How to build an email sequence for a book launch
In this article, I’m going to explain how you can send emails daily during a book launch without pissing off your audience, and give you the exact sequence I used along the way.
Hi friends,
I recommend the following pieces to fill out this piece and give you more context.
When I tell authors I send daily emails during a book launch, they look at me horrified. They tell me things like “I don’t have anything to say” and “My readers will hate that”. I can only say “Yes you do” and “No they won’t” so many times before it gets tedious. That amount of times is significantly fewer than the thousands of times I’ve had that conversation over the years. Today, I’m going to explain how you can send emails daily during a book launch without pissing off your audience, and give you the exact sequence I used along the way.
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First things first. The number one thing I bet you’re going to say after reading this is “Well, sure Russell, but that’s for Kickstarter. It would never work with a real book launch” which, like, rude.
A Kickstarter is just a fancy preorder campaign for a book launch. Every single bit I use in my Kickstarter launches is cribbed right from more successful businesses, including authors.
(Also, if you like sexy romance comics, I’ve just launched my first romance comic ever cowritten by NYT Bestselling author SK Prince and drawn by Yishan Li, with covers by Melissa Pagluica, Kat Farrell, Luca Strati, and Jenn St. Onge! One of the coolest rewards is that I’m hosting a 2-hour masterclass to show writers how to turn their book or short story into a comic. Check it out at the Kickstarter link)
Yes, if you launch into KU, a lot of this stuff is redundant because how much work do you have to do to get somebody to read a book for free except to show them that it exists?
If you’re wide or direct with your books, though, you are asking people to part with money to purchase your book, and functionally it is the same as a Kickstarter. You are presenting a case for why you deserve their money.
Further, I would contend that KU no longer works for most authors, and hasn’t worked for many years for the majority of authors. If it works for you, great, but by all metrics I have seen, and colloquial data straight from the author’s mouths, it works less well for almost everyone than it did in 2019.
Evidence? Most authors who called me ridiculous for focusing so heavily on direct sales have moved at least some of their books out of KU and are now building direct sales and wide business, which is much more work but comes with freedom and better access to fans. They wouldn’t do that if it was working, but also they tell me it isn’t working for them anymore.
So, if we can agree that a book by any other name reads as sweet, then hopefully we can agree that whether you sell a book on Amazon, Kobo, Kickstarter, or from your web store, you are working with similar buyer psychology. I will admit that if you are in KU, the mechanics are different, but even if you are working with a publisher, this is still critical information to absorb.
Second thing: Authors believe readers will tune out if you email them daily, even if for a short time. This is bunk. Assuming people signed up for your list ethically, then they are there to hear about your work.
Period.
Subscribers want to hear about your work. That’s why they signed up for your email list.
Yes, some contingent of them prefer to hear from you rarely, which is why you should always give them a choice of how often to hear from you. At the end of my automation sequence for new readers, I ask them to tell me how often they want to hear from me; weekly, monthly, or just at launches. If they don’t choose one, they agree to let me email them as often as I want, and I say that explicitly in the email.
If you do not choose any of the above, you will be sorted into my standard group, which usually receives weekly emails but during launches I do send more often.
Of course, I hope you'll stay signed up to get all my emails, as I really do try to give brand new information every single time I email you, even if it's multiple times a week, or even a day.
However, I very much want to give YOU the choice of how you hear from me so you have a good experience.
I’ve sent 20,572 people through this sequence of which 792 chose to hear from me less frequently than “whenever I feel like it even if it’s multiple times a day”. That’s less than 4% of people.
Not insignificant for sure, but 96% of people are perfectly cool hearing from me more often than weekly, as long as it’s interesting. The absolute worst thing you can be to a reader is boring, ever.
Of course, that is a colloquial example, but there is a whole industry of daily emails like 1440 and Morning Brew with millions of people excited to hear from them every day.
The difference is they send new and interesting information with every email, and that’s what we’re going to help you fix about your launch sequence today. I’m going to show you how to send unique emails to your list they (should) love if they like your books.
I have raised $500,000+ on Kickstarter alone, and I use this strategy in almost every campaign.
Since I have 5+ launches a year it’s a little harder, but if you’re like most authors who launch 1-2 books a year, then there’s no reason you shouldn’t get some value out of this article.
I’ll be giving you my exact emails from multiple campaigns pulled together into what I think is an effective email sequence. These are only examples. Please don’t flat out crib them. Use them as guidance and make your own.
These emails are built upon the principle of buying triggers. I talked about buying triggers in several places, but here’s what I wrote about them in my book, How to Build Your Creative Career.
The good news with sales is that people want to buy things. They actually want to help businesses succeed and find cool stuff in the process. The problem is that people are also inherently lazy and skeptical of the unknown. The key to sales is making sure a customer’s desire to help out and to find cool products outweighs their laziness and skepticism.
One way to effectively overcome laziness is through the use of buying triggers. Buying triggers have been used by every company that has ever existed to build their brand. Once you learn about buying triggers, you will see them everywhere. (This is a bit like seeing the code underneath the Matrix.)
There are six essential buying triggers which have stood the test of time. They work in any creative field with any set of potential customers.
Commitment – When somebody willingly commits to joining your community, they are more likely to buy your product. This is the main value to people joining your mailing list, or wearing a button, or even taking a flier. They make a commitment when performing that action. It signifies they are part of your community. The more actions they take, the more commitment they build.
Every time they open a newsletter from you and don’t unsubscribe, they are affirming that commitment. Every time they like one of your tweets or share a Facebook post, they are affirming their commitment to your brand again and again. The more you can enforce that commitment through words and actions, the more likely you are to have an enthusiastic ambassador for your brand—one who buys all your stuff.
Reciprocity – When you do something nice for somebody, they want to help you. That’s just human nature. Knowing this, you need to provide value for your potential customer before you ever ask for a sale. Once you have provided incredible value through advice or some sort of free content, then people will gladly give you money, because you have helped them and treated them like a human being.
Social Proof – Human beings want to be part of the “in” crowd. If you can prove that other people are using your product, everybody else will want to use it, too. The hardest sales to make at conventions are the first ones. Once there are people running around the show floor with your product, other people are more likely to want it, as well.
Your work becomes valuable to a customer because other people saw the value in it already. People want to buy what their peers bought. They don’t want to be left out in the cold. If you can show your customer that people they like and respect use your product, then you are more likely to convince them to buy it, too.
Scarcity – When you limit the available quantity of a product, customers become increasingly likely to make a buying decision in the moment. People believe products will be around forever and that they can always buy it later. When they realize a product is in limited supply, they are forced to make an immediate decision. This works wonders for people sitting on the fence about buying your product and also for people who desperately want your product but need a little push to finally take action.
Authority – If you can demonstrate that you are an expert in your field, people are more likely to buy your product over somebody else’s. This is how you stand out above every other creative doing exactly what you do. They choose you because you are an expert in your field.
