As part of the Indie Author Highlight, I’m happy to introduce you to Sean Fletcher, author of the coming-of-age YA fantasy series The Savage Wilds! Sean’s latest release is Savage Wild Hearts, the first in series. I am very excited for you all to meet Sean because I just read his book, and it is a stellar YA fantasy. Sean, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m Sean Fletcher (not to be confused with the American-British journalist). I’m an Amazon-bestselling and award-winning author of YA fantasy and middle grade fantasy, in addition to other forthcoming books whose characters won’t stop doing cartwheels in my head. When I’m not making up highly-enjoyable lies and putting them down on paper, I’m often outside, usually doing something most people find masochistic, like cycling long distance, hiking high mountains, and indulging in more sweets than is medically advisable.
How many books/novellas/short stories have you published already?
Not counting box sets, I’ve published 23, though four of those are when I used to write YA science fantasy. So technically 19 in YA fantasy.
Tell me a little about your current book.
“No one alive remembers when the Wilds appeared. They were simply there, dense forests that consumed most of the human world. Full of beasts, and full of them…”
Savage Wild Hearts tells the story of Val, a human in a modern-day world where human cities have been surrounded by the thick and dangerous Wilds. While on a job to carve heart gems from the numerous dangerous beasts that live in these Wilds, Val stumbles across (and tries to kill) Rune, a human-like wildling, beautiful and savage in equal measure. After they (briefly) stop putting knives to each other’s throats, Rune recruits Val to use her unique resistance to wildling magic to help him take the high throne of the wildlings. By deadly force.
The blurb probably sums it up much nicer than that, but that’s the gist!
The cover is gorgeous. Does it have particular meaning or symbolism?
Yes! The crown, woven with leaves of gold and nightshade, is the crown that Rune, the wildling trying to become high king, has the heart tree weave for him. The thorns are the thorns of the Wilds, the kind Rune can summon, and, along with the flowers, represents both the beauty and ferocity of the Wilds. It’s something Val struggles with, being both drawn and entranced by such a dangerous place.
Describe the type of books you write in general.
I write almost exclusively YA fantasy (though I dabble in middle grade as well). I’ll use how I sum up what I write in my website, and then how I sum up my latest release:
With each of my series you’re guaranteed to get:Heartfelt characters you’ll love to root for, or love to hate
Deep, fast-paced, compelling storylines sure to keep you turning the pages
Emotionally resonate scenes, along with laugh-out-loud moments
Slow burn, often enemies-to-lovers romance with characters who can’t stand falling for each other
If you enjoy epic, dark contemporary fantasy a la The Cruel Prince, with morally gray characters, a lush fantasy world, and a savage enemies-to-lovers romance, dig into The Savage Wilds Series.
I think that is such a great description of the direction you’ve gone with Savage Wild Hearts. I know this is a slightly new direction for you as an author, even though you have published quite a few books. I’m sure that’s been a huge learning curve. What has been the most difficult challenge you’ve faced as a writer, and how did you overcome it?
I think I’m still in the biggest challenge. While my latest book, Savage Wild Hearts, has gotten great response from readers and good reviews, the launch also made me realize that my fanbase and those I’d relied on to buy my book was lacking. I built my early career, mailing list, and social media on promos, freebies, giveaways, and the like, and didn’t brand myself as well as I should have as an author of high-quality material that’s worth paying full price for. So when I shifted author strategy for this book to a less but bigger releases for year model, with no plans on promos, a lot of my audience fell through.
So right now the challenge I’m facing is rebuilding that audience almost from the ground up. Finding readers who like/love my stuff AND are willing to pay what it’s worth for it. Really, just finding readers who enjoy your stuff is what every author I think is always working on.
In a similar vein, what was the hardest lesson you had to learn in publishing a book?
It’s one I’m learning right now, actually. That even though you might have an (objectively) good book, in order to sell it you have to find the right readers. Knowing your market, and knowing how to reach that market, is incredibly difficult to do AFTER you’ve written the book if you didn’t write it with them in mind. As I said, I have a number of series that are incredibly difficult to market because I wrote them with little idea or care as to who would read them. There are so, so many great books out there written by great authors, and only an incredibly small number of them will get the attention they deserve.
How have you changed as a writer since you first began writing?
Oh yeah, I’ve changed a lot. Not just the process, but how I approach what I write next. For a long time I wrote books/series because I felt like I needed to in order to hit the market and please fans. I was able to get these out faster, and I and readers enjoyed them, but as I got more books out and looked ahead and where my career was going, I knew I wanted to start shifting my brand to bigger projects, things that would hopefully really catch peoples’ eye. Now I really try to find that crossroad of something that challenges me and I’m truly, truly passionate about, but I’m also very conscious of the market. I have series that are incredibly difficult to find an audience for because I either tried to be too subversive, or wasn’t aware (or cared) about the market. It’s fine (and you should) write for yourself, but also understand why books are working and readers like them and try to work that into your books. Chances are, the reasons they like those books are the same reasons YOU like those books.
What advice would you give to a new writer?
