Helen Scheuerer broke through as a writer by self-publishing 14 romantasy books in eight years

About a decade ago, Helen Scheuerer secured a publishing deal with a traditional publisher for her literary fiction manuscript. However, the work ultimately didn't see the light of day, something she now feels grateful for. While editing this unnamed manuscript in 2016, Scheuerer began writing young adult (YA) fantasy romance novels as a way to relieve stress. It was then that she realized she had been “forcing [herself] into a box, to write ‘serious’ literature.”

She also realized she didn’t want to publish her debut novel through traditional means: the lack of control left her dissatisfied, so she terminated that publishing deal. By August 2017, at the age of 27, she self-published the YA novel she had started writing to unwind. *Heart of Mist*, the first book in *The Oremere Chronicles* bestselling series, sold so well that she quit her day job about five months after its release.

The Australian-born, New Zealand-based author told ABC Arts, “[I was making] significantly more than I was making at my day job, and significantly more than I had anticipated. My thought was, if I don’t have to be stuck in a day job writing about mesh fencing, what could I do [instead]?” After her breakthrough with *The Oremere Chronicles*, Scheuerer went on to publish a prequel of short stories. She released a second YA fantasy series, *Curse of the Cyren Queen*, in 2021, before pivoting to dark adult fantasy romance (romantasy) novels featuring explicit sex scenes, launching her 2023 bestselling series, *The Legends of Thezmarr*, followed by a standalone spin-off prequel.

She never needed to return to writing about mesh fencing to make a living. While Scheuerer has published the audiobooks of her stories through traditional means, all physical and e-book versions have been self-published. Her latest adult romantasy novel, *Iron & Embers*, the first book in *The Ashes of Thezmarr* series, is a spin-off of the hit *The Legends of Thezmarr* and is her first hybrid release. This means Scheuerer self-published the book in the US and Canada, while it was published traditionally in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and other Commonwealth countries.

*Iron & Embers* is a trope-filled dark academy romance story that follows alchemist-turned-assassin Wren Embervale, who fans of *The Legends of Thezmarr* will recognize. Scheuerer said traditional publishers have been interested in her since she started writing *Heart of Mist*, but after her previous experience with the literary fiction manuscript, she was reluctant to go through that process again. But when her second YA series failed to garner the same attention as her first, she felt her career as an author was precarious. Her confidence took a hit, as did her mental health. So, she gave herself an ultimatum. “I decided to pivot from YA fantasy to adult-targeted, explicit fantasy romance, and either it was going to go well, or I really needed to go back to work,” Scheuerer said.

By 2023, she had published *Blood & Steel*, the first book in *The Legends of Thezmarr* series. The series has become her most popular work to date. “When the second book in that series came out, I was like, ‘Oh, I might actually be able to buy a house at some point,’ and the future wasn’t so bleak.” Scheuerer is arguably the most ideal self-publishing candidate. Before she started writing *Heart of Mist*, she had completed a creative writing degree and a masters in publishing. After deciding to self-publish her debut novel, she also enrolled in a $1000 course.

Still, Scheuerer says that even for her, quitting a stable job to self-publish her own romantasy novels was a “risk” and it hasn’t been easy. Self-publishing (let alone self-published romantasy) carries a stigma, which largely boils down to two assumptions: that independently publishing a book is easier than going through a traditional publisher, and that self-published books are lower-quality vanity projects. In Scheuerer’s view, this generalization is unfair. Beyond writing the novel, she explained, self-publishing requires authors to have an in-depth understanding of book production, marketing, advertising, and accounting. The completed manuscript is just the first of many steps. Next is editing. Scheuerer hires professionals for each of her novels—the editor she used for her first three books had 20 years of experience, much of it at Penguin Random House. “I think that’s been really helpful in having them taken seriously,” she said.

Next is developmental feedback from beta readers, then copy editing, proofreading, typesetting, and a final round of proofing physical books to make sure they are formatted correctly. “While you’re doing all of this, you’re also designing a cover, trying to build a platform so that once you have the physical product, you can put it out there … and [organize] a release party,” Scheuerer explained. “It’s a huge production process and a financial risk.” While Scheuerer has done the typesetting and marketing for her self-published books, she has hired experts for everything else and estimates her initial investment for each of her early novels was around $5000.

While Scheuerer has always known she wanted to write full-time, the pace she set for herself was exhausting. In the early days, she would get up at 6 a.m. and write until lunchtime, take a quick break, and then keep writing until dinner, followed by another break, and then social media marketing. “I definitely worked longer and harder for myself than I ever did for other people,” she said. Things have eased up in recent years—Scheuerer now starts writing between 7 and 7:30 a.m., works until lunch, takes a break, and then keeps writing until her partner gets home, when she switches to life admin. She schedules book-related admin, marketing, and PR work when she has pockets of time, and takes the weekends off. It’s still a lot. But Scheuerer says working at this pace ensures she has multiple books “in the can” that can be released regularly.

Currently, she is working on the third and final book in *The Ashes of Thezmarr* series, even though the first novel in the series has only just been released. Releasing books so densely is a common strategy for romantasy authors, and it makes particular sense for self-published authors, who traditionally sell more e-book versions of their stories. Releasing fast-paced, engaging books in quick succession helps keep readers engaged. The more time readers spend reading (and finishing) an indie author’s e-books on large platforms like Kindle Unlimited, the more money the author makes. *Fourth Wing* author Rebecca Yarros is one of the most notable examples: the first two books in *The Empyrean* series were published months apart in 2023. But this pace isn’t necessarily sustainable—even Yarros has recently said she plans to slow down.

“Publishing at that rate does start to bring on this kind of rising anxiety of, ‘I have to keep going, I have to keep going, I have to produce more …,’” Scheuerer said, but she’s sticking with her regular release strategy for now. So why is she now changing a successful self-publishing strategy to partner with the traditional publishing world again? While self-publishing can do a lot for authors, the bestselling author said there are two things it hasn’t done for her: get her books into physical bookstores; and get her stories featured in publications like this one. *Iron & Embers*, the first book in *The Ashes of Thezmarr* series, is out now.