To prove your expertise, it’s important to have consistently high-selling products for a long time, and it helps if you’re able to teach other people how to do what you do. Another way is to write guest posts on other blogs, share your work on podcasts, or speak on panels. You can also use platforms like Medium and Kickstarter to build expertise, as the platform’s authority can be transferred to you.
Liking – If somebody has a positive connection to you, they are more likely to buy from you. Think about it: You are more inclined to buy from somebody you like than somebody you don’t care about, right? Of course you are.
The truth is that 10 percent of people will like you, 10 percent of people will hate you, and 80 percent will feel nothing for you. Your job is to focus on selling to the 10 percent who like you, while nudging some of that 80 percent from indifference toward liking you.
All of these buying triggers are essential for the long-term growth of your business. They are powerful on their own, but if you can mix them together, you will increase your sales exponentially.
Some of these triggers take time to build into your business—authority and social proof won’t happen overnight. Others, like scarcity and commitment, you can build into your sales funnel today. Even if it takes time to seed some of these triggers into your business, it’s important to have a plan to incorporate every one of them eventually.
With that in mind, let’s get started. If you’re reading through email, this 12,000-word article will be heavily truncated. Go to this link to read it all, or download the app for a better reading experience.
4 weeks from launch
When you’re a month out from launch, you should already have your book on preorder or your prelaunch Kickstarter page live. Therefore, your first email should be a simple announcement. You need your book on preorder or your prelaunch page live so you can start collecting sales/interest.
Even if the book isn’t 100% done, you should be able to use Book Brush or a similar service to generate a cover mockup, which is what I use to make mine. However, you can also just use the front cover to make your announcement. Here’s the main image I used for my last novel launch.
And here’s a mockup I did through Mockup Shots.
The end is coming…
Hi,
The end of The Obsidian Spindle Saga is coming in January.
This is my favorite series I've ever written. It contains several of my favorite books that I've ever written. If you have not read this series, and you love my work, then you will absolutely ADORE this series. If you have known of my work and been waiting to try something, then this is my best work.
Portal fantasy is my absolutely FAVORITE genre of fiction, whether it's The Wizard of Oz, Alice In Wonderland, The Magicians, His Dark Materials, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe The Hazel Wood, Caraval, Ten Thousand Doors of January, Peter Pan, Neverwhere, or literally any other book about characters traveling to different places, worlds, realities, they are my jam. I poured all that love into this series.
Each book of The Obsidian Spindle Saga is told from multiple different perspectives from all across the world of Urgu, weaving together a narrative between them. This was the most complex project I've ever worked on, getting each character right, and telling different but cohesive stories between them.
One of the things I appreciate about Game of Thrones is that each character is not only rich and unique, but they also are having their own type of fantasy story. Sansa is having a story about political intrigue while John Snow is having a classic fantasy adventure story, all while Arya is having a coming-of-age fantasy story.
It's like 30-40 stories in one book.
These stories are quite pared down in comparison to Game of Thrones. Each book comes in around 275 pages compared to 500+, but I loved the idea that each story can be its own thing, and bring different elements of fantasy into it.
Three Weeks from launch
If you’re using Kickstarter for the first time, then I recommend an email explaining what Kickstarter is and why you’re using it. Otherwise, this can be substituted for a “why I love this series” or “history of this series” post.
What is Kickstarter?
Hey,
Even though this is my 17th campaign, it is always the first campaign for many people on my list so I wanted to reach out and share with you how Kickstarter works in case you don't know.
How Does Pre-Ordering on Kickstarter Work
If you're new to Kickstarter, don't worry... it's a very easy, fun platform, one that's helped me bring tons of our awesome products to life over the years.
A few things to know if you choose to back:
1. You can pledge today, and you will not be charged until the campaign is complete on June 17th, 2021.
2. Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing funding platform, meaning we needed to raise our $2,000 goal (which we did in the first three hours) in order for the project to move forward.
Your support means EVERYTHING and we could not do this without you.
3. This campaign has a hard end of Thursday, June 17th, 2021 at 8:00 PM. You will need to pledge before then in order to secure your rewards for this campaign.
4. You can back today at any pledge level, and you have until the end of the campaign to up-or-downgrade your pledge.
5. The earlier you back, the more access you'll have to surprise campaign goodies and extras like our early bird perks, which go to backers ONLY.
So if you don't want to miss out on any of the fun, join us on Kickstarter today!
Speaking of early bird perks, I put together an awesome bundle of EARLY BIRD perks.
Everybody who backs the campaign by Saturday night gets some amazing digital books, absolutely free, and included in your pledge.
All backers who pledge by Saturday (even for $1) get Lady Serra and the Draconian by Cat Banks, School for Dragons by Amy Wolf, Seeking the Salamander by Matt Harry and Stranger: Academy for Peculiars by Isadora Brown, absolutely free!
I am so super excited for this series. I spent the last three years building up the universe and writing these books. I can't wait to share it with you.
So head over and check out the campaign right now to lock in these awesome rewards.
Why would you even do this to a beloved classic, you monster?
Hi,
Alice is my favorite literary character of all time. I love her so much that I have read both of her books at least 100 times. Every time I read it, I think it must have been written in a fever dream. The way Wonderland acts always makes me feel like she's on a strange, ethereal drug trip.
Then, I had this very weird idea that maybe it was a drug trip, and maybe the Red Queen had drugged everyone, which led me to the idea that maybe, just maybe, the people of Wonderland revolted against the Red Queen and the drugs were removed from the water supply.
Would that be a good thing for Wonderland? Certainly, it would seem that way, but what if the real world was too much to handle? What if reality kind of sucked? What would people do in order to get back to Wonderland? What would they give up? What would they risk?
Some would likely risk everything, and that led to building the whole world, full of characters you'll recognize, from Dormouse to Caterpillar to the White Queen, and locations you'll love like The Looking Glass Lounge.
This is NOT a fantasy book. It's a straight thriller with nods to the original fairy tale. I won't lie, this is VERY polarizing to Alice fans. People who read the original story are split right down the middle on whether they love it or hate it.
2 weeks before launch
Assuming you are launching a Kickstarter, the next email that should be sent is something previewing the actual page and asking your fans for feedback. This is a critical piece because your best fans will tell you what’s wrong (or right) with your campaign. It also acts to get people excited about what they are going to get when your campaign goes live.
If you don’t have a “page” then you can replace this with a “Read the first chapter” email, which you’ll see later.
Can you help me?
Hi,
We're two weeks from the release of The Obsidian Spindle Saga and I need your help. You are always so helpful when I ask you to check out the build of the page and give me your input, so I'm asking you to do it again, if you have a minute.
On top of giving me your thoughts, hopefully you'll get a better sense of the project, the world, and the characters. I love Kickstarter because it allows me to dive in deeper than a simple blurb and give you all the juicy details about the world.
While you're on the page, don't forget to click the top left to be notified when the books launch on June 1st.
Thanks so much!
One week from launch
One week from launch is a great time to highlight a bonus people get for buying early. If you have direct access to your readers, it’s easy to see who bought when, but you can also ask readers to submit their receipts to get their bonus.
