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March 8 Update: TBS Release (Patreon)

Published:
2020-03-08 21:58:19
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

Unusual post this week! I hope I can ask your attention for something a little outside the ordinary.

Normally I try not to ask you guys for much extra, because your support already forms the bedrock of my career. I'm grateful to all of you who go the extra mile writing reviews or recommending my work, but just the fact that you're playing means a lot to me. Requesting more on top of that doesn't usually feel right.

I'm going to ask this time, however. Please consider taking a look at my newest venture: an epic fantasy series titled The Brightest Shadow. If you can afford the book (it's $2.99 for over a thousand pages), it would mean a lot to me if you grabbed a copy. If you think it's worth a review on Amazon or Goodreads, that would be fantastic. Amazon actually shows international reviews now, so your country is no longer as important a factor.

I expected TBS to have as slow a start as TLS, but it's actually done much better than I expected over the first few days. I'm fighting to stay at the top of lists, however, so your help would be much appreciated. This is something I've poured an immense amount of love into. The first book is obviously just one book, but as a whole the story is one of the few I'd say will equal to TLS in size and complexity. 

I'm in a position where I can do pure passion projects, but recently I've been reminded how important it is to find the right audience. I've immensely enjoyed having all of you interested in my work on TLS, and I'm hoping TBS can also finds its audience.

Anyway, the synopsis and other stuff are at the main link:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0856ZMG9Z/ 

If you want to support me for free, you could also check out these lore posts I've made on a couple of subreddits in the hope of getting a bit more attention:

https://old.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding/comments/ffjnub/the_mansthein_creating_a_diverse_nonhuman_species/ 

https://old.reddit.com/r/ProgressionFantasy/comments/ff1i15/the_progression_treadmill_thoughts_on_a_potential/ 

Okay, that's enough begging. As always, I'm very grateful for everyone supporting me and I'm eagerly anticipating moving forward with TLS and everything else!

Files

Comments

Darthjake

Got it, will leave a review once I've gotten into it.

WaxerRed

I'll pray for your success in this with all my heart! And would you be comfortable in me mentioning this book to places like f95 zone? It's a pirating site (though don't worry it's not me giving the links) but despite that some of them do seem like good people interested in your works. They might not be able to afford monthly patron but if left a link they might be likely to give a book a try. Though I understand if you want to say no to keep your NSFW and SFW separated.

Darthjake

LOL there is a length TLS thread there too.

sierralee

Not sure what to say. Well, I'm glad for your support, but about the rest. On one hand, part of me wants to say that this is the time to use every possible angle. On the other hand, F95 is one of the few places I stopped monitoring because it was overall such a creative drain. I worry it might have a larger number of malicious actors who might try to intentionally use that information against me.

WaxerRed

No worries then, I won't mention it! Glad I asked, and thanks for the direct answer.

VC

Just bought the book. Look forward to reading it.

Darthjake

I think I remember you talking about this before, but is there a thorough explanation of sein later on in the book? I just got done reading the Tani's version of tag with the Ghakin the Catai.

Even

what's the book about? and is it NSFW?

sierralee

The description at my book link is the best long description, but a shorter one: it's a wuxia-based epic fantasy novel. It's not safe for kids, but not NSFW.

Decanter

Every time I read something like this, I wonder if my parents were just unusually permissive about letting me grab what I wanted at the library. To be sure, there are some dark and existential elements in TBS, but better to mentally grapple with these things first in the safe space of fiction than in reality, no?

Decanter

>I expected TBS to have as slow a start as TLS, but it's actually done much better than I expected over the first few days. This makes me a bit curious about the industry - do books become "sleeper hits" or "cult classics" the way movies or games sometimes do, such that it would be realistic to expect TBS to slowly gain notice and profitability over months or years?

sierralee

More so than most other industries, I believe. The commercial success of movies is decided in a few opening weekends and the first month of game sales dwarfs later years, but publishing works much slower. I've heard that some epic fantasy publishers only start judging overall profitability a year after release (some subgenres, like YA, move faster). There's also a strong series effect. Most of the series that consistently hit the NYT bestseller list didn't do so at first, only after several books came out. Books are also more prone to late surges, such as the Witcher suddenly becoming one of the bestselling series due to the adapation, decades after publication. That said, the first month is the only period of time in which I get additional promotion from Amazon. Organizations like audiobook publishers will use that to judge offers, it will establish the early reviews, and it is often a test of viability. TBS made a pretty good splash over the first weekend, but right now it doesn't look like it will keep selling based on nothing but the algorithm the way Street Cultivation did.

StormyAngel

I don't know how relevant this is, but Brandon Sanderson once wrote a blog post about his first book: Elantris. It sold 400 copies that first week. Being a new author he didn't know if that was good or not but the publisher wasn't upset so he keyed off of his reaction. And according to his blog post, Elantris went on to sell an average of 400 books every week. For years. (May still be, for all I know). At the time he'd written the blog post I think he mentioned it had outsold literally everything else he had ever written, quantity wise. Point being: books sell weird. Maybe it isn't flashy, but a steady stream can be just as valuable. Here's hoping the same success comes to TBS.

