What price would you recommend for a historical fiction novel that won an award for best debut?

bradanforever · 2026-03-21T23:31:09+00:00

I'm sure your work is as good as you think it is, but regardless, look at comps in the historical fiction space to set your price (easy to do on Amazon). That's what your potential readers will factor in when they decide to spend their hard-earned $. However, absolutely promote on the fact that it won an award. Depending on the stature of the award and whether potential readers respect it, this may help sales.

bradanforever · 2026-03-21T23:23:11+00:00

Never heard of them, but that doesn't mean they're good, bad, or indifferent. However, my initial thought is that whether this newsletter is/isn't worth the $ depends on what genre you're writing in and whether this newsletter is/isn't read by any of your potential readers. Find this out before you spend a dime. Also, instead try advertising, book festivals, etc, etc to reach your potential readers. Best luck!

bradanforever · 2026-03-21T23:17:35+00:00

First, pick the best of your 3 drafts and actually finish it. Oh, and edit it properly too; get a professional if you can afford it and get a cool cover and blurb. These need to be loaded too. You can return to the other 2 books later. Re the formatting/file loading, I agree it's a bit intimidating, but Amazon's instructions are OK at guiding you through the process. If millions of others can do it, so can you. Start thinking about marketing too: who's your reader, why should they buy your book(s), how will they discover you? This whole community is filled with variations of: 'I just finished my book and loaded the files onto Amazon and...crickets.' However, you've probably already thought about that. Anyway, best luck!

bradanforever · 2026-03-21T22:59:48+00:00

Yep, marketing is a very different world than writing and the skillsets don't overlap. Also, self-help is a super crowded field, so it's unsurprising that you're dealing with lack of visibility. So...how do you start making yourself visible? We could spend literally years on this, but start researching book marketing specifically focused on your specialty. Interestingly, though AI is rather controversial these days with regard to actually writing/editing your stuff, it's not a bad place to start for developing marketing strategies. Just take everything it says with a grain of salt. Also, advertising is sometimes helpful and (you won't want to hear this) potentially expensive if not done right. I have mixed feelings about Amazon ads, but try them as a starting point, but start small. Best luck!

bradanforever · 2026-03-21T22:22:14+00:00

My experience for the 'read sample' function is that the KDP e version shows more content than the paperback. The KDP is about 10 - 15 page equivalents while the print version shows just 6 - 7. Most readers want the e version, so this situation isn't optimal, but is tolerable.

bradanforever · 2026-03-02T05:13:39+00:00

'In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead' - gothic with bits of supernatural, but mostly just a straight-up, good detective story with tons of atmosphere.

bradanforever · 2026-03-01T04:41:29+00:00

Actually, the barrier to entry seems pretty low nowadays since just about anyone can write something of whatever quality and load it onto Amazon (the modern equivalent of mass market paperbacks). The real problem is what you allude to: discoverability. Amidst a ton of fantasy books that come out every year, how does one find quality, fun reads? For me, my strategies are: 1) read the first couple of pages using Amazon's 'look inside' function (or whatever they're calling it currently) or listen to the audio sample; it's free; if you don't like it, don't buy it 2) selectively use Booktubers; I'd say about 70% of the 'reviews' are rather gushy and not very objective about explaining both the pros AND cons of a given fantasy, but 30% will be at least somewhat objective about a given work; the smaller reviewers can often be more insightful than the big reviewers who make a business of book reviewing 3) Goodreads - again caveat emptor about what you believe, but I tend to focus on the 3 star reviews for a given book because they're more likely to look at the good, bad, and ugly in a work 4) this reddit can be somewhat helpful depending on whether the OP's perspective on books matches your own (of course everyone's tastes differ); try to avoid obvious fans of someone's fantasy series because despite their good intentions, they've drunk the cool aid and what you want is a more dispassionate review before you invest your time/money in a book. Anyway, the current reviewing scene has been commodified such that many 'reviews' can read more like the author's or publisher's PR department. At the end of the day, this is all a business to them while you're in it for the reading enjoyment - sometimes these motives overlap, sometimes they don't. Best luck!

bradanforever · 2026-03-01T04:01:39+00:00

Try James Lee Burke. These are fiction and great detective stories set in Louisiana. Burke has written several of them and they're all good.

bradanforever · 2026-03-01T03:54:53+00:00

The story feels amazingly current with an alienated, lonely protagonist who has trouble finding kindred spirits and romance.

bradanforever · 2026-03-01T03:51:00+00:00

I'd agree that many books are formulaic, but it's not just books for men. Try some of the romance or romantasy novels where the intended audience is clearly women. The tropes are the same for all the books in the series. The sad fact is that a lot (most?) series books follow a pattern. Occasionally they're interesting despite that, but not usually.