Publishers do this all the time with new releases, and I think it’s very smart. If you have a longer preorder you can start this even earlier early as a way to get people to buy the book before it launches.
Early bird perks announced…
Hey,
We're just one week out from the start of the Dragon Strife trilogy Kickstarter, and I'm just so so so excited. Maybe part of that is the insane amount of sugar I've had in the past week since being home, but I like to think it's because I love this story so much.
Today, I am announcing some other books I love a whole lot, namely the early bird perks for this campaign.
Everyone who backs in the first week of the campaign will receive digital copies of Born of Magic by Jack Holder, Of Dreams and Dragons by Karpov Kincade, The Herebey Dragons by Simon Birks, Eda Cagil Caglarirmak, and Lyndon White, and Wildskies book 1 by Melissa Hudson.
I am so thrilled to include these books in this bundle, some of which are old friends and others are brand new that I just found in the past couple of months.
Whether you already love my work or haven't tried it yet, I think The Dragon Strife trilogy is the perfect series for you. Why? Let me tell you.
If you love my work, then you'll love this series because:
It deals with a lot of the religious, political and socioeconomic themes of my previous work in a very interesting way while still being filled with action and pathos.
There are plenty of interesting characters and plot twists that will keep you turning the page.
It's first person POV story from the perspective of a powerless woman who grows to become one of the most important people in the history of this world.
It is an empowering theme that will make you feel like you have agency in a world where there is mercilessly little of it.
Dragons!!!
If you haven't tried my work before, then this is the perfect series for you because:
It's a self contained trilogy. There is a second trilogy that is planned, but there is no more of this particular story planned.
There is very little (if any) cursing.
Most of the violence happens off the page, so if you think my previous work is too gory, this series is for you.
There is a very serious and heavy romance theme through the books.
The character is a passivist who abhors violence.
Most of the main conflict of these books are political and things don't get resolved with punchy punching like much of my most popular work. That's not to say there's no battles or violence, just that the plot hinges mostly on diplomacy and gathering allies together.
You won't have to remember a hundred different timelines and a thousand character that hop around between books, or have a very long time commitment.
I hope you'll join us next Tuesday to kick this year off right, and I hope you have a very happy and prosperous new year.
So those are the emails I would send before a launch. This cadence is only weekly, which should be doable for any author’s audience. If you send less frequently than that, I highly recommend emailing earlier and giving people a chance to opt out of this launch or choose to remain at their current cadence.
I would send this email a few months early to give people a chance to take action. This can be as simple as adding something like this to your emails.
In a couple of months, I will be launching my next book and will be experimenting with a much more aggressive email strategy for two weeks. I think it will help you learn more about the world and history of this series, but if you’d like to opt out of it, please do x and I will make sure you are removed from those emails before they are sent.
As an author you should be able to test new things, and it might make sense to even say something about it being a test.
Launch day:
Regardless of your feelings about email, I don’t think anyone will object to sending an email on launch day announcing your book is live.
THE OBSIDIAN SPINDLE SAGA KICKSTARTER IS LIVE
Hey,
The Obsidian Spindle Saga is live on Kickstarter!!!
I am absolutely floored with how excited you all are for this book series, and I can't wait to share it with you!
Fairy tales are real.
Rose Briar is a diabetic college student without insurance.
She’s been scraping by through a combination of maxing out credit cards and relying upon the kindness of strangers.
Unfortunately, she’s spent every dollar at her disposal. There’s no money left to buy her life-saving insulin.
Without her medication, Rose falls into a diabetic coma. She tumbles into a deep slumber and wakes up in a fantastical place called the Dream Realm, where fairy tales and legends of old are still very much alive.
She has one chance to wake up.
She must trek across the world, visit the most powerful object in the land, the Obsidian Spindle, and entreat with the fates; the only beings powerful enough to send her soul back to Earth.
But evil forces don’t want her to leave.
They will stop at nothing to capture her and make sure she never goes home again.
Now, with the help of her half-gorgon girlfriend and a mysterious red rider, Rose must race across the land fighting dragons, monsters, and the forces of the Wicked Witch, Nimue, in order to reach the Obsidian Spindle before her body dies on Earth and she’s trapped in the Dream Realm forever.
Will she be able to wake up? Can she survive? That is the genesis of the Obsidian Spindle Saga (TOSS), and the first book The Sleeping Beauty.
For backing this series early, everybody who backs the campaign by Saturday night gets some amazing digital books, absolutely free, and included in your pledge.
All backers who pledge by Saturday (even for $1) get Lady Serra and the Draconian by Cat Banks, School for Dragons by Amy Wolf, Seeking the Salamander by Matt Harry and Stranger: Academy for Peculiars by Isadora Brown, absolutely free!
I am so super excited for this series. I spent the last three years building up the universe and writing these books. I can't wait to share it with you.
See you behind the backer wall.
Day 2:
I often send my “read the first chapter” email before the launch (as I talked about above), and only on books where it’s not a spoiler. This is always one of my best-performing emails and yes, I add the whole first chapter right into the email.
Read the first chapter of The Dragon Scourge right in your browser
Hey,
Happy New Year!
The Kickstarter for The Dragon Strife trilogy is live on Kickstarter, and I wanted to share the first chapter with you so we can start the new year off right with some cool dragon books.
Today, I will die.
This wasn’t a surprise to me. I had been preparing for it my whole life, but I never thought it would come until it crashed upon me this morning like a suffocating wave. Fifteen years on this Earth seemed like so much time, but now I realized how little of my life as a ceremonial sacrifice afforded me.
I was always an early bird. I woke with the sun, ready for the start of a new day. However, when the tender kiss of light touched my eyes on my final morning alive, I shut them tighter and pulled my sheets over my head. If I didn’t face the day, then perhaps my death would never come.
I trained for this since I was a small child, but there is no amount of preparation that readied you for being swallowed by a dragon; its horrible, jagged teeth ripping through the white dress Sister Milka sewed special for the occasion and tearing your flesh as it gnashed against your virgin body.
Somebody softly knocked on the door to my room. “Gilda, we need to get started. Today is a big day.”
Sacrifices were given every privilege. We wanted for nothing in our short lives, and after our deaths, those we loved were taken care of for the rest of their days. It was what the villagers bestowed upon us to assuage their guilt, and it was a small price to pay compared to the one we paid.
We were the salvation of the village, after all. It was only because of our noble sacrifice that the great dragon lord Ewig stayed satiated in his cave inside the volcano that loomed above us and didn’t sweep down to destroy us.
That was the pact, cemented in blood a hundred years ago. Every five years, one of us must willingly walk to our deaths, and in return, the great dragon would watch over our village, and prevent the great volcano that loomed over us from erupting, burying our village under its magma.
It was a great honor to be chosen as the sacrificial lamb. That was what the line they told me at least, but today it certainly didn’t seem like an honor. It seemed like I was raised like a lamb for slaughter, provided every luxury to die at the right moment.
