What happens when you combine your lifelong passion for reading with your entrepreneurial spirit, and decide to write a book merely to tick off one item from your bucket list?

Speaking virtually at the 39^thedition of the Sharjah International Book Fair, popular sci fi urban fantasy author Michael Anderle revealed his unique self-publishing “methodology” that has governed his prolific pace of writing, and which saw him launch his runaway hit Kurtherian Gambit series on November 2, 2015 with Death Becomes Her. He then wrote and released his second book on November 11, and the third of the 21-part series, on November 23.

“Within a span of 90 days, I had followed my debut with five sequels,” said the independent author, who describes his books as a combination of paranormal, urban fantasy, earth sci-fi, and space opera. “I had decided early on that I needed a minimum of three books to begin advertising but more importantly, I realised that those readers willing to give brand new authors a chance would not settle for just one or two books – they are always trolling for new content.”

His IT experience of writing well over a quarter of a million lines of code, helped with his fast pace, he added. “Coding is all about logic; you have to know what comes first and what follows next, and I applied the same principle to my writing.”

Self-publishing digitally on Amazon, the bestselling author explained how he “pulled out a draft I had written the previous year, revisited all the books I liked, looked at what caused me to lean towards certain characters, what caused the dopamine rush for me, and incorporated all those elements into my debut novel.”

He added: “One of the reasons I am a success is because I stayed the course; and I was willing to ride the train to its logical conclusion by giving fans what they wanted.”

Anderle also attributes his success to his strategic promotional efforts through social media. “I decided to go straight to the end user, and began networking with fans, sharing little vignette stories of the challenges and frustration I was experiencing as I was writing the books.”

It was his desire to share his knowledge and success with other aspiring authors that led to the launch of LMBPN, his publishing company. “I had always wanted to set up a company since I was a teen, and over the years I had made several attempts. When I started to see some success with my books, I knew what success looked like because it was the opposite of what I had experienced my whole life.”

As fans clamoured for more content in a wider expanse of sci fi genres, Anderle began to collaborate with other indie authors, creating new titles across multiple sci-fi, fantasy universes. “Today, LMBPN has published more than 1,000 titles in collaboration with 40 to 50 authors,” says the award-winning author who has sold well over four million books worldwide, either in his name or with co-authors.

Anderle, who followed his heart to create a unique winning formula for himself and other passionate writers, advised: “Allow yourself opportunities to make mistakes, and to make the wrong decisions, but constantly move forward.”

Organised by Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), SIBF 2020 concludes on November 14. Being held under the theme, ‘The World Reads from Sharjah’, the 39th edition has adopted a fully digital format to host its cultural programme of 64 unique events, which are being streamed on SBA’s virtual platform over the 11 days of the fair. Register for upcoming discussions at sharjahreads.com.