series launch – Science Fiction & Fantasy Marketing Podcast

SFFMP 188: A Successful Fantasy Series Relaunch

July 3, 2018 SFFpodcast Author Interview, Podcast

On this week’s show, we chat with dark/epic fantasy author and podcaster Andy Peloquin. Andy got the rights back to his first series and did a big and very successful relaunch, revamping it to appeal to assassin-loving epic fantasy fans instead of the dark fantasy fans it previously targeted.

Here are some of the specifics that we covered:

Andy’s background as a freelance writer.
His first forays into publishing, including signing with a small publisher.
Why he decided to ask for the rights back to his first series and relaunch it himself.
How he redid his blurbs and covers to target a larger audience than previously.
Researching not just in his genre but in his specific niche (assassins, mercenaries, sellswords, etc.) and seeing what kinds of covers were selling.
Creating an effective epic fantasy cover with stock photos instead of paying a fortune for custom illustrations.
Changing the titles to hit on popular epic fantasy tropes.
How he contacted other authors in his niche and asked for them to plug his book when he was ready to release the new Book 1.
How he’s designed effective Facebook ads that don’t cost him much per click.
Whether his Fantasy Fiends podcast has been useful for networking with authors and making book sales to listeners.
How to know if it’s worth doing a relaunch for a flagging series.