“Coming!” I said after a long pause. Sister Milka was a harsh and unforgiving mistress, and would not accept anything but perfection today, on my last day of life. Every day of my life she watched over me, training me to die well. Even now, at the end, she would not take her foot off my neck. Especially now, with so much on the line, with the prosperity of our town riding on the spillage of my blood before the clock struck midnight tonight.
I slipped my sandals on my feet and rose to stand. Before I answered the door, I spun and made my bed, as I was trained to do; the first sign of an uncluttered mind was a perfectly made bed. It was the least we could do to show how much we appreciated all we were given.
As I pulled the corner of the bed taut, I thought about not tucking in the final edge as a little sign of rebellion. However, when I tried to leave it mussed, pangs of guilt washed over me, until they were so overwhelming that, with shaking hands, I forced the last edge of my blanket in tightly.
Once I was dead, my house would become a museum, and my room a shrine, preserved exactly how I left it, and I didn’t want my mother to have to explain that her perfect daughter died a slob. Why do I care what people think of me after my death?
With the bed made, I walked to the door and placed my hand on the knob. The minute I opened it, the machinations of my last hours, those that I trained for my whole life, would wash over me one after another.
“It’s time to open this door, missy.”
I closed my eyes and felt my breath against my chest, rising and lowering in slow, rhythmic time with the beating of my heart. They were small gestures, in the grand scheme, but right now, they were everything, and soon, much too soon, they would fall fallow and motionless forever.
What would happen after I took my final breath? According to the church, I would rise up into the sky and take my place among the stars, but what did they know? The gods were long dead, and the dragons that remained had none of their love of humanity.
Banging came from the other side of the door, and Sister Milka’s shrill voice cut through the air. “That’s quite enough of this dawdling, Gilda! Open the door this instant.”
Her shouting pulled me out of my calm, and I turned the doorknob. She exploded into the room, her trim frame and long face cutting an imposing image against the harsh light that fell into the room. She was not a big woman, but her presence filled my small room like none other.
“Good morning, mistress,” I said, bowing my head to avoid her gaze. You never looked the nuns in the eyes.
She didn’t answer for a long moment, busying herself with checking my room, inspecting my bed, and running her fingers across the top of my dresser, looking for dust. She rubbed her fingers together and gave a small nod. “I see your mother took this cleaning seriously.”
I nodded to her, keeping my eyes turned to the ground. “Of course, mistress. She scrubbed all day and into the evening.”
Sister Milka not only ran the monastery and school in town, but personally looked over all of us chosen for sacrifice, of which there were three at any time. It was a job she took seriously and had since taking her vows fifty years ago.
“Well, let me get a look at you,” she said. “Stand up straight.”
It was crucial that I not have a flaw or imperfection on my naked body, and for fifteen years I can’t remember a time when I lifted a finger in manual labor. My mother made all my meals, or a member of the community would deliver it, and everything else was taken care of so I could keep myself flawless for my date with Ewig.
I dropped my nightgown to the floor and endured the intense gaze of Sister Milka as she examined every inch of me. Two years ago, I judged a livestock competition, and she looked at me like the other judges looked at the cattle on display, trying to decide which one would give the best meat.
“You need to shave every inch of you, except your hair,” she said. “We do not want the great dragon lord to get a hairball now, do we?”
I shook my head. “No, mistress.”
“Good, good.” She placed her hands under my breasts, and then pinched the sides of my waist. “You have put on decent weight in the past year, my dear. Yes, I think the dragon lord will be most impressed with you.” Then she moved her
hand to my face, and brushed her hand along my cheek. “You are truly one of my greatest girls. I am so proud of what you have become.”
A compliment? She never gave me a compliment before. She had nothing but bitter, terse words for me, that stuck into my gut with pain and tore at my mind.
“T-thank you, mistress.”
She moved her hand to my chin and pulled it up to meet her eyes, a great honor she afforded very few. “No, thank you, my dear. The sacrifice you make tonight is a greater burden than any child should bear.”
Tears filled my eyes as I stared into Sister Milka’s face. Her eyes were a cold, dark brown, and even though her words were kind, her face was sharp, and her voice terse, taking much of the tenderness from them.
“No need for that.” Sister Milka pulled her hand from my face and slid a white handkerchief from her pocket. “This is a happy occasion, after all. Your sacrifice will save us all. There is no greater gift. Now, clean yourself up, and I will draw your bath.”
That's just the beginning of the story. I hope you'll join us behind the backer wall, and you can read a few more chapters by clicking here.
Plus, if you back you'll get a ton of awesome extra books.
Everyone who backs in the first week of the campaign will receive digital copies of Born of Magic by Jack Holder, Of Dreams and Dragons by Karpov Kincade, The Herebey Dragons by Simon Birks, Eda Cagil Caglarirmak, and Lyndon White, and Wildskies book 1 by Melissa Hudson.
And and and and and you can pick up the below 5" x 7" postcard print by backing @ the $22 or $75+ physicial pledge levels.
Let's kick this year off right and fill it with magic and dragons.
Day 3:
On day three I like to talk about why I love this series and why I think they will love it, too. We’ve passed the nadir point of excitement, and so I try to bring it back to the heart of the book.
The best series I've ever written?
Hi,
I am prone to hyperbole, and tend to downplay it when other people say that one book or another is the best book I've ever written.
However, across the board everybody who has read The Obsidian Spindle Saga has said that it's not only MY best series, but it's one of their favorite series of all time…
…and the first four books are coming to Kickstarter on June 1st. You can sign up to get notified at launch by clicking here.
I've been developing this series since 2018, and I'm soooo excited to finally be able to talk about it. My small team of readers has been sworn to secrecy for YEARS and the cat is finally out of the bag, as they say.
The Obsidian Spindle Saga started with a simple premise. Knowing everything I knew about writing after finishing over a dozen novels, if I could go back and design my perfect series, the one that would stand the test of time and encapsulate everything I loved in the world, what would it be?
I gathered the pieces very quickly: a dash of fairy tales, a scoop of mythology, a spoonful of portal fantasy, a sprinkle of romance, a bit of social commentary, and a whole heap of worldbuilding, and when I sat back I realized…I wasn't a good enough writer to take on this series yet.
That doesn't mean my other books weren't good, but The Obsidian Spindle was more complicated than anything I had ever done.
I didn't know enough about writing romance, or YA, and I had never had a story written from multiple perspectives, so I set out on a very ambitious project, and wrote non-stop for the next eighteen months, in order to learn everything I thought I needed to know in order to take on this series.
Some of those books you might have seen before. The Marked Ones, Invasion, The Void Calls Us Home all came from that process. Our Wannabe+ exclusive serial Anna and The Dark Place was the final book I wrote during that timespan, the capstone that proved to me I was ready to write The Obsidian Spindle Saga.
This is the series I was talking about last year when I released all those book in my summer slate. All of those books were leading to this series.
