SFFMP 204: Selling 10,000 Copies of Your First Novel with Joseph Malik

October 23, 2018 SFFpodcast Author Interview, Podcast

Today, we were joined by fantasy author, Joseph Malik, who published his first novel, Dragon’s Trail, in 2016 and has managed to sell 10,000 copies over the last two years, despite being a new author and new to marketing. We talked to him about some of the things he tried that didn’t work, plus what he tried that did.

*Note: a couple of swear words slipped out in this episode, so be careful if you’re listening in the car with young and impressionable kids (or dogs).

Here are some of the specifics that we talked about in the show:

Trying out a lot of hobbies such as sword fighting and martial arts to better learn how to make your fantasy novels seem realistic.
Tips for authors who wouldn’t mind trying to learn some of the combat stuff even if they’re busy with life and not athletically inclined.
Balancing including details and strong world building with keeping the story moving along and readers entertained.
Diana Wynne Jones’ Tough Guide to Fantasyland (and why your characters probably shouldn’t be eating stew after a long trek).
Publishing on a more traditional release schedule (Joseph published his first two novels about two years apart) and keeping the books selling when it’s a while between releases.
How his experience as a panelist at NorWesCon helped a lot with book sales for him.
Why Joseph publishes hard cover copies of his books and where he sells them.
How he’s sold most of his books at full price and intends to stick with that going forward.
Some of the marketing things he tried early on that didn’t move the dial much and what did work.