On Switching Genres and Expectations
I've been seriously pursuing fiction writing for close to eight years now (by which I mean sitting down and writing novels, rather than thinking or talking about writing and maybe scribbling something down once in a blue moon). In that time, I've explored diverse genres, with varying levels of success.
I am a voracious reader, enjoying everything from modern-day technothrillers to military science fiction, urban "trad" epic fantasy, litRPG, alternate history and many others. I often follow authors across genres as well, because I enjoy what they write as much as the genres they write in.
I started out with a superhero-alternate history novel that became a four-book series. That did okay. Next I tried my hand at horror-action, which did so poorly I started having doubts about pursuing a writing career. Then came mil-sf, which sold more in its first month than I had in the previous two years and allowed me to write full-time.
After that, I dabbled in fantasy (Outlands Justice) with unimpressive results. The smart move seemed to be to stick to mil-sf (and I have no intention of abandoning the genre, although I may try starting a new setting). But I've been enjoying reading litRPG, so I figured I would give it a try. A serious try, with no less than three novels in a launch.
I have no expectations in either direction. The genre is popular but the competition is fierce. I'm doing a major promotional push on the release of the first book, and have both of the two novels already on preorder. We will see.
tl;dr: No idea how well my next books will do. Oh, and if you stuck with me all the way down here, you might want to check out the predorders (sample chapters on my site):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089Y6HHNT
I am a voracious reader, enjoying everything from modern-day technothrillers to military science fiction, urban "trad" epic fantasy, litRPG, alternate history and many others. I often follow authors across genres as well, because I enjoy what they write as much as the genres they write in.
I started out with a superhero-alternate history novel that became a four-book series. That did okay. Next I tried my hand at horror-action, which did so poorly I started having doubts about pursuing a writing career. Then came mil-sf, which sold more in its first month than I had in the previous two years and allowed me to write full-time.
After that, I dabbled in fantasy (Outlands Justice) with unimpressive results. The smart move seemed to be to stick to mil-sf (and I have no intention of abandoning the genre, although I may try starting a new setting). But I've been enjoying reading litRPG, so I figured I would give it a try. A serious try, with no less than three novels in a launch.
I have no expectations in either direction. The genre is popular but the competition is fierce. I'm doing a major promotional push on the release of the first book, and have both of the two novels already on preorder. We will see.
tl;dr: No idea how well my next books will do. Oh, and if you stuck with me all the way down here, you might want to check out the predorders (sample chapters on my site):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089Y6HHNT
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You're probably right about Warp Marines. I figured the time jump needed a separate series, but that was a mistake in hindsight.Ray wrote: "Outlands Justice just grows on me, the more I listen to it.
Warp Marines is it's own niche, so it just does not have any competition. Best place for marketing is to own a market. My guess is the ..."
I wonder if you can change it now:https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/top...
My guess is you would need minor updates to the covers.
And if you write a future book about Lizbeth, even if short, after you change the series, it could help juice sales. New books seem to do that to an entire series.
C.J. wrote: I figured the time jump needed a separate series
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Warp Marines is it's own niche, so it just does not have any competition. Best place for marketing is to own a market. My guess is the 2nd Warp Warp Marines series would have done better if it has been book 6, 7, 8 due to Amazon's placement systems. More in a series seems to juice sales it seems to me (as a non author). The other challenge is lack of reviews, those also seem to drive sales on Amazon.
The horror books I enjoyed.
Your Superhero books I need to try them again.
I'm glad you found a genre your enjoying writing it, and I hope it does well.