Okay, I’m going to clarify this again because I keep getting blog questions and emails and Facebook questions and not all of them are very polite (in fact, a few we have deleted because I will not be the target of passive aggressive people).
The facts:
I LOVED writing Whisper Hollow. But…because not enough people bought the Whisper Hollow Series or the Fly By Night Series, Berkley cancelled them–meaning they had NO interest in putting out any more. And Berkley was no longer interested in Otherworld, either. They’re going a different direction in the genre of work they put out and they cut their line by hundreds of a books a year.
That’s what happens when people wait to buy books in a series, bluntly put. It is what it is and that is NOT a jab at readers. The facts are that–in trad publishing, if your book doesn’t sell enough in the first month or two, you’re kind of toast on that book and publishers are gun shy about giving out more contracts. Even sell through later doesn’t always revive it.
I cannot feasibly make those series work for me in indie without having control over the early books and Berkley has a hold on them for probably some years to come. Lily Bound is tied up with Diversion and I do not want to work with them again (I’m NOT going into why here), so again, they have the first book tied up for five years at least. So those three series are on hiatus.
The ONLY reason I’m finishing Otherworld is because I’m so far into it and I feel I need to bring it to a close. Not the smartest economic move for me considering I have no control over the earlier 18 books…but ya know…I’m giving it a pass. Gotta tie up the Sisters’ world for your benefit and for mine. 
It’s vital for me to establish new series in indie that I control ALL the books over so I can do promotions and maybe make boxed sets and put books on sale–I have NO control over the books that Berkley has the rights to until the day I can get them back. They still have the rights to the Indigo Court Series too, and until I can get my rights back in that, again, no control.
So there it is in a nutshell, peeps. That’s why the hiatus. Don’t hang your hopes on me getting my rights back soon–I’m trying with Indigo Court but as long as they sell just above a certain level (which makes me almost nothing), the publisher can hang on to them. It’s business.
Any arguing with me on this post will be deleted. Writing is my business, not a hobby, and I have to make certain it’s economically feasible for me to continue writing.
And for those wondering why I don’t just ‘find another publisher’…a-not that easy and b–honestly? After twenty years of doing things their way, I now want to do things MY way. I don’t want to work with another traditional publisher for a very small cut of the profits on my own work. And I want more control over my work.
Comments are closed because I am really kind of tired of going over and over this. I know it’s new info for a lot of you, but I’ve explained myself till I just can’t explain anymore.
