Pondering The Bound Trilogy's Success

The Bound Trilogy is my best seller out of all of the books I’ve written, and it’s no surprise why. 

The Bound Trilogy is my first full trilogy, an older YA romantasy set of books where the conflict, world, overall story, and magic system expands with each book. 

It’s the set of books that I’ve taken the longest writing and tying together overall, the books with the torches lore. This trilogy also has book covers that fit their genre, give a glimpse of what readers can expect from the story, and stand out with their color scheme.

But honestly, I don’t think those things contribute much to the sales or popularity these books have experienced. Here’s what I think has made all the difference:

1. Timing with book events: Bound came out just before my first book signing event, and after that first one, I decided to keep putting myself out there with in-person events. Getting into bookstores with that first book created connections with readers that were interested in the content, connected with me as a person, and were interested in continuing the series. These events also allowed me to begin building rapport with bookstores and other event organizers with whom I would never have otherwise connected with.
   
   
2. Extended content: For this trilogy, I drafted a bunch of additional lore (which I have done for other books, but not to this extent), created an actual dice game with physical pieces and instructions that come with the purchase of the first book. I created loads of art and other merch for these books, and even went so far as to design and create box sets once the final book was out. I also designed maps that grew and changed with each book to be included in the books themselves, and then took these maps and made print-outs (including canvas printed versions of the map's final version, which I LOVE). I hadn’t done these things with any of my other books, but I find that having these kinds of content and merchandise available give readers (who turn into fans) a whole lot more to connect with. 
   
   
3. Wider reach with online endeavors: The books in the Bound Trilogy were the first of my books that I enabled for wide distribution through IngramSpark, and they were the first books that I purchased my own ISBN’s and barcodes for, which allowed me to reach bookstores and other markets that I did not have access to publishing through Amazon alone. I have run two KickStarters for this trilogy - one for the release of the first book and one for the release of the third book - which allowed me to reach a much wider audience from countries all around the world, as well as allowed me to purchase audiobook equipment AND make the box sets for this trilogy possible. I also met many folks both inside and outside the US who are consistently supportive and interested in my work. THANK YOU!
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4. Confidence in connections, and a change of mindset: Out of all the changes I made to my process and all the new things I tried with this trilogy, I think the biggest change was a shift in the way I perceived myself and my work. I stopped fearing being an author and really leaned into it. I adopted a “so what” kind of attitude when it came to interacting with folks. It was not that I didn’t care, but that I wanted to stop worrying that people would say no, or that they would think I was dumb. That sounds silly, but that was a real concern of mine. I always worried with my writing that people would think I was incompetent. I don’t feel that way anymore, or at least, I ask myself, “so what?” If they say no, if they think I’m incompetent, so what? I know what I’m capable of. I know I put my heart, soul, and a whole lot of effort and skill into my work. 

I am excited to see how the Bound Trilogy continues to do over the coming months and years, and I am thrilled by the prospect of taking the things I have learned and the efforts I have put into this trilogy and applying them to my future stories. 

Thank you for reading! As always, keep writing. Keep reading. Stay awesome. I'll write again soon.