Greetings Kittens,
Remember me? It’s been a long
time, even longer in publishing terms. It used to be that an author who could
crank out a book a year, was considered prolific. With the advent of digital
publishing and the flourishing of novellas,
a book a year just doesn’t cut if you’re not a big name on the national
bestseller list. And let’s be honest, even most of them have come up to the two
book minimum.
Why a two book minimum? In
publishing, and business in general, this is referred to as staying “front of
mind” with your audience. When a reader thinks of getting a new book, whose
name comes to mind first? Who have they just heard about recently? Who lingers
at the front of their mind? In many circles, a book every six months, be they
stand alone or alternating series, is considered basic to accomplishing continued
name recognition.
2012 was a rough year for me
medically and emotionally. I all but disappeared as an online presence and I didn’t
write a single new word of original fiction for the entire year. Things drew to
such a halt, that a book I’ve been trying to get published for years finally
had its shot, and I was too ill to move it forward, leaving the contract on
indefinite hold. That left me with just one published story for the year...that
quite fortunately turned into two publication dates and kept me from
disappearing altogether.
LOVE NOTES, a four author
Valentine’s Day anthology by Musa Publishing, came out on January 27, 2012 . It reviewed well, but didn’t sell to expectation. As
a result, my contribution ITS SWEETEST FORM , came out as an individual ebook on September 11th,
2012 . That’s a little longer
than the ideal new publication every six months, but it was enough.
Due to the embassy attacks, I
didn’t do promotion the day of release. Almost immediately afterward, I fell
sick again, everything changed at the day job, and all sorts of life rained
down upon me. I didn’t get back online the way I’d hoped, and for the second
time, the story was left to stand on its own. A second time made all the
difference.
Although I couldn’t do the
guest blog and promotional rounds, the book’s existence served the vital
purpose of keeping me “front of mind”. Readers who enjoyed my previous work,
but perhaps who don’t buy anthologies, or who didn’t notice me lost in the
bigger names, saw the stand alone and made room for me. Fans of A WAY TO ADRAGON’S HEART, who made it a multi-category bestseller at All Romance Ebooks,
did the same for ITS SWEETEST FORM , just
when I’m well enough to get back in the game.
Thank you.
I’m still rebuilding my
strength, but both stories will get their sequels written this year. And my
limbo baby, will finish edits and find publication, likely around Halloween to
be most realistic. That’s three projects in line for completion, plus this, my
first blog post of 2013. I’m slowly coming back.
Staying realistic, my own
blog will have the dust blown off and at least one regular post a week by the
end of February, and guest posts as soon as my writing friends wish to start.
Bit by bit, everything will build back into place, until it looks something
like it used to, only adapted to my new circumstances.
Publishing, like life, is all
about adaptation and getting back up after you’ve been knocked down. It’s about
putting in the work, managing the time, and staying front of mind. For my
fellow writers, be sure to stay front of mind through everything you do, in
this, our chosen passions. For my fellow readers, which is all of you, be sure
to keep yourselves front of mind in your own lives, and don’t let the rest
overshadow. If you have to pause, then pause, you can always push play later.
You can always come back. We’ll be here.
Ramble Done, Kittens!
~Xakara
