Updates

It’s been awhile since I’ve written a post, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing and reading and writing some more. Here’s what’s going on:

1) I’m waiting to hear back from two e-publishers regarding Deadly Valentine. I submitted one in April, but have to wait until August to follow up. That seems like forever to me and it’s been incredibly hard to be patient.

2) I’ve been studying indie publishing. I’ve decided that if the e-publishers don’t take Deadly Valentine, I’ll publish it myself. The big task at hand aside from manuscript prep and buying ISBNs, is marketing. Marketing is crucial even in traditional publishing, but at least with a traditional publisher you have a head start with distribution. Most publishers have a following of their own, giving a new release greater exposure. With indie publishing, you don’t have that until you build it.

3) Finally, I’ve been working on a novella to giveaway in an effort to generate knowledge of and interest in my writing. This has been harder than I anticipated. First, I’ve rewritten an old fan fiction and I discovered that changing the names alone doesn’t work. In fact, once the names were changed, the work sucked. I determined that it was because in fan fic you don’t have to delve into the characters since everyone knows them. But once it’s an original story, it needs more character development.

Second, I’m not sure it’s the right story to create interest in the Valentine mysteries. I considered writing the pre-story, but that ruins some of the intrigue in Deadly Valentine (Book 1). I could write a novella — a story between the stories — but that too is something I feel should come after the first book is published. So I chose a story about a couple similar to Jack and Tess, who get into trouble, like Jack and Tess, and who also enjoy doing things that couples in love do, like Jack and Tess. But it’s not Jack and Tess and I worry people would want the couple from the novella.

That brings my to my third issue, which is now that I have this story, I feel compelled to write more of them. But that would takes away from my effort to get the Valentine mysteries published. I know that I can write more than one series or book (I have first pages to several other books), but my goal with the novella was to create interest in the Valentine stories and build my platform, not for them to take on a life of their own.

4) In the midst of all this, I have done lots of reading. I read the first two books of Nora Roberts Inn Boonsboro. I don’t usually read her romance trilogies, but I’m interested in staying at the Inn Boonsboro (the Nick and Nora room), so I read them. I enjoyed them, but I think I’ll probably like the last book best because Ryder is so difficult.

Along with fiction, I’ve been reading A LOT of ebooks on self-publishing. From these books, I know I’m on the right track, but it all takes time and I’m getting impatient.