Six Months On: Sales, Thanks, and What's Next

Above: The cover of my debut novel, The Way of the Wielder. A young woman stands in the center of the image, holding a glowing blue sphere. Behind her is a misty city, and between the title and author’s name is a vignette of a fox running through a mountainous landscape.

September 26, 2024

Updates

Mysteries of the Material: The book is with my editor, and I should have her feedback in early October. She’s really enjoying the story (so did the cover artist), so I’m taking that as a sign that you will, too!

Convergence of Connection: I finished my first round of editing earlier this week. I still have some work to do (namely, adding some action beats and reworking the epilogue), but that’s all targeted editing. The big initial edit is done, and that’s a great feeling!

The Way of the Wielder: Six Months Later

In case you’re late to the party, I published The Way of the Wielder—my debut novel—six months ago! In some ways it feels like yesterday; in other ways it feels like a lifetime ago. Below I offer some stats, lots of thanks, and what’s coming up next.

Sales & Pages Read

Once people know what I write and where to buy it, the most common question I get is, “How are sales?” The answer gets mixed reactions, depending on how much people know about the self-publishing industry. As you can imagine, most people know very little. So, to put things into perspective, here’s a stat about self-published books I often share with people:

On average, a self-published book sells 250 copies in its lifetime.

On the face of it, that seems like a small number. Keep in mind, over 300 million self-published books are sold each year, and—for the most part—self-published authors do their own marketing. I’m sure genre also plays a factor, as well as if it’s a standalone novel or part of a series.

Regardless, that’s the most common and comparable stat. Knowing that, here are my numbers:

• Number of sales: 132
• Number of pages read (on Kindle Unlimited): 38,000+

I’ll humbly admit, it’s not a bad showing! The sales, while they seem low without context, are actually quite good, and they are increasing each month. As we lead up to book two’s release in November (more on that below), I anticipate sales will pick up.

As far as pages read, this is unfamiliar territory for me. I’ve not been able to find any data that offers averages or overall expectations, but so far I’m pleased. I enrolled in Kindle Unlimited in May, and while the first few months were slow, September has been a boon.

Reviews

Coming in at a slower, but no less steady, pace are reviews. Many of them have been wonderful, and I’m so appreciative of people who take the time to leave one.

I won’t harp on reviews here. If you’ve read The Way of the Wielder and are comfortable leaving a review (or just a rating), please feel free to do so. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed it. If you’re so inclined, tell a friend and spread the word organically. After all, word of mouth is the best kind of marketing.

Thank You

None of this would have been possible without the support from people in my life. My husband, in particular, as well as close friends, family, and others. Some have bought a copy, but many have recommended it to others, and for that I am so grateful.

I’m also grateful for the people who don’t know me and have taken a chance on my work. I write because it brings me joy, but knowing that others are reading my story—knowing that my words might impact someone’s life, even if it only offers an escape from reality for a while… I can’t begin to tell you how happy that makes me.

So thank you! I sincerely hope you enjoyed The Way of the Wielder, and I hope you stick around for more.

What’s Next?

Over the last six months, I’ve been busy writing, editing, and planning the rest of The Way of the Wielder series.

As of right now, I anticipate Mysteries of the Material (book two) to be published on November 26 (that’s the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, for my USA readers). Stay tuned for the cover reveal and blurb announcement next month!

Convergence of Connection (book three) has been edited once, and I’ll do another round of editing after finalizing Mysteries of the Material. It’s too early to know when that’ll be published, but tentatively I’m thinking next July.

Book four is still in the planning stages. Right now, I anticipate starting the first draft in late-November or early-December. Typically, it takes me 6-7 months to draft, with another 3-4 for editing, cover art, etc. If that timeline holds true, I’d expect book four to be published in early 2026.

Finally, I’m working on a fun side project—a middle grade story about a boy who goes in search of his own adventure. Now that I’m done editing Convergence of Connection, I might focus on this for a while. It shouldn’t take me long to write, and it’ll be a nice break from my heavier adult novels. More on that in the future!

——

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. And as always, stay creative!

~Sarah