Darthjake

I cut a deal with my parents, (okay Mom, Dad was a Truck Driver at the time), to let me watch Robotech, and Dark Shadows as soon as I got home from school before I did chores / homework. And yeah as far as reading goes, I was reading well above my age level too.

Darthjake

I need to read Elantris, just keep putting it off. I loved the first 3 books in the MIstborn series, but I've tried the 2nd Trilogy 3 times, and give up halfway through the first book. But I've read all the Wheel series, and have his 3 books from the Path of Kings so I know I like his writing style.

Decanter

A simple Reddit search for "The Brightest Shadow" (with quotes) returns mostly other threads discussing or reviewing the book; upvoting or engaging with these might also be a way to support?

sierralee

Yeah, Sanderson went from just barely getting into the publishing industry to becoming one of the bestselling authors of the last decade. So long as the TBS launch doesn't become a flash in the pan (the sad fate of most books) that's sufficient. Something that can be built on, anyway.

Badger66

Alright, got the book. I will add it to my ever increasing list of books I want to read.

sierralee

Thank you! I hope you enjoy the book when you have time, but I really appreciate your support meanwhile. ^-^

Darthjake

Read it, loved it, reviewed it. Sadly I messed up on the header of the review and my amazon account refuses to acknowledge that I have any reviews at all, so I can't edit it. :( Anyway, I went and have got and finished Changing Faces, and will probably tear through Raising Allies tomorrow.

sierralee

Thanks! I'm most happy that you enjoyed the book, of course, but I hope the review situation gets worked out, because the book is in need of them...

Darthjake

Oh it's just going to make me look bad, instead of Brilliant Story, it reads Brilliant Stary, because I was doing the review on my phone instead of my pc.

Jeffrey Lebowski

Just bought a copy! I meant to read it back when you released it for $10 patrons a while ago, but life has been super busy. However, as a Washingtonian I now have a bunch of free time for *some* reason (cough cough). Will leave a review when I finish it.

sierralee

Haha, I hope it keeps you safe inside! Your support is very much appreciated. ^-^

Cannali

Just picked it up the other day so i'm going to try to make some time to read through it. I've read a few of your other books so i'm excited to see what this one has in store.

sierralee

Thanks for your support! This one is more epic fantasy than my previous books, but I hope you enjoy it!

Even

i was teh exact opposite. but that's because of my anxiety. i was reading Bamse the world strongest bear, while my big brother was reading conan the barbarian. XP

onepot

There, bought one though I'll never read it in that format. When will the print version be available?

sierralee

Your support is very much appreciated! I'm not sure about a print version, to be honest. A book this long would be prohibitively expensive by Amazon's POD option.

onepot

Oh, okay. Not sure anymore, but I'd thought you'd said there would definitely be a print version. ;( I was really hyped for the story, not sure though if I'll put up with reading something of that length on the screen though.

sierralee

I did what I could for 90 minutes, but Amazon is being difficult. It turns out there's a maximum page number for their paperbacks but that isn't made at all clear by their error messages. I'm sorry, man, I really tried. The best I could do is the paperback with oddly small text, but I'm afraid that would be a bad experience.

sierralee

I put more effort in and managed to get a version approved. The font shouldn't be too small and it's within all limitations, assuming it gets through the approval in 12-72 hours. If anyone gets this version, please buy from Amazon instead of any subsidiaries or I get next to nothing.

Dark Art

Just a thought - you can print and bind a book yourself for rather a modest price. I did that for a few very hard to find titles and they all costed me around 30 bucks. Just look around your town for print shops and if their pricing is anything like we have here (around 3 cents a page or 5 cents for double-sided page) you should not have a problem getting it done while you wait.

onepot

Oh wow, thanks Sierra! :o I didn't mean to pressure you into anything, just expressed my disappointment, sorry. Dark Art's suggestion isn't bad at all either. But I guess now the ball is rolling, and if Amazon approves, I'll definitely buy it there of course. Again, sorry for causing you trouble, and I really appreciate your effort! :) EDIT: And once again I fail to add to the existing comment chain. Sorry. ^^

onepot

Thanks a bunch! :D Bought two, the third will have to wait a bit due to the price. You've made me very happy! <3

sierralee

I'm glad to hear it. ^-^ Thank you for the support!

HitMarkerELITE

Gotta say I'm only about 30% through the book right now but its pretty good. I noticed a few errors in punctuation but nothing major. I just want to know how the hell you found time to do this and work on your other stuff.

sierralee

Glad you're enjoying it! If you ever notice a typo or other error, feel free to mention it. They may be intentional, but they could also be errors I very much want to fix! Creating things is really my passion. When I'm feeling tired from one project, I often work on another, or I fiddle with side projects in my spare time. ^-^ I hope this can be one of my core long term projects, though.