The Story So Far
You didn’t write 100k words to be the internet’s best kept secret
In one focused hour, we'll turn your “I should probably be doing more marketing” spiral into a clear plan for finding the readers who are going to buy and binge your book.
The Story So Far is a personalized marketing strategy session for newer indie romantasy authors—especially those trying to build an audience around a full-time job.
$97 • One hour • Custom Strategy • Done For You Welcome Sequence (Limited Time Offer)
"The Strategy Call & Action Plan is worth its weight in gold!
I've already gained followers and views just implementing things in the plan. It really was worth more than I paid. I wasn't feeling confident about how to share my work before and it's like you flipped a switch!"
— Caroline Hull
You're not just writing a book.
You're also the marketer, the social media manager, the street team wrangler, the email list builder, and the launch strategist... all somehow squeezed in around a full-time job and, you know, sleep.
So you start collecting tactics like they're Pokémon. (Gotta catch 'em all!)
Reels. Email. TikTok. Pinterest. Ads. Reader magnets. Street teams. Launches.
And instead of a publishing team handing you a marketing plan, you've got approximately 47 tabs open, each one swearing IT'S the thing that'll finally get your book bought.
And you're doing it- posting the reels, starting the street team, meaning to send the newsletter. But the question spiraling in your head at 9:47pm when you’d rather be reading is: why isn't any of this working??
The good news is it's not that you're doing it wrong. You've just got a pile of tactics and no strategy connecting them, no plan telling you which ones matter, in what order, for YOUR book.
You don't need to do more.
You need a roadmap for your book, readers, goals, and the three spare minutes you have between chapters.
The issue is that you have pieces of a marketing strategy scattered all over the place — a street team here, a few reels there, maybe an email list, a Pinterest account you haven't touched in six months...
But no clear picture of how it all fits together.
You don't need another room full of marketing ideas.
You need someone to look at the whole house — your book, your readers, your goals, and the time you actually have — and help you figure out what belongs where.
So everything feels like guessing. And your time is too precious to keep spending on marketing that hasn't worked... especially when the hours are coming straight out of your writing time.
And the longer you keep guessing, the harder it gets to know what's actually working.
So you keep posting.
Keep tweaking.
Keep trying the latest advice.
And still don't know whether you're building an audience, or just creating more work for yourself.
and can we talk about the emotional aspect for a second?
Because it's not just "I need more sales," it's "I know this book would be someone's obsession... so why isn't she finding it?"
She's out there, looking for her next 2am read, and she would find home in your book... if your posts could just get it in front of her.
Somewhere out there, your reader is missing her next obsession
THE SOLUTION
Stop collecting tactics.
Start following a plan built for your book.
The Story So Far is a personalized marketing strategy session built around your book, your readers, and where you are right now.
Especially if you're a newer indie romantasy author trying to build an audience while also... you know... having a life and/or a full-time job.
No generic advice. No copy-and-paste content calendar that could belong to any author with any book. Just one focused hour digging into YOUR stuff:
what your marketing's actually supposed to be doing (not just "posting")
who your reader really is (beyond "people who like romantasy")
where she's hiding and what makes her stop scrolling
what your book promises her, in words she'd actually use
which channels are worth your time and which you can happily ghost
and, best part, what to quit doing altogether
Real results
Receipts
(because I'd want them too)
The first week alone, it easily saved me 2 hours of time. I've tried other social templates and resources before, but none have saved me time and brain space quite like this!"
Paige Figueroa
I was so nervous about the feedback I'd get because my numbers are low — but the feedback was amazing. It wasn't just fluff. Easy, well-explained, actionable steps. She went above and beyond what I could have imagined."
Magan Outlaw
"I feel like it's some kind of magic. I know that's how this is supposed to work but — while I'm just going about my life, someone buys a thing minutes later that was in the post. It's magic. Thank you!"
Brianna Green
"I just posted a reel after receiving your advice and it already has over 900 views and few new followers!"
Jasmine Greenfield
You're in the right place
Your HEA starts here
Within 4-5 business days of our call, a full written marketing roadmap lands in your inbox.
Basically: all the things we talked about on the call, turned into a "cool, here's what we're actually doing" plan.
Because I don't want you leaving our hour together feeling inspired for approximately 36 minutes before opening Instagram and immediately forgetting everything we talked about. 😂
You'll have a clear picture of what your marketing needs right now, how it all fits together, and what to actually do first.
First: who the heck are we talking to?
We'll nail down your emotional promise — the specific feeling your ideal reader is looking for, in language they actually use. Unfortunately, "people who like romantasy" is not exactly enough to build a marketing strategy around.
