Building Worlds: Tips for Writing and Marketing Fantasy
Imagine having readers who can’t wait to talk about your book. Melissa Herold’s readers have sent her heartfelt letters, paintings, and even hairstyles inspired by her series, The Iyarri Chronicles. “What people don’t realize is that you don’t need a million followers to find success as a writer,” she says. “You just need one thousand true fans who are there to support you one hundred percent.”
Dedicated readers want authors to inspire them, show them something unique, and capture their imagination. In fantasy, world-building and character development are crucial to creating a world that readers are excited to talk about. “What doesn’t resonate with readers is an antagonist that is just a foil for their main character, or a main character that always makes the right decisions. All of my characters have virtues and flaws, which makes them relatable.”
No matter what a character does, readers relate to complexity. In Heaven’s Silhouette, the first book in The Iyarri Chronicles series, the antagonist, Aamon, wants revenge. When Iyarri society reformed, somebody he shared a passion with was punished and killed, causing him to do all the wrong things for all the right reasons. Readers understand his motivation, even if they don’t agree with his actions. The protagonists aren’t perfect either—one Iyarri fell in love with a human, a forbidden romance. He went into exile so his lover and daughter wouldn’t be killed, but also to keep himself safe. “Even though he does the best he can, a lot of readers don’t enjoy him because they don’t think he makes good decisions, but he doesn’t have any good options to choose from,” says Melissa. “Nobody is ‘the good character,’ but they all have redeeming qualities. I’ve even had people say that they wished they hated my antagonist more than they do.”
A world written with creativity and compelling characters (with their own virtues, flaws, backstories, and character arcs) becomes irresistible to readers. Done right, the characters and world form each other to create an amazing whole. “When I started out, I knew I wanted to make a winged race. A winged race approaches everything from a different perspective—their architecture, their weaponry, their greetings, and their insults (the Iyarri call humans ‘plodders’).” Choices in environment have compelling implications for the characters, who then go on to inform the plot. “Part of the struggle of writing is finding the ways character and environment come together. When the humans and Iyarri fractured their relationship, the fallout forced the Iyarri to go into hiding, which sparks the action of my characters two-thousand years later.” In fiction, as in reality, people respond to their environments. Using the world of the book to craft the plot and the characters ensures you have a book that feels complete, not scattered.
When your book comes out, that same creativity is the foundation of your marketing strategy. “Going back to world-building around a winged race and their culture, one of the things that I talk about is the oil that the characters use to clean their wings. Then, I have those oils in my Etsy shop, and my customers just love this.” Melissa builds tactile and sensory products into the reader’s experience, to blur the line between fantasy and reality, just as she does in her book. One of her readers said, “The connection [of the Novel Blend Oils] to the book makes it all the more special: Yes, this is what Aamon's wings smell like. I don't have to imagine, I have it in my hands.”
Then, Melissa invites reader participation. “Earlier this year, I had an Iyarri Chronicles hair styling and fanart contest. The submissions were incredible, from an Iyarri chair design to beautiful braided hairstyles. The winner of that contest got her hairstyle placed on a character in the second book.” Her book tie-ins on her Patreon and Etsy store make her fantasy world come to life for her readers. Melissa’s creativity fuels the creativity of her fans, which inspires her writing in turn. The cycle builds community around the work and improves the series.
Plus, community-based marketing has its personal perks. “Nothing makes me happier than fanart. One girl sent me a beautiful colored pencil drawing and she said that she drew it at work on a manila envelope when she had some downtime. I received a beautiful watercolor painting from Spain. It’s so cool seeing my characters as someone else sees them, which is my favorite thing about having this art contest,” says Melissa.
Melissa’s second book in her series, Mourning’s Dawn, will launch on October 6th, 2020. To find out more about Melissa, visit her website.