Monday, April 7, 2014

Becoming Lady Amherst---The Best of Both Worlds

Based on the title, this post could be about mixing an American with a British Lord, but it's actually about publishing.

Really.

Read on.

I have self-published books and worked with a couple different publishers. When it came time to decide what to do with Becoming Lady Amherst, I thought about what I wanted and how to get it.

Most writers look to a publisher for quality editing, a wonderful cover, and marketing assistance. In exchange, the publisher keeps half the royalties...and usually the author waits several months to get their share.

With self-publishing, the author is on their own for those items. But, they also get to keep all the royalties and have control over major decisions like publication date, title or price. Also, payment from Amazon is made 60 days after the month in which the books are sold vs. waiting until the end of the next quarter for payment from a publisher.

I asked myself
...what if there was a way to have The Best of Both Worlds?

I think I have been able to do that with Becoming Lady Amherst.

First, I wanted quality editing for both the story content (Does the plot work? Are the characters likeable? and the mechanics (spelling, grammar etc). I wanted more than just someone to fix the commas.

When I heard that Kate Richards (author of some of my favorite spanking books, Spanking Ms. Whitman and Switch) had a publishing company called Wizards In Publishing, I was intrigued. Kate's books are always impeccable...nary a stray period or omitted word, so I contacted her and we made a plan.

I was thrilled with the assistance of Laura Garland, the editor assigned to my book. I'm not sure how many times the manuscript passed back and forth between us, but I know that each "assignment" (try to cut down the number of times "I" is used, for example) taught me a ton and improved the book on many levels.

Then there was the matter of a cover...

Ah...my friend Anthony Walsh of The Cover Artisan came through for me again...though I'll admit I was sort of picky and it took a few tries back and forth between us. But, because I was paying, I felt like I could say "not quite, try again" and not feel like a prima donna (whether I was or not, you'll have to ask Anthony).

But...what about the marketing that a publisher can provide?

True. That is a consideration, but again, I think I've found a good solution. I'm now a Blushing Books Publishing Partner. Yes, little ol' me is a "publishing partner". That means Becoming Lady Amherst is available for purshase on Blushing Books (and is currently on their top 50 list!)  As all of us in the spanking fiction business know, Blushing Books is a powerhouse in the spanking fiction industry, so partnering with them brought my book to the attention of many potential readers.

Yes, I did have some out of pocket expenses. Quality work from professionals isn't free, but I wanted an outstanding product and was willing to pay for it. I also felt fairly confident, based on previous book sales, that I would be able to make my initial investment back quickly.

Is this the right path for every author? That's for each person to decide.

Does this mean I'll never work with a publisher again...actually no...since I am in the process of writing a book for a project (more on that later) with Blushing Books. But, I am someone who likes having lots of options and evaluating each project to see what will work best.

For me and for this book, I feel like it was an excellent way to go.

16 comments:

  1. It's not quite clear to me. Did Wizards in Publishing publish your book? Or just edit it? What all did Wizards do for you? Inquiring minds want to know.

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    1. Good question. Despite their name, Wizards in Publishing did not publish my book, though that might be a service they offer. I got editing and formatting from them and then submitted the book myself to Amazon, B&N and Blushing.

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  2. Interesting to read about the proces of publishing this book Celeste. Congrats on the top 50 list!

    Hugs
    Roz

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  3. I think if you're brand new, self publishing would make it very difficult to get noticed. Although on that note, being with the wrong publisher won't help you either - I'm doing a test on that in the coming months! Once you're established or at least your name is out there as a spanking author (for us) self publishing I think can work well - especially if you've done what you've done with becoming a publishing partner with BB for spanking fiction. Congrats on the Top 50 and continued success with the book.

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    1. Thanks Natasha! I'll be curious to find out the results of your "test".

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  4. Well done Celeste. Your point about quality editing is important too and the end result well worth the investment. I've spoken to a couple of people who have self published and have been blissfully unaware of all the spelling and grammar errors in their book. One of them told me the average reader doesn't care - but I wonder how true that is? Many congratulations - well deserved.

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    1. Thanks Lucy! I've seen spelling and grammar errors in books from publishers and self-published authors. I do think that getting more eyes on your book makes a big difference, or even the few days between when I sent my book to the editor and got it back gave me a fresh perspective. When I self-pubbed other books, I was in such a hurry to get them out, I probably rushed the editing.

      I'd like to think the average reader does care about those things, but I've not seen any evidence that it affects sales, which is probably the only thing that will really inspire some writers and publishers to put in some extra effort in that area.

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  5. Great article, Celeste. If I ever decide to go the self-publishing route, I'll definitely consider Wizards in Publishing and The Cover Artisan. Also, I think by becoming a Publishing Partner with Blushing, you have entered into the best of both worlds for our market.

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    1. Thanks Kathryn! I think this plan (knock on wood) was a good one for this book. If you decide to come on over to the dark side and self-pub, let me know if I can help. :)

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  6. Awesome article, Thank you for mentioning me :) You were not a prima donna at all! I would have redone the cover 100 times just to be sure you get what you want. It is always a pleasure to do your covers (some of my favorites) and I really loved the book! Congrats on making the list and here is to many more! Thanks Celeste!

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  7. Thank you, Anthony! You're my favorite musician/cover artist. :)

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  8. Thanks for your kind words, Celeste! And I completely agree with you. I also have indie titles and work with publishers. I like both sides as do so many authors now. And if you can find an artist like The Cover Artisan who can make you such a beautiful cover...you are even more likely to succeed!

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  9. You make it very tempting. Especially so, since I know the quality of your work. I hope you get what you want out of this experiment. It sure sounds like it's well thought out!

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  10. Very interesting post thanks for sharing.

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  11. Good for you. Glad you got what you were looking for and congrats on the success of your book!

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