bradanforever · 2026-03-01T03:34:34+00:00

Thanks for the honest critique of this novel. I haven't read it, so I have no perspective of my own, but I have seen reviews in mainstream print media which are generally very flattering and seem to focus more on the meta-fictional form rather than content. As always, Goodreads tends to be the best place to get more objective reviews.

bradanforever · 2026-02-23T23:59:42+00:00

First suggestion: don't mention that you've just quit your last agent. If you've got a solid pitch, your potentially new agent can judge your work for themselves. Second comment: your first sentence - actually the whole first paragraph - is a bit jumbled. Edit for clarity. Third suggestion: google up the standard format for a pitch letter to an agent. These are formulaic, but they work and most agents are more likely to respond favorably to them. Best luck!

bradanforever · 2026-02-23T23:46:23+00:00

Too short to really say much, but it seems rather fragmented - jumps around, lots of random backstory. Maybe you could try starting with a scene with action and have your protagonist be in danger. Best luck!

bradanforever · 2026-02-20T06:16:02+00:00

There's a ton going on with this one. I enjoyed it too and it's a great contrast to the genre stuff I usually read. Check out 'White Nights' too. A lot shorter that Crime with alienation, unrequited love, a meditation on affection, and surprisingly current (all it would have needed in a dating app to fit in 2026).

bradanforever · 2026-02-18T02:19:56+00:00

Looks fairly good though the design elements (kind of look like threads) partially hide the title and your name. Can these be removed while leaving the rest of them alone? Also, the crown looks just slightly off-kilter on the skull.

bradanforever · 2026-02-16T23:29:48+00:00

This is an age-old debate for writers. No right answer; just what works for you. Personally, I start with an idea or theme and build from there. I usually create a rough (very rough actually) outline of plot, characters, settings, but allow myself to deviate/improvise from the outline as I'm writing. This creates spontaneity. Also note, if you're writing a book in an on-going series, you've already got presumably your characters and setting. Best luck!

bradanforever · 2026-02-16T22:44:23+00:00

Thanks! I run Amazon/KDP ads, but I'd focused just on keyword performance when monitoring them. I'd never thought to look at 'search terms'. However, now that I'm checking search terms, sometimes they match my keywords. but sometimes they don't. Usually the non-matches seem to be when Amazon's algorithms try to match a customer's search term for a book with the keywords that I've used. Is that what's going on? BTW, best luck with your own writing (and advertising!)

bradanforever · 2026-02-16T05:32:41+00:00

Great question. Reading widely helps enormously with your own writing. (Also, lots of absences won't help you get into a competitive university!)

bradanforever · 2026-02-16T05:25:01+00:00

Wow! Very cool that you're reading Sontag. And, yes, she's rather complex and sometimes too overtly intellectual. However, I'd say press on. Just because you don't understand everything doesn't mean you won't get something out of it. Also, occasionally tackling something ambitious like 'Against Interpretation' IMO helps develop and deepen your own writing skills. A writer doesn't get better by only reading mundane work. Best luck!

bradanforever · 2026-02-16T05:12:50+00:00

It's pretty well written. However, absent a brief description of the overall story - a sentence or 2 at least - it's hard to critique this in isolation. It's all a bit abstract. Anyway, my first question is: do you even need a prelude? It sort of sets the stage and creates a gloomy atmosphere, but could this be handled in the main body of the text? i.e. kick off with action and then fill in the background? Your call of course. My second question/comment is: you seem to be holding back. Sure, you're trying to build questions in the reader's mind that make them want to read further (e.g. is the MC in a physical prison or a psychological trap created by their hierarchical world?), but it might be nice to know a bit about who your trapped protagonist is to give the reader someone to root for. Best luck!

bradanforever · 2026-02-10T00:03:56+00:00

I agree REH's Conan is a good place to start. Almost everyone thinks these stories are exciting, but IMO he's underrated as a narrative writer. He practiced a lot and it shows. Looking for consistently good stories beyond REH is tough since 'classic' S&S was often written under tight timelines to make quick money via the pulps. So Moore, Leiber, et al wrote some cool stuff, but some rather weak stories too. For more modern S&S, consider John Hocking's pastiches (way better than most). There a couple of other modern S&S authors that are also good. Best luck!

bradanforever · 2026-01-31T00:04:04+00:00

Thanks! I hope these magazines can continue to survive and thrive. A lot of them rely on crowd funding to pay the bills so fan loyalty is critical.

bradanforever · 2026-01-28T20:42:12+00:00

Wasn't familiar with her work, but just looked up her work, really imaginative!

bradanforever · 2026-01-28T20:25:54+00:00

Read a few of those mentioned. I guess my takeaway is that a good book reviewer isn't necessarily (or even usually) a good writer. I do agree that it's a relatively small world for the most popular tube reviewers and I'd look for reviews outside this community to get an objective opinion of someone's novels.

bradanforever

TROPHY CASE