This feels like it could be my last chance...

I'm new at this, so take my advice with a grain of salt. But I've been reading and learning voraciously to try to accomplish the same thing.

The covers look nice so that's not it. It's a crowded genre so that could be it. I'd find someone who reads *a lot* and you can trust to give you good feedback on your writing. Ask for direct, blunt feedback on your latest books, to be sure that maybe you don't need a book coach before you invest so much time in writing more books. This is a mistake that Chris Fox openly admits to, and the book coach saving him. It's hard to be objective about our babies.

I'd avoid the gimmicky titles that all feature the same key word. To me, it just screams "me too" and 'gimmick' in a crowded field. The series title is good and should be enough. It's why I didn't do that with my books. It seems like a fad that could be becoming passe, but that's just my opinion. There's a *whole* lot of that out there now, and you want to stand out. Don't be "yet another series" in your genre.

Definitely read up on all of the great marketing info out there. I read all of Chris's stuff, plus the great launch threads here, and definitely all of Nikolas Erik's posts and blogs here and on his website. Plan your launch carefully, time it per the recommendations as far as each book in the series. Become a master of AMS ads, there's a great ongoing thread here about that also. You have to get the word out and it's tough these days.

Don't give up, and good luck!

Since you're saying this might be your last chance I had a quick look at your previous work.

Your first series for what it is seems fine and it looks like there is minor success there; so this would suggest you at least have the potential to succeed in the future. The change in length for the final two books as a buyer raises minor questions such as a tired writer but no big deal.

Your second series "the avoidables" looks like it could be a really interesting series however the covers are meh and the title is oh well lets just say avoidable. You totally need to relauch this series with a new series title.  I see that one subset of characters are the avoidables and calling them that in the book is great but I don't think it works as a title. The fact that it seems to be doing quite poorly even for free would suggest to me that people are turned off by it.

Your third series seems just as to market as what you are currently planning except without great covers. I would take a look at redoing the covers.

Currently your idea for your "final chance" writing to market doesn't shout wow cool story yet for me, although the current titles with lou harper covers should grab the markets attention at least.

Good Luck!

I don't have much to add, since I am in a similar position. I've got a whole bunch of releases and so far nothing has caught fire. Sometimes that's just bad luck, other times it is something that you are doing wrong. In my case I am pretty sure I know what is wrong and it is my fault and one of these days I need to fix it.

That whole "one of these days" part of the equation needs working on.

Still, I will give you one suggestion.

I'm pretty good with titles. I've got a good ear, or at least I hope that I do.

I'd consider changing that third title MAGICALLY BREAKABLE to MAGICALLY BROKEN.

It just seems to sound better to my inner ear - BOUND, BONDED, BROKEN.

Or then again, I might just be full of old rope.

kathrynoh said:

I don't have much to say about the plan so far but it seems strong

One thing I'd suggest doing, especially since you are calling this your last chance, is work out your benchmarks for the book based on what you consider success. Eg. within 3 months, I want to make $xxx in sales. Or even have several levels to it - below $xxx in sales, you return to full time work, etc.

Good luck with the books

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Thanks, Kath, this is a good idea. I've never actually done this!

Thanks, BillyDeCarlo, I will think about the titles and ask someone who reads a lot too.

firstdraft said:

Your first series for what it is seems fine and it looks like there is minor success there; so this would suggest you at least have the potential to succeed in the future. The change in length for the final two books as a buyer raises minor questions such as a tired writer but no big deal.

Currently your idea for your "final chance" writing to market doesn't shout wow cool story yet for me, although the current titles with lou harper covers should grab the markets attention at least.

Good Luck!

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Thanks for your reply, firstdraft, the last two books in the first series are still the same length, not sure why they're showing as less pages. Every single book is 50k words.

I'm working on the story concept, so will take this into consideration. I need that wow factor!

VanessaC said:

I'm not published yet, so massive bags of salt required.

Firstly, wanted to wish you luck.

As well as Chris Fox's books / videos, which are great, have you checked out Nicolas Erik's threads here and his website? I find his posts really helpful.

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Thank you, Vanessa, I do have a fairly large mailing list which I'm going to try and engage as much as possible leading up to the release in order to gain reviews and sales. I will also check out Nicolas' threads too!

LadyG said:

I wish you all the best with this. It sounds like you've really thought it through and paid attention to every detail.

Just one thought here about looking at this as your last chance. For me, the chapter of Write to Market that really hit home was the one where he talked about identifying your current tier and figuring out where to set a realistic goal. Is it achievable, or are you dooming yourself by trying too jump two or three tiers at once?

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This is a very good point, LadyG, I'm literally reading that book now, so I'll watch out for that chapter. Thanks!

Steve Vernon said:

I'd consider changing that third title MAGICALLY BREAKABLE to MAGICALLY BROKEN.

It just seems to sound better to my inner ear - BOUND, BONDED, BROKEN.

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Oh, I love this Steve, I'm going to take your advice and chance the last one to Broken, thank you!

Domino Finn put up a series of posts about doing a full reset of his writing career, and from what I understand he's doing pretty good. He did this a year or two ago (check his profile to find it... hang on... got it from my bookmarks:
http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,228614.0.html

I'd go through that and maybe PM him asking for his advice. Be specific with your questions etc.
I don't have anything to offer insofar as your genre b/c I don't read it nor write in it.
BUT...
You got some great covers in your sig, and that's the first hurdle.
Your blurbs are okay too.
Most importantly, you DO have the writing chops. I did the Look Inside of the three series, and you open strong; you immediately go about world building in a manner that sucks the reader in (thanks a lot! I just burned an hour! LOL )

As well as Domino, I'd look at Fox's book about relaunching old series. Twenty titles is a heck of a lot of work.

You need to plan. You wear two hats in this gig, biz and creative and you need both to achieve a sustainable income. Now I've seen that this thread sort of mirrors the one you put up in May insofar as your feelings of discouragement. That's a long time w/ that monkey on your back.
The best way for me to dispel that draining parasite is that action cures it. What I've done when I was in your position was:
1. DECIDE. In or out of this gig. I don't think sustainable Indie success comes from PT effort. I also don't believe FT effort's a guarantee. What I do believe is that CONSISTENT effort is the key. Decide on the number of hours you're willing to devote to this and stick w/ it. $1K/month is a great income booster, but it ain't on FT living, sure.
2. SET A PLAN. This is the heinous part. Stay away from ephemeral goals and make realistic, achievable ones that aren't overwhelming to you. Spend as much time as necessary nailing this plan down. Go over it a few times, and consult w/ others on it.
3. STICK WITH IT. A reboot needs 6-12 months to implement b/c of the business cycle of book selling. 6 months minimum. After you lock into your plan, start implementing it and have metrics established that can tell you if you're hitting your goals.

I wish you the best, but really; this is a great job, but it is a job, OK? It's what we do that's pretty rewarding, yeah; but life occurs away from the computer and outside your office.