All things work together for our good, so the verse goes…
My adventure into working with a publisher has run its course, in a fresh, open and honest development. I wanted to share about this here.
It's nothing about my books themselves. They loved them.
It's nothing about the publisher from my side. I wanted them to succeed from day one.
It's all to do with their market, their niche. The thrillers that the writers behind Conundrum Publishing write (in their own words) are Indiana Jones-style thrillers. Adventure fiction, therefore.
And that's what their readership is. That's what their audience wants! This is the type of reader they know how to find.
Herein lies the problem… If you have read any of my much-loved books, you'll know that I don't fit into that tight niche.
So we (myself and the publisher) have come to a mutual parting of ways. A fully respectful, heart wrenching decision but one they've released me into, knowing it's what is best for me. They've always looked to put me and my books first. It's what I really respect about them.
I am naturally gutted it didn't work out.
For starters, it puts me back to the dead-end I felt I had reached before they emerged as the potential solution. But I also understand it's not possible for them to continually advertise a book that they are making a loss on. It isn't just my books, either. Anything that's not in their tight niche is not selling. I'm sure it's been very hard for them.
And I know they were desperate to make it work for me, too.
They have gladly given me all the new material they created for me at their own expense. Covers, the revised edits, the lot. I will be able to use them myself from now on.
What this means right now, is that The Hunt series is offline until July 20th, when I will republish them all together, all nine books at the same time. New covers, the revised insides, and even paperback & hardcover versions of the books too, which haven't been available until now.
Having them all in line like that with Amazon will enable me in time to run simultaneous promotions on the entire series. I might even do one this summer to mark the new chapter (or a return to an old chapter?) in my career. Let's see.
I will let my mailing list know as soon as that promotion runs. There are books that I don't think have ever been discounted which will be reduced during that period. So it should be fun. It's a great series, one I would love you all to read.
One thing, as I said above, that hadn't happened for the series during my time with the publisher was having paperbacks available for all nine books. Now they will be, plus hardcover (for the fancy readers out there), and also large print versions.
I've also recently redone my short stories book, adding a brand new (rather fetching) cover, and adding a cheap paperback option as well, something which has never been available. If you want to check it out, have a look here.
What about social media?
The forward thinkers here might be asking me about this. I came off social media partly because I had a publisher (it wasn't the only reason). That said, it's possible I will make a limited return, if only to my author pages on Facebook and Instagram (and even then, maybe just from the computer and not my phone). There are a number of new books of mine edging closer to publication, and I might use all these ways of letting my readers know about them when the time comes. Or maybe just the mailing list? After all, that's where my best readers are, anyway.
So you might see me back there. However, this website and my mailing list are by far my preferred ways of communication. So do stick around…
That said, as the dust settles and I regroup and look at how things currently appear, I can't help but ask myself the question; have I already written my last book? That my answer isn't an automatic no makes me wonder…