Rethink Your Book Publishing

Since my first novel was published six years ago, there have been lots of changes in the book publishing industry. Back then I tried very hard to find an agent that could represent me and help me achieve my dream of fame and fortune. It has not materialized yet, but I have learned a lot about our industry, and the many facets that make up book publishing.

There is no “right way” to get published. Anybody can publish a book at the click of a mouse or the tap of a screen. Getting published is the easy part. Building your audience, and finding new readers, that is the challenge. And it is one that I am still learning about. I took time out to participate in a training course and it taught me a lot about self-publishing.

  

One thing I learned is that I would rather not self publish from scratch. I am very fortunate to have a good friend who is a professional photographer, and she designed the cover for my new novel, Eye of the Tiger (A Redcliffe Novel), which I am very happy with. I have agreed to return to my original publisher, Mirador, who will help with the book formatting, distribution, and all the technical knowledge that is required. That leaves me free to continue doing what I do best: writing the darn books!

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Planning and Writing my Books

My book writing schedule is at a funny stage right now. I am awaiting the public release of my third adult paranormal romance novel Love Redeems (A Redcliffe Novel). This is the third in a series that I affectionately call the Redcliffe novels, and it concludes the trilogy of how we met our heroine Jessica Stone and the insane supernatural love triangle that she fell into.

The story doesn’t end there, however. Love Redeems finishes on yet another cliffhanger. I won’t give it away, but suffice to say that the Redcliffe werewolf pack are in need of support and their alpha is broken hearted. I have to write book 4, not only because the series demands it, but because these characters are real people to me, and I hope they are real to a lot of other people who read my stories. So I am currently planning Redcliffe book 4 in my head, but have yet to begin writing it on the computer.

In the meantime I stepped away from Redcliffe to try something else. For NaNoWriMo 2012 I wrote a story about a vampire in Blackpool and what happened when she met a vampire hunter. I quite liked that story, and it is now awaiting editing ready for submission to publishers and/or agents. I then got the urge to begin writing another story about a vampire hunter who lives on a canal boat. That one came to me while I was out walking one day, ironically enough next to our local canal!

Well, this story is faltering. My heroine,  Dr Jennifer Worthington, has secrets to uncover but they are not coming out quite in the way I expected. I am writing this story in the third person, whereas the Redcliffe novels are in the first person and told by Jessica Stone. My muse has decided that this new vampire hunter story needs to include something about angels and demons. I have yet to write them properly into the story, and that is where I am faltering. Still, it is a challenge and I will not be defeated. No matter how long it takes, I will complete this story. But I might venture back into Redcliffe before then, because that is so much easier and more natural for me…