My Fantasy Fiction Challenge

During lock-down, I received my fantasy fiction challenge. My TBR list was long, my DNF list even longer. A friend in my online writers’ group challenged me to do better and write the kind of story I would finish as a reader.

More than a Fantasy Fiction Challenge

This is more than a challenge; write a  fantasy fiction and self-publish. And anyone who knows about indie publishing will tell you, one standalone book is not enough to recoup the investment in time and effort. My challenge became a series; three novels and a prequel novella.

Previously on…

This isn’t my first attempt. Back in my twenties, I started what would be classed as an Urban Fantasy novel today. That was back in the day when traditional publishing – the modern day robber-barons in charge of presses and distribution – jealously guarded the librarian’s ladder to the bookshelves (bad metaphor, stick with me). Back then you had to get an agent or catapult your manuscript directly over the walls of a publishing house. Both generated an immense pile of rejection letters. I ceremonially burnt all of mine just a few years ago when I moved house

Today, Trad-pub is worse, since the mass-market imprints consolidated under just four mega-publishers. There is little or no middle market, and indie presses struggle to survive. Bookshops are under threat from Amazon and the supermarkets.

The New Indie’s

And yet more books are published today than ever before. Amazon’s KDP, Ingram Spark and a host of others now provide POD alongside the growing e-book market, including Apple, Kobo and Google Play Books. You can be an international best-seller within days of releasing a book. But only if you promote and market your books yourself.

Markers along the road

The good news? Challenge accepted. The series went live on Amazon earlier this year. A fifth story came out of NaNoWriMo in 2023, waiting on a time to shine. Two more stories line up for 2026. And another challenge project, with the working title ‘the amnesia plot’ sits on the gantry.

These are the milestones achieved in my fantasy fiction challenge. It’s a long road ahead.