Everything that happened in 2021
2021 — Year in Review
DATE:
January 5, 2022
CLIENT:
INFO:
Before we begin, let me say…THANK YOU ❤️
This has been a transformative year for my life as an author. What started in 2020 as a fun side project, with no marketing plan and no connections in the community, has become something I could never have imagined. I still have a day job that I love—so, don’t expect any announcements for full-time—but the warmth of this community continues to renew my spirit to write. Needless to say, I have been a bit overwhelmed by the love I’ve felt from all of you.
So, thank you! None of this would be possible without your support and kind words of encouragement.
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2022 ANNOUNCEMENTS
While there will certainly be many more exciting things to happen in 2022, here are a few important dates:
- Bonds of Chaos—August 25th, 2022, $2.99 preorder available!
- TBRCon—1/23 live D&D and 1/26 moderating a panel! (link)
2021 HIGHLIGHTS
While last year may have been hard for us all, there will still a few good things to happen:
- Published Stones of Light (ebook, audiobook)
- Launched an online store to sell signed books in the US (link)
- Created a signed/numbered limited edition hardcover with The Broken Binding (link). Because the books sold out fast, there will be another run with the launch of book 3.
- Participated in a fantasy conference panel (link)
- Read 21 books (16 indie)—over 10,000 pages!
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2021 AWARDS & LISTS
One of the most incredible parts of 2021 was seeing all of the love for the Threadlight series. Here are a few highlights:
- 1st place Indies Today Best Fantasy 2020
- 1st place in the Indie Sci-fi/Fantasy Author Battle
- 4th place (out of 300) in the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-off
- Finalist in the Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award
- Top 15 Books of 2021 (Wolfmantula)
- Top Books of the Year (Book Prescription)
- Top 10 Series of 2021 (Beneath a Thousand Skies)
- Top 10 Reads of 2021 (FanFiAddict)
- Top 10 Series I Read in 2021 (Andrew’s Wizardly Reads)
- Top 10 Books I read in 2021 (Ponderings of Pete)
- Best Sci-fi & Fantasy Books of 2021 (Beautifully Bookish Bethany)
- 2021 - Favourite Reads (Dominish)
- 7 Books that Didn't Fall Victim to Middle Book Syndrome (Book in Hand)
- Most Anticipated Titles of 2022 (FanFiAddict)
- Most Anticipated Books of 2022 (Fantasy Book Critic)
PROJECT UPDATES
Every author has a backlog of projects and plans and, my part-time schedule means I can't get to as much as I'd like, I still want to share some of the exciting things I have planned.
- Threadlight — I am hard at work trying to do this series justice in its final installment. There are scenes in this book that I’ve been planning since I started writing Voice of War, and I’m both scared and excited to finally share them with you all. I am about 30% done writing Bonds of Chaos, and plan to have the first done by end of March. ARCs will go out in July. There is also a growing likelihood that I’ll do a Kickstarter for an omnibus edition of the series.
- Achromic — This is a Threadlight novella that I will likely work on that follows Alabella’s rise to power. I am currently in the process of outlining this, and any release would likely be end of 2022 or early 2023. If there are any other prequel-stories you would be interested in reading, let me know!
- The Fall of Cloud Seven — This is a standalone book that I will be working on once I finish up with Threadlight, which would be released in 2023. I am SO excited for this. It’s a new world, with awesome characters, and a plot that I won’t spoil here. Needless to say, it’s taking all of my will power not to work on it. That said, I may have already commissioned a map and written a few chapters…There is a chance that I will query this one to agents. If I do choose to go down that path, any release would likely be delayed.
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
So, this section may be a bit odd, but I thought it would be nice for both readers and fellow authors to see a transparent look into how much I’ve made as an author. Spoiler! With expenses, it is not very much…yet. Once the trilogy is complete, I expect the total profit to increase. If you have any questions, I’m happy to answer as best I can.
- Total Revenue: ~$8000 USD
- Expenses: ~$7300* USD
- 1,500 eBooks sold
- 180 physical books sold
- 152 signed books sold
- 630 audiobooks sold
- 332,000 KU pages read
*Expenses include audiobook narration, cover illustration for Bonds of Chaos, 20 sketches for the hardcovers, book orders for signed books, marketing, etc.
FAN ART FROM READERS!
![Art by Kaya from https://www.youtube.com/c/KayaReads](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5ecfe69f045b6ecad6f7a410/61d3d46d9b6f18734a939b7a_fan_art.jpeg)
Art by Kaya from https://www.youtube.com/c/KayaReads
MEMES FROM READERS!
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5ecfe69f045b6ecad6f7a410/61d3d46d51c3a2f4a3465dca_family.jpeg)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5ecfe69f045b6ecad6f7a410/61d3d46e09327dc911297932_asher.jpeg)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5ecfe69f045b6ecad6f7a410/61d3d46e135b767b1d098106_laurel.png)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5ecfe69f045b6ecad6f7a410/61d3d46e72854143eee77a63_grave.jpeg)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5ecfe69f045b6ecad6f7a410/61d3d46e563477644b117cb9_twist.jpeg)
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/5ecfe69f045b6ecad6f7a410/61d3d46eac0ed381114c5ec7_kaya.jpeg)
THANKS FOR READING!
Sincerely yours,
—Zack Argyle