And so, in June 2018 I wrote the first book in the series, The Sleeping Beauty, pouring everything I ever wanted to say into it, and spilling everything I loved onto the page.
I absolutely adored the book. I'm not the type of writer where things fall out of me easily. It's always a struggle to get a book on the page, and then I have to manhandle it to cooperate. I love all my book babies, but they are stubborn as a mule and twice as ornery most times.
That's not the case with this series. The Sleeping Beauty slid out quickly and without much struggle, almost exactly has I imagined it in my mind.
Then, over and over the people who read it said it was my best work ever, and even now, several dozen books later, they still mention The Sleeping Beauty, and the whole Obsidian Spindle Saga, as among their favorite series.
Here is the set-up for the whole book, and the whole universe.
Rose Briar is a diabetic college student without insurance. She’s been scraping by through a combination of maxing out credit cards and relying upon the kindness of strangers.
Unfortunately, she’s spent every dollar at her disposal. There’s no money left to buy her life-saving insulin.
Without her medication, Rose falls into a diabetic coma. She tumbles into a deep slumber and wakes up in a fantastical place called the Dream Realm, where fairy tales and legends of old are still very much alive.
She has one chance to wake up.
She must trek across the world, visit the most powerful object in the land, the Obsidian Spindle, and entreat with the fates; the only beings powerful enough to send her soul back to Earth.
But evil forces don’t want her to leave. They will stop at nothing to capture her and make sure she never goes home again.
Now, with the help of her half-gorgon girlfriend and a mysterious red rider, Rose must race across the land fighting dragons, monsters, and the forces of the Wicked Witch, Nimue, in order to reach the Obsidian Spindle before her body dies on Earth and she’s trapped in the Dream Realm forever.
Will she be able to wake up? Can she survive? That is the genesis of the Obsidian Spindle Saga, and the first book The Sleeping Beauty.
I invite you not to take my word for it, though. Try the first ten chapters for yourself by clicking here.
I hope you love it as much as me. I've currently written eight novels in this series, and the first four launch on June 1st.
These first four books act as one complete thought, and make up what I'm calling The Dream Realm arc of this series.
If you want to be notified when it goes live, click the button below. This is going to be a Kickstarter EXCLUSIVE book series, which means it won't be anywhere, including the Wannabe+ app, until the series is concluded in either 2023 or 2024.
Day 4:
In most launches, I’ll have an exclusive item people can only get during the initial launch period, and I want to highlight that during the first week of the campaign. I’ve probably hinted at it before, but I want to make sure to focus on it for one day.
The special postcard print
Hey,
We're still running through our first campaign of the year, but I wanted to talk for a second about the awesome 5" x 7" postcard print you can get for backing the campaign at either the $24 or $75+ physical book level.
My awesome cover designer, Paramita Bhattacharjee from The Complete Paramita has allowed me to print of a one time reward of the virgin cover from The Dragon Scourge as a very special print.
I love it sooo much and we're NEVER going to reprint it. I'm only printing 100 of these and when they are gone, they are gone forever.
Plus, everyone who backs in the first week of the campaign will receive digital copies of Born of Magic by Jack Holder, Of Dreams and Dragons by Karpov Kincade, The Herebey Dragons by Simon Birks, Eda Cagil Caglarirmak, and Lyndon White, and Wildskies book 1 by Melissa Hudson.
Gilda will die today.She has lived her whole life for one purpose—to be sacrificed to the great dragon lord, Ewig. And now, when the sun falls over the horizon, the time will come to fulfill her duty and walk to her death.
It was a fine life, but a lonely one.As payment for her service, the City Council lauded her with riches, allowed her to live in the lap of luxury, and fed her the finest food. She never knew hunger, or strife, even when others worked themselves to the bone and suffered starvation.
The others always resented her for that, but they never knew her pain. Theirs was a hard life, but at least they got to live it. Gilda never had that choice. She would not live to see adulthood. She would never be married or have children.
All that remained of her brief existence was to walk up the lonely volcano to the dragon’s keep with honor, even though nobody treated her with any during her life.
Join her as she lives the last hours of her life, and find out what happens once she enters the dragon’s cavern and everything changes; for her life, for her town, and for the world.
Day 5:
I usually launch on a Tuesday, and my early bird perks end on Sunday. Whether you have them for three days or ten days, make sure to make a big deal about them closing down. The urgency and FOMO associated with that will get some number of people off the fence.
Last chance for early bird perks…
Hey,
This is your last chance to lock in the early bird perks for the Dragon Strife trilogy.
Everyone who backs in the first week of the campaign will receive digital copies of Born of Magic by Jack Holder, Of Dreams and Dragons by Karpov Kincade, The Herebey Dragons by Simon Birks, Eda Cagil Caglarirmak, and Lyndon White, and Wildskies book 1 by Melissa Hudson.
Gilda will die today.She has lived her whole life for one purpose—to be sacrificed to the great dragon lord, Ewig. And now, when the sun falls over the horizon, the time will come to fulfill her duty and walk to her death.
It was a fine life, but a lonely one.As payment for her service, the City Council lauded her with riches, allowed her to live in the lap of luxury, and fed her the finest food. She never knew hunger, or strife, even when others worked themselves to the bone and suffered starvation.
The others always resented her for that, but they never knew her pain. Theirs was a hard life, but at least they got to live it. Gilda never had that choice. She would not live to see adulthood. She would never be married or have children.
All that remained of her brief existence was to walk up the lonely volcano to the dragon’s keep with honor, even though nobody treated her with any during her life.
Join her as she lives the last hours of her life, and find out what happens once she enters the dragon’s cavern and everything changes; for her life, for her town, and for the world.
Plus, you can get an awesome 5" x 7" postcard print for backing the campaign at either the $22 or $75+ physical book level.
Hope to see you behind the backer wall to start the new year.
End week 1
Now, we’ve finished the first week. Hopefully, you can see that every email sent so far highlights a different aspect of the launch and gives readers a different angle to get excited about in a way that even people who already bought would be happy to get them, too.
For week 2, I’m focused on what’s called the sideways sales letter, a classic marketing technique that works like gangbusters. Here’s what I wrote about them.
With every email, you break through one of the objections holding people back from buying and help them build a deeper connection with you. Ideally, you would use them to deliver something akin to a sideways sales letter for each of your major series.
Created by Jeff Walker, the sideways sales letter is a communication strategy designed to attract keen interest, develop brand awareness and convert prospects. The twist on the commonly used sales letter is that in a sideways letter, prospects are converted in short emails, bursting with compelling content. -Leanlabs
You are basically showing off your series over several different emails that rely on different psychological triggers to get people excited to read it.
Psychological triggers are powerful tools that copywriters can use to create compelling messages that resonate with their audience. These triggers appeal to the deep-seated needs and desires of people, and when used effectively, can persuade them to take the desired action. -Maria Espo
The goal here is to break apart all the knowledge a reader needs to get excited to read the series and spoon-feed it to them over several days. This is because nobody ever reads every part of a page, and most people discount things they don’t understand. If you build a narrative then you’ll have a better chance of getting people to pay attention.
