“Perhaps she should consider a career shift to literary marketing.”

Debut writer Audra Winter managed to do what most self-published writers solely dream of: flip her first guide right into a viral sensation earlier than it even hit cabinets. Her TikTok marketing campaign for The Age of Scorpius dominated BookTok feeds within the months main as much as launch.

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Short, cinematic movies teased the story’s sprawling fantasy world, whereas cliffhanger snippets left potential readers determined for extra. Preorders for the debut novel have been equal to the hype round it.

However, the thrill rapidly unraveled when the novel lastly landed in readers’ palms. By that time, pre-release critiques on the TikTok store have been already locked for many who preordered, so all the five-star rankings mirrored hype relatively than precise studying experiences. Once readers completed the guide, in the event that they managed to complete it, the tone shifted sharply.

From advertising triumph to literary letdown

Many early supporters felt blindsided. The guide’s precise content material, in accordance with quite a few Goodreads critiques, failed to fulfill the expectations set by its viral marketing campaign. While the premise of a sprawling, emotional fantasy saga sounded promising, readers criticized its execution.

@evanwritesbooks What do you guys consider this complete Age of Scorpius Audra Winter saga? What do you consider her option to take it down and resell it? I’m fascinated by this complete saga and actually agree with each the criticisms and the help. #authorsoftiktok #fantasybooktok #booktok ♬ authentic sound – Evan Pickering

One important evaluation from Goodreads consumer Zara summed up the prevailing sentiment. They wrote that the novel was “poorly written, poorly developed, and poorly edited,” even noting misspellings of the writer’s personal invented phrases. Characters, they argued, felt “flat and flawless” with little emotional depth. Main character Kaia, framed within the narrative as noble, got here off as a substitute as “a bully and a busybody.”

Zara additionally took difficulty with the writer’s decade-long declare of engaged on the guide, suggesting the writing nonetheless “reads like it was written by a 12 year old.” Despite a number of rewrites, they concluded, “the author’s writing never developed beyond the skill of a child.”

“While I commend her passion for her project, her success in popularising her book as well as building a fan base before even publishing a single word is her only impressive feat. Perhaps she should consider a career shift to literary marketing.”

BookTok, which had as soon as propelled The Age of Scorpius into trending standing, changed into a discussion board for disappointment. Reviewers posted response movies studying excerpts they discovered clunky or inconsistent. Many folks did a cautious evaluation and shared their opinions on what Winter may have carried out higher.

@ok.e.preston_author Who purchased Age of Scorpius? Why did you purchase Age of Scorpius? Say what you’ll about Audra Winter, the woman ran a really efficient advertising marketing campaign and bought quite a lot of books. This struggling writer needs to know what it was that drew you to this story. #theageofscorpius #audrawinter #booktok #fanart #fantasyart ♬ authentic sound – Ok.E. PrestonAuthor

Some fellow authors counseled her on getting her first, albeit unhealthy, guide on the market and urged her to maintain writing.

@bydonmartin

I hate HOW that is occurring for Audra Winter. I don’t assume the lesson she must study is to stay with advertising. I don’t assume her one guide is in some way an indictment of all indies. I believe some authors are doing manner an excessive amount of with their nearly gleeful suggestions. I additionally assume being a “bad” author is precisely the place try to be at 22. Audra is manner, manner forward of the curve and I’m positive sooner or later will write a bestseller.

♬ authentic sound – bydonmartin

On Goodreads, one-star rankings started to outnumber constructive ones. The backlash underscored a recurring theme in BookTok tradition: a viral marketing campaign can promote a guide, nevertheless it can not assure a very good story.

@andidrewcos This is sooo disjointed however heres my ideas lmao #booktok #indieauthor #audrawinter #theageofscorpius ♬ authentic sound – Andi Drew

Age of Scorpuis, rereleased

The excellent news is that Winter has taken all of the criticism of her debut novel to coronary heart and goes to be rereleasing it after in depth edits.

She shared a number of posts on TikTok with this information, and optimistically, the novel can be as profitable as the unique advertising marketing campaign.

@audrawrites Thank you for everybody who has given suggestions and inspired me to do higher! I wish to provide the guide you deserve. I acknowledge that there are such a lot of folks attempting to assist – I acquired defensive and annoyed readers who have been voicing their concern. I’m sorry, and I promise I’ll do higher from right here on out to focus my consideration on refining the story that issues to me greater than the rest on this planet. Thank you all in your persistence with me whereas I took a couple of days to recuperate and course of the suggestions I’ve obtained. #theageofscorpius #theworldofgardian #ageofscorpius #booktok #fantasy ♬ authentic sound – The World of Gardian LLC

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