When I published Under the Aegis, I knew exactly what kind of story I wanted to tell. It wasn’t necessarily the most conventional story, nor was it written to follow whatever happened to be trending in fantasy publishing.

But sometimes I wonder: what if I’d gone down the traditional publishing route instead?

Would Under the Aegis still be recognizable today?

I suspect the answer is no.

Eva Would Probably Have Been Younger

Let’s start with what I believe would have been one of the first suggested changes: Eva’s age.

Eva is a woman in her thirties, and that was a deliberate decision. Yet so many fantasy novels, particularly those featuring romance, center on protagonists in their late teens or twenties.

I can easily imagine someone suggesting that I make Eva younger to appeal to a particular readership.

And that is one change I would have vehemently refused.

I wanted to write about an adult woman who had already experienced life, relationships, heartbreak, and trauma before her extraordinary journey began. Her age is part of who she is, and changing it would fundamentally alter how I see her character.

Not every fantasy heroine needs to be twenty-two.

The Greek Setting Might Have Been Different

Another change I suspect would have been suggested is the setting.

Under the Aegis is deeply rooted in Greece and Greek mythology. Those elements aren’t simply decorations placed around an otherwise interchangeable fantasy story. They’re part of its identity.

Would a publisher have suggested moving more of the action to the United States? Would they have wanted the Greek cultural elements explained differently, simplified, or made less prominent?

Perhaps.

I understand that publishers consider their target markets, but I wouldn’t have wanted to sacrifice the Greek identity of my story to make it feel more familiar to an American audience.

As a Greek-American author, that connection matters to me.

There Would Have Been More Romance, and Probably Much Sooner

This is another change I can easily imagine.

Romance is an important part of Eva’s journey, particularly as her relationship with Enlil develops. But Under the Aegis was never intended to be a romance-first fantasy novel. She did have a short-lived romance with a god from another mythos, but that was intentional to make Eva realize that sometimes, we still meet the occasional asshole before meeting our leading man.

I suspect a more commercially driven version would have brought the romance forward, emphasized romantic tension earlier, and made it a much larger selling point.

And then there’s Fate’s Thread.

In my version, Eva’s central story concludes in Book 2. She and Enlil reach the point I intended for them, and her journey is complete.

Of course, Eva continues appearing throughout the series. She becomes a supporting character, and she has an important moment during the apocalyptic war in Book 5. But those appearances don’t mean her personal story needed another three novels.

A publisher might have seen things differently.

Perhaps Eva and Enlil wouldn’t have gotten together in Book 2. Perhaps their relationship would have been stretched across a trilogy, with additional obstacles and delayed resolutions… Many tropes that have been used ample times. Tropes, that quite frankly, I am tired of seeing in books.

I can imagine being encouraged to extend their romantic storyline because readers had already invested in those characters.

But I didn’t want to prolong Eva’s story simply for the sake of keeping her in the spotlight. Eva deserved her happy ending in Book 2 and she got it, but not without tears, blood, and sweat.

The Series Might Have Followed One Protagonist

This would probably have been one of the biggest structural differences.

The Gods and Legends series isn’t designed around a single protagonist who remains the central character forever. Eva begins the journey, but other characters eventually take center stage.

That was intentional. When I wrote Eva’s story, I expected it to be a duology only. But then Lena appeared in my dreams… and later on Sera… and so on.

I wanted to explore a larger mythology, with interconnected stories and different perspectives, rather than have every major event revolve around Eva. Other people deserve to have their stories told too!

Would a publisher have preferred a more straightforward series built around one recognizable heroine?

Possibly. A consistent protagonist can make a series easier to position and market, particularly when readers have already formed an attachment to that character.

But keeping Eva as the central character throughout would have changed the entire direction of the series.

Her story had an ending. I wanted to respect it.

Some of the Darker Elements Might Have Been Softened

This is something I feel particularly strongly about.

Eva’s past includes physical and emotional abuse, as well as sexual assault by her former partner.

Those experiences are uncomfortable, and they’re meant to be. They’re part of her history and help explain aspects of her character. They’re also reflective of moments I lived through. Writing Eva’s story, and this overall series, was a type of therapy for me, and it needed to be done.

I can imagine an editor suggesting that certain elements be toned down, handled less explicitly, or removed to make the book more accessible to a broader audience.

Of course, traditional publishers release plenty of books dealing with difficult subjects, and a good editor might instead have helped refine how those experiences were portrayed.

But if I’d been asked to erase that history entirely, I wouldn’t have agreed.

I never wanted Eva’s past to be sanitized simply to make her story easier to sell.

The Pacing, Writing Style, and Blurb Might Have Changed

I also suspect there would have been discussions about the pacing and presentation of Under the Aegis.

Perhaps an editor would have wanted a different opening, more elaborate descriptions, additional worldbuilding, or a more literary writing style.

Maybe the story would have been reorganized to emphasize certain plot points earlier. Perhaps the book would have been positioned more firmly within a particular fantasy subgenre.

Even the blurb would likely have looked different.