Week 2:
Day 8:
I already shared a post about “the best series I’ve ever written”, which kind of does the part about why you love the series, but I think you need to share how much you love your work multiple times throughout your launch in different ways. If you’ve already launched books in this series, you could also send a collection of testimonials about your other books. Social proof is very important to get people off the fence.
Why do I love the Dragon Strife trilogy?
Hey,
The Kickstarter for The Dragon Strife trilogy in its second week and I wanna tell you more about why I love it so so much.
So, why do I love this story?
Because I'm obsessed with writing stories where people with no power end up changing the world, and Dragon Strife may be the best encapsulation of that in all my books.
Gilda is literally a sacrifice. Her entire town, including her mother have agreed to allow her to die in the most brutal way possible; by being eaten alive by a dragon.
Nobody cares about her, except for the other people who have been forced to die, and yet...
...those same people become the key to saving everything.
It's the overriding thesis to all my works; those people who you look over and pass by are just as important as anyone else, and if you raise them up, they might just change the world.
Gilda starts as a sacrifice, but she becomes so much more, and it's empowering as fuck to read. People have always told me the thing they like about my work is that people have agency in a world where they feel like they have none.
I love that about my work, and I definitely lean into it hardcore with this book. I can't wait to share it with you.
Plus, if you back you'll get a ton of awesome extra books. Usually, I throw the most perks to early bird backers, but this campaign I'm trying something different, and unlocking a huge slew of new perks for people who back by the end of the campaign.
Everyone who backs by the end of this week will receive digital copies of Mythic Creature Trainer #1 by Rene Pfitzer, Luminous Ages #1
by Antonios Christou, Dragonwar by Mirren Hogan, School of Dragons
by Amy Wolf, Gods of Aazurn by Gary Scott Beatty and Gage and the Dragon's Tear #1 by Patrick Kellner, Donny Hadiwidjaja, Bryan Valenza, Ed Dukeshire, Marta Tanrikulu, and Randy Michaels.
And and and and and you can pick up the below 5" x 7" postcard print by backing @ the $22 or $75+ physicial pledge levels.
I hope you'll join us behind the backer wall to kick this year off right, filled with magic and dragons.
The reviews are in…
Hey,
We crested over $6,000 last night, which is amazing. I'm absolutely blown away by how much love you all have shown The Godsverse Chronicles.
Today I didn't want you to hear from me. I wanted to show you some of the reviews from the Godsverse throughout the years. One of the awesome parts of adding to a series that's already out is that people have read it already!
These are readers, just like you, who have read and reviewed the books on Goodreads and Amazon.
There are plenty of others, but here is a sampling of my favorites.
This campaign features THREE NEW never before seen novels, including:
And Conquest Followed Behind Them, an Avengers-style team-up book between Katrina, Kimberly, Akta, and Julia as they fight to prevent Ragnarok.
And Chaos Followed Behind Them, an Avengers-style team book between Katrina, Kimberly, Akta, Julia, and Rebecca where the women of the Godsverse fight to stop the end of the universe.
And Darkness Followed Behind Her, three story collection starring fan-favorite Kimberly before, during, and after the events of And Conquest Followed Behind Them, including a story set during the first days of the Apocalypse.
The Godverse takes my two most popular graphic novels, Katrina Hates the Dead/Katrina Hates Dead Shit and Pixie Dust, novelizes them, and adds FIFTEEN additional stories set across 13,000 years!
These books are exciting, action-adventure mythological fantasy novels steeped in mythology, then filled with humor, action, and fun.
If you've travelled through the Godsverse before, these new adventures will fill in gaps in the universe you have asked me about for years, and if you're new to the Godsverse, there has never been a better time to get started.
Plus, everyone who back by Saturday will get digital copies of The Twelve Labors of Nick by Amy Wolf, A Tribe of Kassia by Tom Leveen, Harsh Line by Ann Gimpel, and Snowed by Maria Alexander!
So head over and check out the campaign right now to lock in these awesome rewards.
Day 9:
For this series specifically, I was using the heroine’s journey, which operates much differently than the hero’s journey, and I wanted to highlight that for people who might not have wanted to read another typical adventure series. If you have anything like that, this is a perfect time to write that email. If you don’t have that, consider taking an unfair objection you hear about your series or genre and talking about how your book is different.
The heroine's journey…
Hey,
The Kickstarter for The Dragon Strife trilogy in its second week and I wanna tell you more about why I love it so so much.
So, most of us know the hero's journey, where a person goes out into the world and finds their destiny.
What we don't talk about enough is the heroine's journey, which is a thing, and one of the driving forces in a lot of my work.
In the heroine's journey, the main character doesn't go out and get imbued with power from their journey. Instead, they learn to use the power that was inside themselves the whole time.
It's one of the things I love most about Captain Marvel. She does not find power. she learns to use the power that was inside of her the whole time.
The Dragon Strife trilogy is very much about Gilda finding a power that was inside herself the whole time; a power that not only didn't she know was there, but that people told her didn't exist.
Yes, there are many elements of the hero's journey in the story, but at the end it's a trilogy about Gilda's inward journey from sacrifice to hero by using the unique things about her that people always told her weren't important.
People have always told me that my stories made them feel empowered, like they had agency in a world that tried to convince them they didn't.
I believe the true journey of our lives isn't going out and finding glory, but learning to live with the unique, wonderful humans that we are, and that using what makes us unique is what makes us a hero.
The Dragon Strife trilogy is very much about that, and I hope it's something you latch on to, and something that you can share with everyone in your life that had felt powerless or weak because they don't see the wonderful person they are, and how that makes them uniquely special.
I hope you'll join us on this journey.
Plus, if you back you'll get a ton of awesome extra books. Usually, I throw the most perks to early bird backers, but this campaign I'm trying something different, and unlocking a huge slew of new perks for people who back by the end of the campaign.
Everyone who backs by the end of this week will receive digital copies of Mythic Creature Trainer #1 by Rene Pfitzer, Luminous Ages #1
by Antonios Christou, Dragonwar by Mirren Hogan, School of Dragons
by Amy Wolf, Gods of Aazurn by Gary Scott Beatty and Gage and the Dragon's Tear #1 by Patrick Kellner, Donny Hadiwidjaja, Bryan Valenza, Ed Dukeshire, Marta Tanrikulu, and Randy Michaels.
And and and and and you can pick up the below 5" x 7" postcard print by backing @ the $22 or $75+ physicial pledge levels.
I hope you'll join us behind the backer wall to kick this year off right, filled with magic and dragons.
“Why would I read anything but romance?"
Hi,
Some years ago I was at a conference talking to attendees, as I often do, and I got into a conversation with a woman.
I asked her what she read, to which she said romance, and then told her I wrote fantasy. I asked her if she read anything but romance, and she said something along the order of:
“Why would I read anything but romance? It's the only genre where women are treated well and can expect to have a happy ending.”
