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Case study · Fantasy · 2023

The Salt Throne (Salt & Iron, book 1)

by Priya Narayan-Chen, Self-published fantasy novelist; ex-software engineer

ASIN B0CXY94JTD

Self-publishing fantasy series writer who needed editing scale and a cover system that held across 8 books. Year-one royalties on the first four books: roughly $94,000. The fifth book ships in Q3 2026.

  • $94k year-one royalties, books 1–4
  • 71% read-through book 1 → 4
  • 8 books cover system designed
  • 18 days edit-to-delivery cadence
Series outline & developmental workCopy editing (4 books to date)Book cover design (full 8-book series)Book marketing (sustain)

Inside the project

The book on the desk, in five frames.

Working shots from this engagement — interview sessions, manuscript pages, cover concepts, launch day.

What this engagement actually looks like

Priya is not a typical client. She is a full-time professional indie author who writes 200,000–250,000 words a year. She does not need ghostwriting, developmental editing, or hand-holding. She needs the parts of the process she is bad at, on a fast cadence she can plan around.

The standing arrangement: we hold an editing slot for her every quarter. She delivers a manuscript on the first of a quarter; we deliver the copy edit by day 18. Marcus’s cover system means each new book’s cover takes a fraction of the time of a one-off cover, because the design rules are already in place.

This is the model that works for productive indie series authors. About 8% of our roster looks like this. Different problem, different price, same studio.

“I write fast, I edit slow, and I'm a terrible designer. I needed a studio I could plug into for the editing and design parts at the cadence I work. That's what this is.”

Priya Narayan-Chen, Self-published fantasy novelist; ex-software engineer

Cover rounds

Three cover concepts for The Salt Throne (Salt & Iron, book 1).

The shortlist we presented to the author before round-one revisions. The selected concept is the second in the strip.

  • Concept A — typographic, restrained palette
  • Concept B — selected and revised
  • Concept C — photographic, alternative
  • Round one — typography tightened
  • Round two — final, print-ready
Priya Narayan-Chen on writing The Salt Throne (Salt & Iron, book 1) 02:14 A two-minute clip from the launch-day interview. The author on what changed during the project.

Project facts

The numbers behind this one.

Services used
Series outline & developmental work, Copy editing (4 books to date), Book cover design (full 8-book series), Book marketing (sustain)
Timeline
Ongoing — 4 books published over 18 months, 4 more in pipeline
Investment band
$6,200 per book (edit + cover); $1,200/mo marketing
Published
2023
Genre
Fantasy
ASIN
B0CXY94JTD

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