I can imagine the marketing focusing heavily on Eva’s romance, her traumatic past, or whichever trope was most commercially appealing at the time.

Some of those changes might have been useful. I’m certainly not suggesting that editorial feedback is inherently bad. 

But I have a particular writing style, and I don’t aspire to write literary fantasy. I prefer telling stories in the way that feels natural to me. I also do not chase trends, or like using familiar tropes unless necessary.

Making the prose more elaborate simply for the sake of making it sound more literary wouldn’t necessarily make it a better version of Under the Aegis.

It would just make it different.

Would It Have Been More Successful?

That’s the question I can’t answer.

Perhaps a traditionally published version would have reached a larger audience. Perhaps it would have benefited from professional marketing, bookstore distribution, and the support of an established publishing team.

Or perhaps it wouldn’t have been acquired at all.

Traditional publishing doesn’t guarantee commercial success, just as self-publishing doesn’t automatically mean a book will go unnoticed.

And to be fair, not every traditional publisher would have requested the changes I’ve imagined here. Some editors might have embraced Eva’s age, the Greek setting, the darker themes, and the rotating protagonists.

But when I look at certain commercial trends in fantasy publishing, I can’t help wondering how much pressure there might have been to reshape the story into something more familiar.

Would I Change Anything Today?

Very little.

If I were starting over, I might explore whether Eva’s entire journey could fit into a single book. But realistically, combining Under the Aegis and Fate’s Thread without losing significant parts of her development would have been nearly impossible.

And I wouldn’t want to sacrifice those parts just to produce a standalone novel.

That’s ultimately what this hypothetical exercise comes down to.

A traditionally published Under the Aegis might have been younger, more romance-focused, less distinctly Greek, and structured around a longer journey for Eva.

It might even have been more commercially successful.

But would it still have been the story I wanted to tell?

Probably not.

I didn’t create The Gods and Legends to reproduce every familiar fantasy formula. I created it because I had a particular world, particular characters, and particular stories I wanted to share.

And even knowing what I know today, I wouldn’t trade that creative freedom for a version of Under the Aegis I no longer recognized.

Discover Eva’s Story

Curious about the story I chose to tell?

Begin Eva’s journey in Under the Aegis, Book 1 of The Gods & Legends Series, and follow her story to its conclusion in Fate’s Thread, Book 2.

Experience a Greek mythology-inspired epic fantasy filled with gods, demigods, dark secrets, romance, and the consequences of divine ambition.

Start with Under the Aegis and continue with Fate’s Thread — both available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.

It’s been a little over a year since I published Under the Aegis, the first book in my Gods and Legends series. Last week, Halcyon Days completed the original series.

When I first started publishing, I didn’t expect to become rich from my books. I knew better than that. But I did think that eventually I might reach a point where I was making something like $50 a month.

More than a year later, even that has proven much harder than I expected.

The most money I made was at the very beginning, primarily through friends and family supporting my first book. These days, there are months when I make nothing. Other months, I might make $3 because someone read one of my books through Kindle Unlimited.

That’s the reality of my self-publishing experience so far.

Marketing Books When Nobody Knows They Exist

I have a background in marketing, so I knew going into this that self-publishing would require me to market and advertise my own work. What I wasn’t prepared for was how difficult it would be to simply reach the audience I’m writing for.

I live in Greece, while my books are written in English and I’m primarily trying to reach readers in places like the United States, Canada and the UK.

I’ve found that reaching those readers organically is incredibly difficult. Most of the time, if I want my content in front of them, I have to pay for it.

TikTok has been my primary way of doing that. But even there, I’ve noticed a significant change over the past year. My posts don’t receive the same views they once did, and fewer people seem to make that jump from seeing a video to visiting my website or actually reading one of the books.

It can be frustrating knowing that the books exist, the website exists, the content exists—and still struggling to get them in front of people who might actually enjoy them.

I’m Still Finishing the Series

Despite all of that, I’m not abandoning Gods and Legends. The series has expanded into a universe called Chaosverse.

Book Six, Throne and Legion, is still coming. And after that will be Book Seven, Glory and Chain, which will complete the series.

Pre-order Throne and Legion here.

Pre-order Glory and Chain here.

Whatever happens commercially, I want to finish what I started.

And maybe that’s part of what this blog will be about.

I don’t want this to become another place where I pretend that being an author is only about exciting announcements, pretty AI-generated graphics (sorry, cannot afford an artist!), and perfect, literary books. I’d rather write about what is actually happening behind the scenes—the disappointments, the things I’m learning, the things that annoy me, the stories themselves, and whatever else happens along the way.

My life is changing outside of writing, too. I’m pregnant, and I’m entering an entirely new chapter of my life. I don’t know yet what motherhood will mean for me as a writer, or whether it will change what I want to do after Gods and Legends is finished. (Note: the series is finished! I am just pressing ‘publish’ at the moment as Books 6 + 7 are completely finished. Just waiting for their publication dates).

Maybe it will. Maybe it won’t.

For now, I’m still writing. I’m still publishing. And I suppose we’ll see where it goes from here.