Not only was it my first serious foray into steampunk, I had no idea what it was about before I started writing it. In fact, I didn't have any idea where it was going until I was already two thirds of the way through. It wasn't even meant to be a single project until I had already written the first four "chapters" of it and realized that everything was happening in the same place.
It's also unusual in that I did zero marketing for The 19 Dragons. I sent it to a few bloggers that had been nice to me in the past in case they might want to review it, and I linked to it a couple times on Twitter, and that was it. I've completely ignored it since it was released. I didn't even put it on Smashwords for my international friends.
Everyone told me that novellas don't sell well. I had fun writing and designing it, but I didn't think it was worth any effort beyond that. By all means, it should have vanished into the ether as soon as I let it loose on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
The 19 Dragons is consistently my bestselling book.
Is it the fact that steampunk has become fairly popular in the last few years? Is it that it's an amazing, rollicking adventure unburdened by the trappings of a traditional plot? Is it the mysterious fantasy quality to it that people have compared to Neil Gaiman? Or is it a total fluke?
I can't determine what makes the book so popular, but when you've found something magic, it's something you want to hang onto. In the last month or so, however, The 19 Dragons has languished somewhat (I've been focusing on other projects). It doesn't seem fair that my lone steampunk book should have to compete for attention against my normal dark fantasy fare.
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How does this affect you? If you're following me for steampunk, you probably want to start following Lady Reine so you catch all the action I have planned for the next year. If you're following me because you dig my dark fantasy, then you don't have to do anything at all. Easy peasy.
The 19 Dragons is still available during this transition. If you haven't already gotten it, you can even receive a free copy by following the instructions on Lady Reine's blog. You can also find her on Twitter and Facebook.
What do you think? Is this a logical move, or will it just split my following?
I think this is a great idea. So many authors talk about having a pseudonym or other personality when writing something out of their normal genre. I like the name and I loved 19 Dragons. I don't think this will split your following; I think this will just give us more to love about you. (Personally, I'm going to keep reading everything by you no matter what name is on it because I'm hooked on your style of writing.) :)
ReplyDeleteI also think it's because with Kindles, it's really nice to have a great, shorter story. For those times when you don't have the patience for a full length read. I know I tend to read them a lot (cause otherwise my writing suffers ;p)
ReplyDeleteI haven't read 19 Dragons yet, but I bought a copy. Congrats on your great sales for that book!
ReplyDeleteLady Reine, huh? Ok! I'm going to find "Other You" on Twitter. :-)
Just finished '19 Dragons', my first sampling of your work. I loved the style; the prose isn't overwrought, and the tone establishes a unique universe -- along with the extraordinary story and setting themselves.
ReplyDeleteNicely done -- congratulations!