Then: where does each piece fit (and what do you actually post)?
We'll look at the channels and tactics you're using (or thinking about) and figure out which ones actually make sense for your book, your readers, your goals, and your real-life time. No more doing something just because someone on TikTok said authors "should." No more collecting tactics like they're Pokémon. And for the pieces that DO earn a spot, you'll get content ideas and post examples built around your book, not 47 generic "Tuesday Tip" prompts that have nothing to do with it. We'll figure out what belongs in your marketing house, what doesn't, and what to actually put in the rooms that stay.
And what does this mean for your content?
Your content is one piece of the bigger picture. You'll get content ideas and post examples built around your book, your readers, and what we're actually trying to accomplish. Actual angles, hooks, and structures you can use — not 47 generic "Tuesday Tip" prompts that have nothing to do with your book.
And finally: what do I do first?
This is the part I really want you to have. You'll get a prioritized next-steps roadmap showing you what to do first, what can wait, and what you can stop doing altogether. Because half of what makes this whole thing feel so good is walking away with a shorter list. You don't need to do everything. You need to know which things are actually worth doing.
The goal isn't to hand you a giant pile of marketing homework.
It's to help you finally look at all the pieces and go:
Ohhh. Okay. I see how this fits together now.
Limited-Time Bonus
I’ll build one of the rooms for ya👷
Because you're already writing a book.
And working a job.
And attempting to have a personality outside of both of those things.
You don't need another marketing task.
So, for a limited time, when you book The Story So Far, I'll create a custom email welcome sequence for you — completely done for you.
No staring at a blank Google Doc wondering "what the hell am I supposed to email these people?" No spending your Saturday writing emails instead of your actual book. I do it for you.
Once it's set up, every new reader who joins your list gets a warm intro to you and your books, automatically. One less room of the marketing house that you have to build yourself... and one more thing working in the background while you're at your day job, writing your next chapter, or "only reading one more chapter" of someone else's book.
No email list yet? That's okay, we'll talk through starting one on your call too.
$97 one-time. Bonus included when you book within your email window.
Hey, I'm Sydney
Content strategist by trade, feral romance reader by nature.
I spent 4+ years as a content marketing strategist building messaging and marketing strategies for brands, interned in publishing, and studied English, so I've basically always been elbow-deep in stories: how they're built, why they work, why some books just live in your head rent-free forever.
I'm also your ideal reader. My TBR could legally qualify as furniture, I’ve got opinions about morally gray men (my fav), and I know exactly what makes me stop scrolling and immediately buy a book at 11pm.
And sitting on both sides, I kept seeing the same thing: authors weren't failing at marketing, they were exhausted by it.
Doing all the things, still feeling invisible, drowning in advice that just said "do more." So that's what we fix on this call, together.
How it works
01
Book your spot
Book below and you'll get an email with your intake form and a link to my calendar.
02
Fill out your intake form
Tell me about your book, your platforms, what's not working, and what you want to walk away knowing. The more I know going in, the more we can get done in our hour together.
We have the call
One focused hour where we dig into your specific situation and build your strategy together.
03
04
Your Roadmap lands in your inbox
Within 4-5 business days I'll send over your full written action plan so you always know your next move instead of spiraling about it.
Wait a minute…
“But what if…”
"...my following is tiny / I'm still writing the book?"
Perfect, honestly. The earlier we sort your strategy, the less time you waste doing the wrong stuff. You don't need a big audience for this to work, you need a plan for building the right one. (Some of my favorite results have come from authors who booked while their numbers were teeny.)
"...I'm not techy / I don't even have an email list yet?"
Totally fine. No list, no fancy tools, no problem. We start from wherever you actually are, and I'll point you to the simplest way to set up whatever you're missing.
"...$97 is a stretch right now?"
Real. It's one focused hour plus a full written roadmap you keep forever, built specifically for your book (not a $12 template that could belong to anyone). But if it's not the right time, it's not the right time, no hard feelings.
"...this isn't the support I actually need?"
Fair question! The Story So Far is for figuring out your strategy. If you need something else, I've got you:
Already know your strategy and just need to know what to post? The monthly content plan might be your speed.
Want someone to just take content off your plate entirely? That's my done-for-you package.
Mid-launch or staring one down? Email me and we'll talk about what a launch push looks like.
Email me at hello@sydneyobrien.com and I'll tell you honestly... including if the answer is 'none of these yet.'"
Your book deserves better than a maybe-someday marketing plan.
You wrote the whole thing. You built a world, wrecked some people over fictional men, made something readers would lose their minds over... if they could just find it.
So let's make sure they do.
One hour, one clear plan, one less thing keeping your book the internet's best kept secret.