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

Helen Scheuerer took a chance on herself (and advantage of the fact she didn't have a mortgage or dependents) to
self-publish her debut novel in 2017. She's never looked back. (Supplied: Helen Scheuerer)

By Jasmin Jeffery

About a decade ago, Helen Scheuerer had secured a book deal with a traditional publisher for a literary fiction manuscript.

It never saw the light of day — but she's relieved it didn't.

While Scheuerer was editing that untitled manuscript in 2016, she experimented with writing young adult (YA) fantasy romance to escape from the pressure.

That was when she realised she'd been "forcing [herself] into a box to write 'serious' literature".

She also realised she didn't want to traditionally publish her debut novel: the lack of control didn't appeal to her, and she ended the deal.

By August 2017, the then-27-year-old had self-published the YA story she'd started writing for a brain break.

Heart of Mist — the bestselling first instalment in what would become The Oremere Chronicles — did so well that she quit her day job about five months after it was released.

"[I was making] a lot more than I was earning at my day job, and it was more money than I thought was possible," the Australian-born, Aotearoa/New Zealand-based writer tells ABC Arts.

"And my thinking was that if I wasn't stuck at the day job writing about mesh fencing, imagine what I could do [instead]."

After breaking through with the The Oremere Chronicles, Scheuerer went on to publish a prequel of short stories. She released a second YA fantasy series in 2021, Curse of the Cyren Queen, before moving into dark adult fantasy romance (romantasy) featuring explicit sex scenes with her bestselling 2023 series, The Legends of Thezmarr, which she followed with a standalone prequel.

At no stage has she had to return to writing about mesh fencing to make ends meet.

How Scheuerer knew self-publishing was right for her

While Scheuerer has traditionally published the audiobooks of her stories, she's self-published all the physical and ebook versions.

Her latest adult romantasy novel, Iron and Embers, is the first book in The Ashes of Thezmarr series, a spin-off from the popular Legends of Thezmarr — and her first hybrid release.

That means Scheuerer is self-publishing it in the US and Canada, and traditionally publishing it in Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand, the UK and other Commonwealth territories.

First published at ABC News, January 29, 2025

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