I've been pondering how to write this. There's really no good way. But I think I owe it to readers. So here it is:
As readers, and often as writers, we forget that publishing is a business. I don't read to be immersed in business affairs and it's sure not the reason I write. I have another daytime career, as most of you know. Reading and writing for me are forms of escape: Inventing and entering other worlds, so that the weight of the real world never becomes too crushing. It's my let-off-steam valve.
Which is why I've never, to date, delved into the increasingly popular world of self-publishing. I've never wanted all those headaches, frankly. I have enough trouble keeping my regular day-to-day life organized, without taking on other responsibilities and obligations. I never was and likely never will be created in the bean-counting mode. And, lucky me, I've been blessed, as an author, to have landed with great (for me) publishers (for the most part), who take care of all that sort of thing and leave me free to indulge in those aspects of the business I actually like.
But publishing is a business. I got a jarring reminder of that this week.
As most of you know, HER CAPTAIN was just released by Fated Desires Publishing on December 15. For weeks and months, I've been promoting the book, one of the best I've written in my opinion, so I wanted it to do well. I did guest blogs, I hired a blog tour company, I appeared all over social media until most of social media was sick of hearing from me, I ordered swag, including some coffee mugs and a stack of postcards to sign at the upcoming Wild Wicked Weekend con in San Antonio in February.
Then, less than two weeks after HER CAPTAIN was released, I received word from Fated Desires that all FD books are coming off the shelves by the end of next month. FD is folding up its tent and riding off into the long goodnight. I wish the owners, Carrie Ann Ryan and Lia Davis, the very best. Sorry they couldn't make a go of it, for whatever reasons.
I have two books there. IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT and HER CAPTAIN.
This is an especially tough situation for HER CAPTAIN, since it just came out.
Both books will eventually find new homes. I know this already, but can't divulge anything yet. And besides, there are no details yet to divulge. When I can address that, believe me, I will.
The transition won't be seamless for me. I expect many, if not most of the other FD authors will self-publish right away, same cover and brand and all. Many of those authors have dipped their toes into the self-pub waters already. But I haven't and I won't. So for IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT and HER CAPTAIN there will be new editing. New covers. And a chunk of time when they'll be off the shelves.
That's all well and good for IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT, which released earlier in 2015, but it's going to be a little bit more messy for HER CAPTAIN, since I still have some promo obligations coming up...such as a January/February ad in BTSeMagazine. That's right, I'll be running an ad and talking about a book, that may very well not be available any place at that time.
So I find myself in the weird position of saying...if you've put HER CAPTAIN on your wish list or your TBR list or your Want to Read list...GET IT NOW. Because in a few weeks, it will be no more.
(At least temporarily).
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