Deciding to self publish, go Indie, whatever you want to call it these days was a business decision for me. And along with running a business, I have to make tough decisions when it comes to my production schedule and what I choose to write.
For a long time I focused on middle grade. The first few manuscripts I wrote were middle grade. One was published briefly last year with a small press before they closed. I’m not ready to self publish it. Maybe someday…
There are certain types of middle grade books that are just as much meant for adults as they are for kids. One such book I recently read was a beautifully written survival story. It was Ice Dogs by Terry Lynn Johnson. Maybe you’ve heard of it. Adults and kids will both love this one.
When I read middle grade I love, I end up shaking my fists at the sky and shouting (on the inside) “I will write middle grade again!” But for now, I am writing other kinds of stories that I love just as much. Business decisions.
Another great business decision is furthering our knowledge through workshops, reading, writing…etc. Here are two for you that are FREE!
Indie Recon with lots of great speakers and chats including the Indelibles’ Susan Kaye Quinn, Rashelle Workman, Chelsea Fine, and Chelsea C. Cameron. It runs this week the 25th-27th! Check it out.
And the second is a free YA science fiction thriller: Mindspeak by Heather Sunseri. Download it before the deal goes away!
I’m thinking that regardless of publishing route there are tough decisions to be made. If you want to share yours in the comments, I’d love to hear!
It’s funny how many business decisions have to go into a process that is theoretically creative. I feel like I’m always making business decisions when I’m considering which projects to work on, etc. I guess it’s a skill you have to develop as an author.
Loved Terry’s book. And yes, we do make business decisions no matter which way we try to get published. Like I have a MG fantasy I worked on for 10 years that I could query, but I might wait and start with the YA fantasy I’m working on now because it could be more unique and I think it’s much easier to debut as a YA author. If I ever get that far.
Terry rocks!
I’m happy with my small publisher choice. It’s the best of both worlds for me.
Funny you should bring up this topic. I started thinking and planning what I was going to write this year. I have a few things left in my Regency series that I want to finish, and then another series to start in 2015, but I miss my contemporary stuff that I write under another name. I want to do that too.
But you know how it is. There’s only so many hours in the day to write. And it does take awhile to get a ms. down. So yeah, business decisions kind of suck because I can’t do what I want to do without disappointing what fan base I do have. It’s kind of all about them at this point.