I went to respond, but the words didn't come out, because she's kind of right. Romance is the one genre where women can reasonably be expected to have rich inner lives and have their needs centered in a narrative.
In pretty much any other genre, they are generally used as side characters, emotional baggage, and “fridged” to give the protagonist a reason to go on their quest.
This is a gross generalization, but it made complete sense to me. I went back to my own work with this lens, and it made me realize why a lot of women probably really like my work…
…because like romance, the women of the Godsverse lead both rich inner and outer lives. They have agency in the story, and can actively work for a happy ending.
Are their lives perfect? No. Do they struggle? All the time. Am I sometimes sadistic with what they have to go through? Yes.
But the women are all fully developed with their own inner and outer lives. People don't talk down to them (and those that do eventually get their teeth knocked out), and they aren't placed into the narrative just so the main character has a reason to go on their quest.
There is little romance in The Godsverse Chronicles, but I've thought of that woman often when I write books, and it gave me a guiding direction in my writing.
If that is why you mostly read romance, or your looking for a series where the main character have agency and lead rich lives, then I hope you'll try The Godsverse Chronicles.
As I mentioned before, I write noblebright fantasy, which means that the good guys are trying to improve the universe, and even though they face struggles, they do the right thing when the pressure is on them.
Plus, they're pretty funny, and really fun books, even though there's often dark themes that run through them.
Are you ready to dive into The Godsverse, whether for the 1st, 8th, or 11th time? Then, make sure to check out our Kickstarter.
Plus, backers this week get some really cool early bird perks. Everyone who backs by 5/29 (including people who've already backed), get digital copies of The Mantle by WT Meadows and Chrishaun Keller-Hanna, A Curse, A Key, & a Corkscrew by Anna McCluskey, Merlin's Secret by Jamie Davis, and The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams.
Hope to see you behind the backer wall.
Day 10:
On this day, it’s good to talk about the world your book is set in (even if it’s the real world talk about why you chose that city/time/setting).
The world of Dragon Strife
Hey,
It's been a week since I launched the Obsidian Spindle Saga, and I'm so so so so so excited for how far we've come, and how supportive you are of my…well it would not be untrue to call it my obsession over the past three years.
So, what is the Obsidian Spindle?
The Obsidian Spindle is one of the most powerful objects in the universe. There is one in every dimension and every inhabited planet in the known galaxy. It is a transport hub between planets for gods and magical creatures, but it is also a focus for magical energy, as it takes an incredible amount of power to make it work.
Think of it like The Wheel of Time, or the Dark Tower. It is a powerful magical object that much of the story relies on and many of the character's destinies depend.
In the Dream Realm, the Fates live inside the locked tower of the Obsidian Spindle, and Rose must find a way to open it if she ever hopes to return back to Earth before her body dies and she's stuck in the Dream Realm forever.
Every "arc" of this series will feature different realms and characters. These first four books are what I am calling The Dream Realm arc.
Each book tells a good chunk of the story with a satisfying conclusion, but there are cliffhangers between books that are only resolved at the end of each arc, and each arc also has a beginning, middle, and end.
This week, you get SIX digital books for backing the Obsidian Spindle Saga (including if you already backed).
All backers who pledge by Saturday (even for $1) get Secret of Moldara by Brianne Earhart, The Farshore Chronicles box set (that's THREE books) by Justin Fike, Sanyare by Megan Haskell, and Crimson Fire by Mirren Hogan!
Day 11:
Aside from the world, the characters are the other biggest reasons a person buys a book. Depending on the genre, people might buy for a character or a world more, so we should talk today about the main characters.
Who are the main characters?
Hey,
There's only one week left to back the Obsidian Spindle Saga, and we haven't even talked about any of the characters yet.
So, who are the main characters of The Obsidian Spindle Saga (TOSS)?
Each book of The Obsidian Spindle Saga is told from multiple different perspectives from all across the world of Urgu, weaving together a narrative between them.
This was the most complex project I've ever worked on, getting each character right, and telling different but cohesive stories between them.
One of the things I appreciate about Game of Thrones is that each character is not only rich and unique, but they also are having their own type of fantasy story. Sansa is having a story about political intrigue while John Snow is having a classic fantasy adventure story, all while Arya is having a coming-of-age fantasy story.
It's like 30-40 stories in one book.
These stories are quite pared down in comparison to Game of Thrones. Each book comes in around 275 pages compared to 500+, but I loved the idea that each story can be its own thing, and bring different elements of fantasy into it.
Rose - The narrative of The Obsidian Spindle Saga rotates quite heavily around Rose. She plays the role of the Sleeping Beauty in our narrative, but also Alice, and Dorothy, as she is the character we see the first moments of the Dream Realm through, and the one filled with the most wonder about what she's seeing. Rose is a college student with no magical powers, who is so poor she lives in a van in the school parking lot with her half-gorgon girlfriend, Chelle. She is also a diabetic, who often has to choose between medication and eating, which is what sets her on her path.
Chelle - Chelle is Rose's half-gorgon girlfriend. As a "monster", she has been chased and hunted for her whole life by monster hunters trying to make a name for themselves. Her mother was slaughtered and her parts sold on the black market. She has some of her mother's gorgon powers, and also other magical powers. She has learned to defend herself and protect the ones she loves.
Nimue - The Wicked Witch of our universe is the ruler of the Land of Oz. She deposed the previous ruler, Ozma, and has ruled for the last hundred years, since the time Hypnos vanished without a trace. She is the most powerful witch in Urgu, as she was blessed by Hera, and is working in consort with her to open the locked door to the Obsidian Spindle and return to Earth by any means necessary.
Red - Red is the titular Red Riding Hood in our universe. She is one of Ozma's royal guards and has searched for a way to depose the Wicked Witch and return Hypnos to the world for the last century. She believes that Rose is the key to bringing back Hypnos and restoring order in Urgu, and will do anything to protect her.
Queen Aine - The ruler of the Forbidden Forest, Queen Aine is a powerful Unseelie fairy that led a brutal war, wiping out the Seelie and consolidating power. She is ruthless about obtaining and maintaining power. However, she is very adept at diplomacy, and molding wills to her own ends.
Each book in this arc follows these characters along their journey. As you can see above, there are many different paths these characters will walk over the course of this first arc, as they try to keep and maintain power, while attempting to mold fate to their will.
This week, you get SIX digital books for backing the Obsidian Spindle Saga (including if you already backed).
All backers who pledge by Saturday (even for $1) get Secret of Moldara by Brianne Earhart, The Farshore Chronicles box set (that's THREE books) by Justin Fike, Sanyare by Megan Haskell, and Crimson Fire by Mirren Hogan!
Day 12:
We’ve talked about objections to your work, but I also love including things I’ve heard about my work and how it makes them feel. This is a bit different from reviews, but it hits the same feelings of “Other people have read these books and like them so maybe I should, too”.
“your books make me feel like I have agency in a chaotic world…"
Hi,
There was a book released last year called “7 Figure Fiction” which talked about the “universal fantasy” your books offered readers.
