The book is called The Ventifact Colossus, and is available in both photon ($3.99) and tree-pulp versions on Amazon. (Also it’s available “free” if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited.)
It’s classic fantasy genre stuff. To quote myself from my blog:
“The book tells the story of a hodgepodge team of would-be heroes, as they set about to save the world from a variety of absurdly dangerous threats. If you’re a fan of fantasy epics with flawed but likable characters, daring swordplay, high magic, terrible monsters, powerful but mysterious artifacts, intriguing mysteries that will all be explained by the end of the series, and villains with excellent mustaches, then you will surely enjoy The Ventifact Colossus.”
Note that TVC is Book 1 of a series, though (IMHO) it stands on its own just fine. I’m currently working on Book 2, and expect there to be four books total by the time I’m done.
I’m happy to answer any questions you may have about it.
Best of luck! What’s your strategy to get the word out? For my novels (two so far, one fantasy and one fantasy-satire), I’ve had the best success advertising on Reddit, to specific sub-reddits that I thought might have interest (not that my ‘success’ has been anything to write home about).
Social Media has been my main source of publicity. (I’m lucky enough to have a decent-sized social media footprint, and have lots of friends rebroadcasting for me. I also have a bunch of folks who read my posts on a huge D&D message board over many years, and constitute a built-in potential readership.)
I think the book has had a decent first week, but I have no idea what I should be comparing myself to. This is my first traditionally-(self)-published novel.
Thanks, and same to you! I’m impressed that you’ve made it through four books in your series. (I’m guessing mine will be either 4 or 5 by the time it’s done.) How long does it take you (typically) between first word written and moment of publishing?
It usually takes me about 2-3 months to write a book (though sometimes that’s with a big chunk of time in the middle when I’m working on something else). I try to maintain a backlog so I can keep up with a once-per-three-months schedule–right now, I’ve got one in the can, two more finished (or mostly finished), and ideas for books up to #13. I try to get them edited and the covers done with plenty of time to hit my release dates. I hope I can keep it up!
How about you? How long does it take you to finish one?
:eek: Dang, I wish I could write that fast! Now, I’ve only written one book, so maybe the others will go faster, but it took me a couple of years – about a year to finish the first draft, and another to go through all the revisions, edits, proofreading, etc.
My goal for book 2 is to finish in something more like 18 months start to finish.
This week I’m running a Kindle Countdown Deal for The Ventifact Colossus. The e-book is only 99 cents!
I received a 5-star review from Readers’ Favorite that includes these excerpts:
“I always appreciate humor in a story, and Hart implemented this aspect very well… The narrative is flawless, appropriately paced, and not confusingly profound, compared to some fantasy fiction… The plot has some great twists and the epilogue will pique readers’ curiosity. This is a great start for The Heroes of Spira and I look forward to Book Two.”
When I first published the book, I sent it off to a book blogger named Catherine Griffin who reviews self-published novels. I had no idea what to expect.
Yesterday I received her review. According to her Amazon.co.uk reviewer profile, she has reviewed 88 books and only given 3 of them five stars. And mine was one!
“…this book is a joy to read. It’s got interesting, well-developed characters; a soundly constructed plot; inventive fantasy; lots of humour; and excellent writing.”
It’s one thing to hear from your friends that they like your book. It’s another thing altogether to discover that complete strangers do too!
Glee, if you go to the Amazon page, the “look inside” feature lets you read the first chapter and a half. That’s probably the best way to get a sense of whether or not you’d enjoy the whole thing.
And, yes, I’d say I’m between 1/4 and 1/3 through the first draft of Book 2. The series is going to be five books in total; they’re all mapped out, so you don’t need to worry that I’ll go all Martin/Jordan on you.
