I have several points I want to touch on here. This is sort of an admin post so bear with me please. Though there is a gratuitous kitty picture at the end of the post.

So I finished NIGHT SHIVERS. It is now off to the editor I’ve hired. I have to say, I really had a blast writing in Cicely’s world again. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed her. If this novella sells well, I have ideas for other novellas and full books that can spin off of it. You see what I mean when you read it. Right now my creative process is running wild. It’s as though, once I made the decision to go hybrid, I opened the floodgates and a vast reservoir of ideas poured out.

I’m going to talk a little more about the fact that I am going hybrid. Some of you may not quite know the lingo, so I want to explain a little more.

In the publishing realm if you are published by a regular publisher, you are “traditionally published.” That includes small presses like my very first one—Llewellyn, all the way to the Big 5 (like Penguin, who has been my publisher since 2002). When you publish your work yourself, you are a self published author or—as it is called now, an indie author. When you go both routes, you’re a hybrid author.

I do love working with a big publisher—it offers benefits like distribution, backing, and most important—advances, and that’s how I pay my bills. But if books don’t sell well, you can lose contracts. Which is why Otherworld is ending with Berkley. Sales went way down on it, and they decided it wasn’t economically feasible to continue. That is their right—they ARE a business, and I don’t fault them on that. So I move on to other series with them, and frankly—it’s a relief playing in new worlds.

But…I want to finish Otherworld, so that’s where Diversion Books comes in. They are…a way to make it easier to transition over to the indie side. They create covers, do small print runs, offer distribution I don’t have lined up. But…no advances, so everything I put out on my own is a gamble. And with novellas, etc., like NIGHT SHIVERS—where I’m doing it all myself—total crapshoot.

This all gets very complicated and frankly it’s too early for me to sort through it, so I will just say that as a hybrid author:

My books from traditional publishers will be as usual—found in stores, and available in print as well as e-book.

My books from Diversion will be in e-format, and in print—but the print will cost more because it will be trade size instead of paperback and you’ll most likely have to order the print versions online, though we are going to do our best to maintain the relationship I’ve built up for signing print books through Seattle Mystery Bookstore.

The work I put out on my own—for now, it’s e-book only because, at least for the shorts and novellas, it’s not economically feasible for me to charge you what would be the price of a paperback for a novella. I know some people wish things would remain the same as they were, but they can’t. Everything shifts and changes, and if you don’t adapt, you get left behind with the dinosaurs. At least we’ve cracked the Nook formatting issue, so the short collections I have out now, as well as future novellas/books will be available in Nook as well as Kindle, iBooks, and Kobo.

Bear with me—more to come here.

As far as the blog goes I want you to be aware that I will be blogging heavily for the next few months. For those new to my blog, autumn and winter always seems to see a definite increase in my posting. Excerpts of NIGHT SHIVERS will began on September 7th. Excerpts of AUTUMN THORNS will begin on September 28th. I will be having a fun NIGHT SHIVERS release contest on my blog starting on September 16th. While we missed August’s I-LOVE-TO-READ contest, we’ll be starting up again in September.

Re: Unsubscribing. If you decide you don’t want to get my blog notifications any more, be aware you can unsubscribe through the blog website. There will be a place to manage your subscriptions. If you absolutely can’t find it, and decide to email us, asking us to do it for you, please Type “UNSUBSCRIBE” in the subject line of your email, and make sure your email is the one that you used to subscribe to the blog. Otherwise I guarantee we won’t notice it in the glut of email we get. Also, because of the amount of email we do get, it may be a day or two before we get to it.

And that’s it for this morning. Time to get my latte and get to work. So I leave you with a picture of our kitties — because kitties make everything better.

The galenorn cats

Share Button
Admin Post: Night Shivers, Talking Hybrid, and Blog Notes

11 thoughts on “Admin Post: Night Shivers, Talking Hybrid, and Blog Notes

  • 08/31/2015 at 4:25 am
    Permalink

    I love that your a hybrid author and as you know you can come to me and the ladies of Nerd Girl for help in anyway!! 🙂

    Reply
  • 08/26/2015 at 8:06 am
    Permalink

    I love that you are so progressive. I will always read your books, keep writing them please.

    Reply
  • 08/25/2015 at 4:36 pm
    Permalink

    I love that you are open to trying so many different ways to get your stories it — it definitely shows it is not just about the money. And I love, love, love your kitties… but not as much as mine! 🙂 (wish I could figure out a way to attach pic of the ginger boys)

    Reply
    • 08/28/2015 at 9:07 am
      Permalink

      Unfortunately, it has to be about money, or I couldn’t afford to spend the time writing that I do. That’s why I’m trying to expand my options. 🙂

      Reply
  • 08/25/2015 at 2:41 pm
    Permalink

    Love all of you series – and you are right, Kitties make everything better.

    Reply
  • 08/25/2015 at 12:48 pm
    Permalink

    Love all your books and will follow wherever you lead. Just let me know when and where please!!

    Reply
  • 08/25/2015 at 8:56 am
    Permalink

    I have loved your work the moment I picked up the first Otherworld book and am very excited to see new books/series as well as see the finish line for the OW books and the Indigo Series come out in the future. Thank you for explaining all this and I am very excited to read your upcoming releases.

    Reply
  • 08/25/2015 at 1:16 am
    Permalink

    I know how hard it is to go out on yourown, so I wish you all the luck. I like where your new stories are going as well as I can’t wait to see how Otherworld finishes. Thanks for not quitting and thinking about your readers as well in your decision to go out on your own. Lots of Luck in the future no matter where you end up.

    Reply
  • 08/24/2015 at 5:12 pm
    Permalink

    No matter how your books are published I will read. 🙂
    You have been a favorite of mine for a long time and a new book from you is like getting together with an old friend for tea.
    Your kitty family is adorable as usual.
    Blessings,
    Lorianna

    Reply
  • 08/24/2015 at 3:35 pm
    Permalink

    I love all of your work. I for one love the short stories and novellas. I especially like the ones that are back story or fill in. My very first eBook was Camille and Trillion’s back story. So thank you for all the hard work you put into your characters and worlds, in whatever format you choose, blessed be 🙂

    Reply
  • 08/24/2015 at 9:21 am
    Permalink

    Love all the stuff you put out and am patiently awaiting the new stuff. Wishing you a wonderful week.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.