It set the author world on fire as writers asked themselves what special thing do they offer readers with their books.
I did not get worked up into a tizzy about it, because for years readers have told me exactly what my books gave them; agency.
Throughout my career, readers have consistently told me that my books “made them feel like they had agency in a world where they often felt like they had none”.
This is especially true in The Godsverse Chronicles, which is about strong-willed women who fight against the fates the gods have given them. They take their destiny into their own hands to influence the direction of the universe on a cosmic level.
These women are rarely endowed with powers, or godhood. They are usually just ordinary women, or fairies, who are sick of their plight and have had too much foisted onto their shoulders.
Who hasn't felt that in the past two years especially?
I know I have, and I also know that writing these books made me feel powerful; they made me feel like I had some control over my destiny, just like the women I wrote about.
Yes, they face trials, but they never give up.
I write what is generally referred to as noblebright fantasy, which is the opposite of grimdark. It's about good, or nebulously good, character who do the right thing for the right reasons.
These women are not Pollyannas, and sometimes they're not even very good at being good, but they strive to make the world a better place.
The world could use more of that, frankly, and I'm very proud to bring that energy into my worlds, and hopefully, into yours.
Because who doesn't want to feel like they have agency, in a world that often seems intent to take it away from you.
What do you think? Have you read the Godsverse Chronicles? Is that how the books made you feel?
Are you ready to dive into The Godsverse, whether for the 1st, 8th, or 11th time? Then, make sure to check out our Kickstarter.
Plus, backers this week get some really cool early bird perks. Everyone who backs by 5/29 (including people who've already backed), get digital copies of The Mantle by WT Meadows and Chrishaun Keller-Hanna, A Curse, A Key, & a Corkscrew by Anna McCluskey, Merlin's Secret by Jamie Davis, and The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams.
Hope to see you behind the backer wall.
Day 13:
We’re nearing the end, so now we switch to talking about how there’s only one day left either of the launch, or the special offer, or whatever you’re doing.
One day left…
Hey,
There's just one day left to back the Dragon Strife trilogy on Kickstarter, and get all the amazing perks we unlocked this week.
Usually, I throw the most perks to early bird backers, but this campaign I'm trying something different, and unlocking a huge slew of new perks for people who back by the end of the campaign on Saturday.
I am so excited for these books.
Everyone who backs in the first week of the campaign will receive digital copies of Mythic Creature Trainer #1 by Rene Pfitzer, Luminous Ages #1 by Antonios Christou, Dragonwar by Mirren Hogan, School of Dragons by Amy Wolf, Gods of Aazurn by Gary Scott Beatty and Gage and the Dragon's Tear #1 by Patrick Kellner, Donny Hadiwidjaja, Bryan Valenza, Ed Dukeshire, Marta Tanrikulu, and Randy Michaels.
And and and and and you can pick up the below 5" x 7" postcard print by backing @ the $22 or $75+ physicial pledge levels. I hope you'll join us behind the backer wall to kick this year off right, filled with magic and dragons.
I hope you'll join us behind the backer wall to kick this year off right, filled with magic and dragons.
Day 14:
This is it, the last day. You’d be surprised how many people wait until the last minute to make a decision, so you should absolutely send an email on the last day to give people on last nudge.
Just hours left…
Hey,
There are only a few hours left to back the Dragon Strife trilogy on Kickstarter, and get all the amazing perks we unlocked this week.
Usually, I throw the most perks to early bird backers, but this campaign I'm trying something different, and unlocking a huge slew of new perks for people who back by the end of the campaign on Saturday.
I am so excited for these books.
Everyone who backs in the first week of the campaign will receive digital copies of Mythic Creature Trainer #1 by Rene Pfitzer, Luminous Ages #1 by Antonios Christou, Dragonwar by Mirren Hogan, School of Dragons by Amy Wolf, Gods of Aazurn by Gary Scott Beatty and Gage and the Dragon's Tear #1 by Patrick Kellner, Donny Hadiwidjaja, Bryan Valenza, Ed Dukeshire, Marta Tanrikulu, and Randy Michaels.
And and and and and you can pick up the below 5" x 7" postcard print by backing @ the $22 or $75+ physicial pledge levels. I hope you'll join us behind the backer wall to kick this year off right, filled with magic and dragons.
I hope you'll join us behind the backer wall to kick this year off right, filled with magic and dragons.
Final thoughts
This is only one example, but I hope you have an idea about how you can send more emails without burning out your audience. Even if you only send a couple emails about your launch, please try to vary them up and keep them interesting.
The cardinal sin of email is being boring.
Sending the same email is boring. Nobody wants to be spammed with the same information, but if you can remain interesting people will eat that up all day. You can send more emails than you think and you’re more interesting than you believe.
Now, it wouldn’t be an Author Stack article if I didn’t ratchet it up a notch, so for those of you who use Convertkit, I’ve created a sequence for you to pull into your account with all this stuff in it already.
If you don’t use Convertkit, you can start right now by using this link.
The natural fear to have in all of this is that everyone will unsubscribe. So, I will tell you a story. A few days ago I sent an offer to 5,000 leads I’ve gotten through Sparkloop. It was a bloodbath with 2% of people unsubscribing. To give you some context, .5% is the top threshold for most providers, so this was 4x higher than that.
I would consider that a slaughter, and yet, still 98% of people did not unsubscribe and it still had a 46% open rate. Even if that carried on for all 14 days of this sequence, I would still only lose 1,400 subscribers, far from everyone unsubscribing.
Think about it. I basically email you every day, but as far as I know you haven't unsubscribed. I would guess it's because either:
You like me so you put up with my nonsense
You know it's coming from a good place
You are entertained by it or
You gain something from every email enough to put up with the nonsense of sending so much.
No, you can't email every day, unless you are entertaining about it and send new information. Then, you can do just about whatever you want.
Assuming you are using a program like Convertkit, you can also add a bit to your emails that says: "If you want to stay on my list, but you don't want to hear about this launch, click here" and then make something like "NO X LAUNCH" tag, and then make sure to exclude those people, and then they won't get those emails.
Here’s the thing: Bookbub sends me daily emails, so does Chirp, and so do many, many people, but I enjoy getting them, so it’s okay. Once you start believing that YOU are somebody's favorite email, the rest kind of falls into place. If somebody doesn't feel that way, then I don't want them there anyway.
So, what do you think?
Have I convinced you to send more email next time you launch?
Does the thought of this horrify you?
What is your email book launch strategy?
Let us know in the comments.
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I have bookmarked and saved this post because it deserves at the very least a second read-through to digest everything in it. Holy cow. Russell, I am humbled not only by your expertise in all things publishing but moreso in your generosity to your subscribers. What a gift for all of us.
such a massive, hand-holding insight into doing a campaign like this! gotta say.... it does terrify me, haha! i think what i'm scared off is everybody unsubscribing once they realise i'm sending them an email every day. do you have this problem at all?