by Suzanne Rogerson
The Silent Sea Chronicles series was a joy to write, most of the time.
My three biggest challenges during the process were as follows.
1. The Challenges of Planning a Trilogy
I have never been very good at planning my writing. I prefer the story to grow with the characters, but this is not the best way to write a trilogy when you need to be on top of story arcs and plots spanning three books.
I suppose the fact I hadn’t planned this to be a trilogy might help explain my planning problems. Originally it was one book but then I realized the story was too big for a standalone and it became a duology, then book three followed. Juggling the storylines of so many characters was probably the biggest challenge I had to face.
2. Every Writer Must Overcome Fear
Fear is a challenge every writer must overcome with any form of writing. In a series this is especially true because each book has to live up to the last, and if possible get better and better until the end. That end book needs to wow the reader whilst reaching a satisfying conclusion.
It was terrifying setting the publication date for The Sentinel’s Alliance (the last book in the series), but early beta readers were encouraging, so I had to swallow my fear and go for it.
3. When Writing and Publishing a Trilogy, One Must Be Patient
Despite the fear, I’m always eager to get books published and see what readers think. This impatient attitude worked against me in my Silent Sea Chronicles trilogy.
I published book one before book two was finished and I hadn’t even started on book three. A sensible person would have at least waited to draft out the rest of the books before diving into publishing.
I was lucky that it didn’t have a bad effect on the trilogy, but it would have made the writing stage much easier if I’d been more patient.
Mistakes I Made When Writing My Trilogy
1. Planning
If I had planned the trilogy out in full and waited for them all to be written, I could have released the books much closer together rather than a year apart. This would have meant I didn’t lose readers in the years between books and could probably be in a stronger position now.
2. Marketing
I could have had a marketing plan in place, a street team of early reviewers, a whole publication release strategy and a newsletter following.
3. Book Covers
Although each book’s cover is brilliant and I love each one, it annoys me that they are not designed exactly the same.
Book one has the title at the top, while book two and three have the titles at the bottom. To me it stands out but readers probably don’t care.
If I would have waited for publication I would have focused on the design element of the covers as a whole. Still if I had waited, I would likely have missed out on these covers, so everything happens for a reason.
I recommend other writers plan as much as possible, have a marketing strategy and focus on the project as a whole, rather than individual books.
Three Challenges I Faced When Turning My Books Into Audiobooks
I loved having my debut, Visions of Zarua, made into an audiobook. Hearing the story and characters come alive is an amazing experience and I found that it’s addictive.
As soon as Visions was finished, I wanted to see Silent Sea Chronicles in audio format. It’s a great way of reaching a new market and new readers but I did have challenges that almost stopped The Lost Sentinel from even reaching the audition stage.
1. Gender of the Narrator: Which is Best?
The series has a big female cast, although there are male main characters as well and plenty of rugged hero types. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to go with a male or female narrator. This was the hardest decision and took me months to work through.
I even ran a poll on my blog and asked for my readers’ help. In the end I decided to wait and see what narrators auditioned for The Lost Sentinel and what voice would suit the vision I had for the series.
2. Accent: Which Narrator is Capable of Multiple Accents?
Silent Sea Chronicles takes place over several islands across the silent sea so the idea of various accents sounded like a good way to separate the different races in the books.
I like Scottish and Irish accents, partly because I loved the Outlander series and could envision this suiting my world. It was hard to find a narrator able to do the range of accents I was looking for.
3. Is the Project Too Big for an Audio Series?
I nearly didn’t bother putting the series forward for auditions because the books span nearly 1,400 pages. This trilogy will mean a narrator has to put in hundreds of hours work and I wasn’t sure anyone would be interested in taking it on as a royalty share project.
I’m very glad to find I was proved wrong.
How to Make Your Book into an Audiobook Without Breaking the Bank
Authors should consider having their books produced as audiobooks. Everyone talks about it being an expanding market and it’s great to have more formats of your book to offer readers.
It’s easier than you may think, though I wouldn’t recommend investing a lot of money into it unless you can afford to. As will any form of publishing, it can be done to fit your budget. If, like me, you have no money to invest, it can be done at virtually no cost using ACX. The only outlay is converting your book cover into the audiobook sizing and any advertising you want to spend.
To expand on this a little; ACX is part of Audible.com, an Amazon company that allows you to create audiobooks. It allows you to be your own narrator and download the recorded book, or you can find a narrator (called a producer on ACX) through the site.
Once you have a narrator and have agreed the contract with them (all done via ACX) you leave the recording and uploading of the audiobook up to them. You just need to approve the final recording. When everything is approved by ACX, your audiobook will be sold through Amazon, Audible and iTunes.
It’s such a simple process and possibly the only downside to using ACX is that they take a big chunk of the income from your sales. But considering you haven’t had to put much work into it as the book is already written, I don’t think it’s an issue. Also as audiobooks are more expensive, the royalties received are much higher.
How to Pay Your Audiobook Narrator with Royalties
The other point to mention about using ACX is how you pay your narrator. You can go straight in with a 50/50 share of the royalties—that way you don’t have to pay the narrator and you both benefit equally from the sales. ACX pay you monthly and if you agree to give ACX seven years exclusive rights to sell the audiobook, your royalty will be 40% of the sale price. Twenty percent for you and 20 percent for the narrator isn’t bad for very little effort.
