My debut young adult fantasy novels, Ember Dragon Daughter and Hasley Fateless, are unpublishing on November 30th, 2022. After that date, I will be re-releasing them in Spring 2023 under a pen name, R. K. Sampson, instead of keeping the books as Rebecca K. Sampson. Why?
There are three main reasons why I am going through the effort to make this change.
Algorithms/SEO/Marketing: I write in multiple genres and I expect to expand my work. I currently write in personal development, fantasy, and paranormal romance. Those genres, in an algorithm, don't often work together or have the same audiences. By separating those books into multiple pen names and social media accounts, search engines better know how to find my readers.
Defined Brands: I cover a wide range of topics on social media, where my personal development work often ties into my opinions and personal life, when I talk about fantasy and my stories - it doesn't quite fit. I want to focus on different presences and feelings in social media rather than mushing it all together.
New Energy: I want to give my fantasy books a better chance to shine, with new covers, fresh reviews and readers, and a closer publication date between books. Starting over gives me that fresh energy and start to do things properly with all I've learned.
I've enjoyed so much the start of my author career and am grateful for the opportunity to hone it in now to a more defined point with the experience and skill I have gained. The readership and support I've had is something I'll never forget. Ember means so much to me, and now it's time for her story to find new people.
2023 Update: To keep my book reviews, I did end up needing to keep my original name as a co-author, but all further books are now listed as solely R. K. Sampson. I'm glad I made this change and have a more defined fantasy brand. It has been so fun to play in different roles with my three pennames. Thank you fir staying along for the ride.
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