Monday, October 5, 2015

Decisions Decisions

I'm rethinking my publishing schedule. 

Main reason?  Sales of Wish in One Hand have not been spectacular.  Sales of Dying Embers and Accidental Death, on the other hand, have been way better.  So it would make sense to give the readers what they want and publish more along those lines.  Right?

I had expected to publish the sequel to WIOH this coming February or March with the third book coming out next August or September.  Now, I don't know.  This genie thing hasn't found its niche market.  A few people here and there love it.  (Thanks!)  But it's not really catching fire anywhere. 

Mulling it all around in my head.

I just finished the second book in the SCIU series - Fertile Ground.  And I'm really excited about that, which may be skewing my choices a little.  I have the sequel to Accidental Death started and on the back burner.  But I already have two more genie books in the bag.  Less work for me to get those ready for publication.  (Well, except for the cover art part.  That's a long story that I'd rather not tell online.)

:shrug:  I dunno.

BloodFlow should still be out next month.  My editor is calling it a political thriller.  Which is good because medical-technical-political suspense is too wordy.  She says it's my best book yet.  We'll see what the public thinks toward the end of this year.  Still, it's another book in the thriller/mystery/suspense vein.  Maybe I should set the paranormal thing aside while I focus on that sort of stuff. 

Decisions decisions. 

So, if I do adjust the production schedule, it'll look like this:

November 2015 - BloodFlow
February/March 2016 - Fertile Ground (SCIU #2)
May/June 2016 - Natural Causes (Dennis Haggarty #2)
August/September 2016 - In Deep Wish (Djinn #2)
November/December 2016 - Something totally different (maybe resurrect Fear Itself or Nature of Destruction - my first and second books - OR do a dystopian)

Anyway, that's one of the awesome things about self-publishing.  I have the freedom to do whatever I want and the market will tell me if I did the right thing or bombed horribly. 

What do you think I should do?  Suggestions are welcome, but don't be bummed if, after mulling over everything, I go my own way.  K?

5 comments:

  1. Tough question. I enjoyed all 3 books immensely and I'm really looking forward to the "political thriller", but my favourite to date is Dying Embers. I'm not sure if it's due to "1st book" syndrome or the genre but I loved it. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series and reacquainting myself with the characters and the world.

    My opinion is that I like the variety, the change of pace from the serial killer to the fantasy. I like the fact that I pick up your book having no pre-conceived notions so when I dive into the story the twists & turns are a shock & surprise. This was especially true with WIOH - I had no idea what to expect and when the "bad guy" was revealed I was gobsmacked.

    In essence I really admire you (and all others out there) for continuing to write even though traditional publishers weren't interested and even more so for having the balls to do it yourself. Laying yourself and your work out in the open takes courage, especially in this day & age of social media. I say take that courage, flip the bird to the world and do what feels good to you.

    And I'll carry on reading if you carry on publishing - deal?

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    1. I hope I don't disappoint you with Fertile Ground, Fran. It's in the SCIU world, but it's not the same characters. This one stars Teri Buchanan and is set in the Detroit area.

      I'm so glad you like the variety! I love writing all sort of different things and the fact that you like reading different things is awesome. I'm so glad Wish surprised you and that you've enjoyed all my books so far.

      You're awesome, Fran. Thanks! :hugs: And it's a deal. I'll carry on. =o)

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  2. Hmmmm.... personally I'd say give the readers what they want (but maybe I'm too mercenary). On the other hand, the beauty of self-publishing is that you can do what YOU want....

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  3. My publishing/writing schedule is so borked, I have no real advice. Finding the niche is hard sometimes. And sometimes you need to strike while the iron is hot. Bottom line? Go with your gut. You publish it, I'll read it.

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  4. I've read that fantasy novels sell best as part of a series, so WIOH may not take off until all three are out there. That's the strategy I plan to try. I just can't decide whether to release the first three all at once, or monthly.

    But if Suspense is hot, I'd stick with it until you have a hole in your schedule.

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