You can offer to pay the narrator a fixed amount per finished hour and less of the royalty share, or pay them off completely and keep all the royalties yourself. It’s flexible to each individual situation, but bear in mind the better known narrators would expect a much higher fee and probably won’t be interested in a royalty share.
Finally an important point to consider is that usually once the narrator has recorded and finished producing the audiobook it comes down to you as the author to do all the marketing. My first narrator, Guy Barnes, made a brilliant book trailer for me to use and has offered to do live readings but unfortunately I’ve not had the opportunity to take him up on the offer. I don’t think many narrators are in a position to be so generous with their time, so expect to do everything yourself.
The First 3 Steps to Take When Making an Audiobook
Prepare an audition script that will allow the narrator to show off their vocal skills. It will also make it easier for you to choose the best narrator for your project.
Decide what kind of narrator you’re looking for i.e. gender, age, accent. You can listen to samples of other books in your genre and listen to narrator samples on ACX to help you decide.
Sign up to ACX and follow the simple steps, and then sit back and wait for the auditions to come in. Or you can approach narrators directly if they are looking for royalty shares projects.
Marketing Tactics I’ve Tried in Selling My Book Series
Marketing has been very difficult for me. I have found the best way to get reviews is through professional blog tours. With both Visions of Zarua and The Lost Sentinel I organized my own blog tours but it took so much time and effort that I decided to use a professional service for the others books. It isn’t too costly and these services have lots of reviewers willing to help spread the word about your books and review them.
The best way to sell books is through Ads and running discount promotions. I’m still experimenting with this process and haven’t hit the perfect formula yet. It usually costs more money to advertise than you get in return, so it’s something to think carefully about and research as much as possible.
The best marketing tactic I have had so far is releasing Silent Sea Chronicles as a box set. Running this at a 99-cent deal can be really effective as everyone loves a bargain. It’s enrolled in Kindle Unlimited and has totted up some impressive KENP pages read too.
How I Find Time to Write
At the moment I’m lucky enough to call myself a full time writer.
It’s not easy surviving on my husband’s wage but he wants me to succeed and supports me. I write as much as I can, but I also do my husband’s accounts and admin for his business, I have two children to care for as well as running the home and looking after our energetic puppy.
Writing is always at the forefront of my thoughts no matter what, I couldn’t imagine my life any other way.
Advice for a Young Writer: Write First, Edit Later
Writing is amazing. The highs of crafting a perfect plot twist cannot be beaten, but it is a skill that needs to be learned and practiced.
Read up on how to write and get feedback on your writing. Mix with other writers, online and in person if there are courses you can take part in. Entering competitions that offer feedback is a great way to develop your skills.
Another great piece of advice I think is write first, edit later. And finally, don’t give up. It’s hard work, but the reward of seeing your books in print is so worth it.
Note: Check out Suzanne’s other post on Writing and Wellness, “How Self-Publishing Taught Me to Be More Self-Reliant.”
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Suzanne Rogerson lives in England with her husband, two children and a crazy puppy.
Her writing journey began at the age of twelve when she completed her first novel. She discovered the fantasy genre in her late teens and has never looked back. Giving up work to raise a family gave Suzanne the impetus to take her attempts at novel writing beyond the first draft, and she is lucky enough to have a husband who supports her dream – even if he does hint that she might think about getting a proper job one day.
Now an author of four novels including Silent Sea Chronicles trilogy and an audiobook of her debut, Visions of Zarua, Suzanne hopes the dreaded “W”word will never rear its ugly head again!
She’s interested in history and enjoys wandering around castles and old ruins whilst being immersed in the past. She likes to combine her love of nature and photography on family walks, but most of all Suzanne loves to binge watch TV shows, or soak in a hot bubble bath with an ice cream and a book.
For more information on Suzanne and her work, please see her website and Amazon author page, or connect with her on Twitter, Goodreads, Bookbub, Facebook, and Instagram.
Visions of Zarua: Two wizards, 350 years apart. Can they save the realm of Paltria from Zarua’s dark past?
An ancient darkness haunts the realm of Paltria.
Apprentice wizard Paddren is plagued by visions of a city on the brink of annihilation. When his master dies in mysterious circumstances, the Royal Order of Wizards refuses to investigate.
Helped by his childhood friend, the skilled tracker Varnia, and her lover Leyoch, Paddren vows to find the killer.
The investigation leads Paddren down a sinister path of assassins, secret sects and creatures conjured by blood magic. But he is guided by a connection with a wizard from centuries ago – a wizard whose history holds the key to the horror at the heart of the abandoned city of Zarua. Can Paddren decipher his visions and save the Paltrian people before the dark menace of Zarua’s past is unleashed?
Available on Amazon.
Silent Sea Chronicles – Box Set: Tei has magic in a world where people like her are persecuted and forced into exile. Whilst fleeing their home, her father is attacked and his deathbed confession reveals a dangerous secret that will change her life forever.
Tei’s homeland, the magical island of Kalaya, is dying and without a Sentinel to restore the magic, it’s only a matter of time before all life is wiped out.
She must join the exiles in the search for the lost Sentinel, but they are not the only ones after the missing guardian. Sinister Masked Riders are on their trail and time is running out.
Tei must risk everything she loves to save Kalaya, but is she ready to make that sacrifice?
Available on Amazon.