Have fun with the process first, and don’t think you have to make it a job. I’m grateful beyond belief I get to make money off my work, but there is a little something lost with that. My writing has to be a bit more focused on what I can sell. And while that helps in some ways, for those just starting out, have fun. Take your time to learn the craft, don’t think your first book or even first ten books are publishable and don’t. Stop. Writing. I wrote five books that will never see the light of day before I self-published my very first book. And I will continue learning each and every time I write a new book. Writing is a journey, never a destination.
This is such great insight, Sean. I know breaking into a new market is very tough, and it is interesting to hear how that translates to honing in on a particular genre or subgenre.
Don’t. Stop. Writing.
What project are you hoping to work on next?
Currently I’m finishing with the second book in the Savage Wilds series, Savage Wild Souls. I’m planning for that one to come out February, 2024. Also, I’m starting to plot Savage Wild Gods, the third and final book in the series. After that I’m not entirely sure. The Savage Wild series was a slightly new (and in my opinion better) direction to take my brand and really figure out what I want to write. I have a few ideas for books I think I (and readers) might really love, but for now a majority of the focus is on getting the Savage Wilds series noticed and building an audience for that.
Where do your ideas for new stories come from?
Great question! And a very difficult one to answer. As I say in the acknowledgements of Savage Wild Hearts, that particular story was a combination of two or three different books I had over the years that I never published. I think writers mostly draw from all kinds of inspiration: real life, other books and media, and for me it sort of percolates into my head before starting to distill down into something useable. Nowadays I also approach it as not only do I want to write, but where does that merge with what would fit the market, and what has a high and easily sellable concept. The marriage of those makes the writer-me happy, and the market-me happy once the book’s out.
Why do you write?
Because I love stories, and putting the puzzle of a book together until it’s something that shines. Seeing a book go from a literal kernel of an idea to something physical in my hand is amazing. And as I gain more fans and do more speaking, seeing readers who truly, truly love the things I create. It also doesn’t hurt that I get to make a decent living off of the books, too.
What is the worst writing advice you’ve received, and what did you learn from it?
To try to do ALL the things and get yourself in as many places as you can. If you want to make writing a career you should try to put yourself out there, but don’t get overwhelmed trying to reach everyone. Your book isn’t for everyone. I’m still learning to focus on the select few channels where I might reach potential readers and working on those.
The other bad advice I will say is a bit of a paradox. When first starting out read everything you can about the craft of writing. But do not take any writer, ANY writer’s rules or advice as law. Writing is an art. For many years I had rules for my writing that I wouldn’t break because Big Author A said they never did it. There certainly are rules to writing. Learn them. Then, when you get better and learn your style and, more importantly, learn how to discern what works for YOU versus what works for others, then you can learn to break those rules in the way that fits best.
What are some of the most useful tools you’ve found that make writing/publishing easier?
When I’m not writing in a notebook: Microsoft Word
For formatting ebooks and print versions of books: Vellum (for Mac)
Author Helper Suite has made tracking stuff pretty easy.
How do you approach planning a new story? Do you develop outlines, timelines, journal notes, character profiles, etc.? Do you free write? Somewhere in between?
I like outlining, so I’ll start with that and create a decently extensive one, while still leaving unanswered parts that the muse can fill in as I write and the story develops. Each new book is kind of like a new discovery. I have an idea of where it’ll go from my outline, but leave part up to spontaneity.
How do you balance writing with the rest of life? Any tips?
I’m pretty terrible at this to be honest! Whenever I’m in writing mode for a new book I always set aside the first 1 1/2 of a working day for that book, and I try to do an 1 1/2 at the end of the day when my other work for the day is done. I also try to end at 5 and be done (I say as I write this at 10:30pm). Other than that, allocate a time only for writing, not doing anything else. Be selfish with that time. Take care of yourself, mentally, physically, spiritually, whatever you need. If you feel like crap, you’ll likely write like crap, or at least not as good as you could.
Who inspires you to write? Who inspires your style?
I’m inspired to write by the books that have really made me think “that was amazing”. Stories that have depth, characters that feel real. I’m inspired by a lot of different authors, but most recently Neil Gaiman and Holly Black come to mind. I’m still in the process of finding my style, and I do think it can change from book to book/series to series depending on a number of factors. I’m certainly always learning how to improve and will be likely for the rest of my career.
Who is your favorite author? Your favorite book?
It fluctuates, but my go to usually is Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book. What inspired Savage Wild Hearts was the Folk of the Air series by Holly Black. It was just head and shoulders above other YA Fantasy in writing, complexity, character, everything. It really showed me that YA can be as good as any adult genre, and oftentimes better.
Wonderful influences! Who are some other indie authors you recommend people check out?
R.M. Krogman 🙂
A.L. Knorr
Chandelle Lavaun
Julie Hall just to name a few
Aaaaaaw, you got me. 🙂 What are your favorite movies?
I actually greatly enjoy well put together kids movies, like Into the Spiderverse, but all over, really. I’ll watch anything from No Country for Old Men to Puss in Boots 2 if it sounds like something I’ll enjoy.
Thank you so much for your time, Sean! Your book is a pleasure to read, a perfect fit for the YA fantasy world. I wish you the best of luck!
Readers, if you want to connect with Sean, please check out his links below: