Feb 28, 2026 by Cathryn deVries, in Thoughts and Ramblings

This post is a step-by-step guide to launching a self-published science fantasy novella on Amazon. If you are an indie author preparing for your debut release, these strategies will help you maximise visibility, reviews, and category rankings.

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When I started writing six or so years ago, I never realised that writing was the easy part. Publishing is another mountain altogether, and a far more treacherous one. Yet having written, I knew I couldn’t keep my book to myself. Couldn’t let it die with me, so I trekked to the basecamp of Mt Publish, and looked for a guide.

It came in the form of a discounted bundle of writer’s courses and eBooks—that were mostly about marketing.

That was my rude introduction to the realities of being an author.

But having successfully launched my first book, I offer you a summary of what worked so that you may arrive at the same place in a more linear fashion than I did.
 

1. Write an excellent book.

This almost goes without saying, but if a book is mediocre, all the marketing in the world won’t save it, because no one is going to recommend it to their friends, and word of mouth is still the most powerful marketing tool on the planet.

So that means investing in your craft. That could mean taking a writing course such as those run by The Australian Writer’s Centre. It also means seeking feedback from people who read a lot in your genre, write (well) in your genre, and will give honest and actionable feedback. Finding these people is much harder than it sounds.

In my case, I went the frugal route at first, using the courses in my bundle as a starting point, and finding free writing advice on the internet. Worthwhile sites include The Snowflake Guy and The Story Grid. At first, I only had family and friends as beta readers, but when I made indie author friends on Instagram, that opened up a whole new world of possibilities. I volunteered to beta read for them first, and if they turned out to be a good writer, and took the honest feedback I gave in stride, I asked them to return the favour.

In terms of editing, I began with a manuscript assessment, but when I didn’t get any bites from publishers, I bit the bullet and decided I would pay a developmental editor. I knew I wanted a Story Grid certified one, and she turned out to use a book coaching model.

Best. Decision. Ever.

My writing skills developed exponentially under her guidance. It was expensive (paying in US dollars HURT) but I do not regret investing in myself.
 

2. Design a professional book cover design and learn how to write a blurb.

The inside of your book might be brilliant, but you’ve got to get people to pick it up and open it, and the cover and blurb are absolutely critical to that happening.

Get a cover professionally designed. There are very reasonably priced options. 100 Covers, JV Arts and MIBL art are all excellent and very budget friendly, so there is really no excuse for that DIY Frankencover you put together on Canva, or worse, an AI generated one.

So, do not skimp on this. People DO judge books by their cover.

Now, blurbs are just about the most difficult thing in the world to write well. There are ‘formulas’ to get you started, but be prepared to practice and practice and refine and refine… or get Jessie from Book Blurb Magic to either teach you the skills, or write it for you.
 

3. Take your time and practice on a low-stakes project first. (And maybe run a Kickstarter)

One of the best things I did was to practice launching a very low stakes book first—my reader magnet. This is a free short story eBook I offer my newsletter subscribers. I went through all the steps with this very teeny tiny project, and learnt a TON along the way.

First, I had it professionally developmentally edited by my editor. It’s potentially the first impression I give people of my writing, so it had to be excellent (I know if I read another author’s reader magnet and it is meh, I won’t buy their books). I had a cover designed for it. I struggled through blurb writing and working out my marketing hooks. I gathered a street team (coming up next). I made a website and created an email account (also coming up), and I found ARC readers for it.

Then I did a social media launch like it was a ‘proper’ book, imitating the ‘Cover Reveal’ campaigns I saw my new author friends doing, and asking my team to share the same graphics to their feed on the same day I did.

I was querying my trilogy, but no traditional publishing offer had materialised, so I wrote my science fantasy novella, Son of Osivirius in the meantime. It was GOOD. It seemed like something I could publish, but I would have to self-publish it. Then I got an offer for my trilogy manuscript!!

With my trilogy launch now on the horizon, I knew I needed more practice, and to grow my audience. So I got to work on self-publishing my novella. It would be the perfect way to do both. This was definitely a higher stakes project, and I used it to expand my skillset a little more using the Kickstarter platform first.

Now, when the books of my heart launch, I will already have three releases under my belt: my reader magnet, the Kickstarter release of Son of Osivirius, and its retail release.
 

4. Build a street/hype team well before launch.

As a former miliary member and military spouse, I quickly learnt the best and fastest way to integrate into a new community was to volunteer. So my main advice here is to volunteer on other people’s street/hype teams. Keep a lookout on social media and author’s groups for people looking for street team members. Authors will also ask their newsletter subscribers if they would like to be on their street team. Say yes! Fill out that google form! And take notes along the way.

Then, by being an active street team member, when it’s your turn, you can ask a whole bunch of people who are more likely to say yes because you’ve paid it forward.

The street team I gathered for my reader magnet has stuck with me for the most part, and I keep adding to it. This expands my reach on social media and via other author’s newsletters. You can’t do this alone, so don’t try to.
 

5. Start an author newsletter early.

It’s not as hard as you think. Start small (everyone does) and find your groove. First, subscribe to five or so author newsletters to get a feel for ‘welcome sequences’, reader magnet delivery, newsletter frequency, content etc.

Find an email service provider. Kit is the one most recommended to authors at the moment. Create a Story Origin or Book Funnel account for easy reader magnet delivery and promos/newsletter swaps (this will help to grow your list much more rapidly).

You will need to create your author website (or at least a landing page) at the same time. Very basic author websites can be created through Story Origin as part of your subscription, so that is an inexpensive starter option.

But what to write? I used to get all turned inside out about this too, but now I follow a fairly stress-free storytelling model based of how Derek Doepker, Jessie from Book Blurb Magic, and Daniel Throssel teach email. And I’ve started to get people engaging! So subscribe to their newsletters. See how they do it. Copy them, or pay for their courses. Simple.

Because once you’ve got some subscribers, you’ve got people who might just pre-order your book (which is super helpful), as well as potential street team members and ARC readers.
 

6. Invest in a marketing coach/course.

Marketing does not come naturally to most writers. It is a completely different skillset. It can feel icky. It can take up more of your time than writing does. It can feel like screaming into a void, and like nothing you do makes a difference, or like it’s a maze you’re trying to make your way through.

But there are some great authorpreneurs offering excellent training in this area. I have found Marketing By Shelby, Author Media, and Kindlepreneur extremely helpful. They offer free or inexpensive courses and memberships.
 

7. Submit to indie book awards.

There are a plethora of indie awards anyone can submit to. Many offer award seals and editorial reviews as part of the deal. Some offer marketing packages as prizes. Book Award Pro has a free starter plan that will help you find legitimate awards you can enter your book in. Some awards even accept pre-published books or books published a long time ago.

I chose to enter several awards as a strategic move to give me street cred as a debut author. I saw another indie author display all his award seals on his website and thought, “That’s impressive.” It made me want to give his books a shot—and that’s when I realised the marketing power of awards.

An award-winning author is seen as better than a best-selling author, and I believe submitting to those awards while I was still pre-published has moved the needle.
 

8. Research Amazon keywords and categories.

So, so, incredibly important. Tedious. Frustrating. But incredibly important. I strongly believe one of the key reasons my little debut novella made it to Amazon #1 Hot New Release in Dystopian and Science Fiction Romance was because I selected keywords and categories it could rank for. Combined with some nice editorial reviews from my awards, and a few pre-orders from my subscribers, it was set up to succeed.

Publisher Rocket by Kindlepreneur is the tool I used for this, and has become the industry standard.
 

9. Find as many ARC readers as you possibly can before release.

ARC stands for Advance Reader Copy, and they are usually sent a month or two before release. Don’t be afraid to give away lots of free eBooks to ARC readers. Those reviews are going to mean so much on release day. I asked a heap of bookstagrammers if they would like an ARC copy. Some ignored my messages, but others responded enthusiastically. Your newsletter subscribers and street team are also a great source of ARC readers. Stick up a post on social media and ask your street team to share it.

Standard practice to set up a google form for potential readers to fill out. Like most things, you can learn about how this works by volunteering to be an ARC reader for another author. Hot tip: if they’re any good, you can offer to beta read their next book, and then you have a possible beta reader for yours!
 

10. Stack aunch week promotions and have a blog tour.

These two things raised my visibility during launch week a great deal, both on social media and direct to email inboxes. It’s difficult to assess exactly how effective they were, but the blog tour was a lot of fun and gave me some great reviews (which is so important for the Amazon algorithm). Sales were definitely stronger when they were running. I used the ‘New In Books’ promo from Written Word Media, and a book tour by Love Book Tours.
 

 

A Few Things NOT to Get Caught-up About

Don’t worry too much about social media. It’s a nice way to connect with other authors, but bookstagrammers and booktokkers will do the heavy lifting here. Better to make friends with them well in advance. It is nice to have a visual celebration on social media (hence my book tour and launch week efforts + consistent posting every week), but don’t rely on it to drive sales. In reality, only a tiny percentage of your followers will even see your posts. Honestly, your newsletter subscribers are your best asset.

I hope you found these tips helpful, and hope your own launch leaves you feeling satisfied, and not like a lost opportunity.

If you'd like to check out the book for yourself, you can do so HERE.
To see the reader magnet that was the subject of my launching baby steps, subscribe to my newsletter HERE. It'll be delivered to your inbox within minutes.

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