you help?
- If you haven’t given my new books a try. Please do. If Tallow Jones is able to climb the charts, Amazon will start to share it and bring in new readers to keep things afloat.
- If you have read my newest books, please leave a review on Amazon or Audible. Reviews are extremely important both to Amazon’s mysterious algorithm and to readers trying to decide whether to give a book a chance.
- Tell your friends. All new blood is good new blood. Also, you will have someone else to discuss the books with.
- Give me suggestions on how I might better promote my books. I have tried almost anything that a poor writer can do, but I am always open to more suggestions.
I will hang on to this career as long as I can. This week I am writing a short story that will be part of a fantasy anthology that is coming out in December. After that, my plan is to start on Tallow Jones, book two. If I’m not at a day job I may be able to finish it by the end of the year. In 2018 my plan is to begin the Dark Prophet Saga with the first book: Sir Edge and hopefully several more books.
Time shall tell.
There is one last possibility I would like to run by you. It isn’t as common for novel writers, but there is a platform called Patreon where fans can support content creators and allow them the freedom to keep working. This is really helpful for people that have a small group of dedicated fans, but are not well known enough to make a living otherwise. Fans can pledge a certain dollar amount a month to help the person they want to support and in exchange the content creator can offer rewards and prizes. Fans can change or cancel their pledges at any time. I personally have two people that I help support in this manner, pledging five bucks a month. https://www.patreon.com
EDIT: My Patreon page is now set up! https://www.patreon.com/trevorhcooley
If I chose to start my own Patreon account I could offer rewards for Patreon supporters such as the opportunity to become Alpha readers and read a new chapter of my upcoming book each week. Or signed copies of paperback versions of my books upon release. Skype calls, Or even a mentorship where I will help you with the editing process on your own book. Let me know if you would be interested in something like that. Let me know what you think.
No matter how this goes, I want to thank all of you for your support since I started this adventure five years ago.
Trevor
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