I've HIT A SNAG in my plotting for a MARCH RELEASE date of INDEBTED. The release has the potential to spill into the first few days of April, making me an April fool. I'll know more in the next couple of days. I promise to update you as soon as I know for sure. I'm trying to: "RUN, WHIRLWIND, RUN" so I'm NOT like one of the girls they're sing about in this AMAZING song: GIRLS LIKE YOU by THE NAKED AND FAMOUS · Okay, here are the details regarding Indebted. First, the good news: I received the corrected PDF (interior format) proof of Indebted today. I checked all the corrections and it looks BRILLIANT! I approved it an hour after receiving it. The next step that follows is usually for my publisher to print it and send me a physical proof in the mail—the first copy of the book. (This is where the bad news comes into play.) Normally, I have the cover already squared away, however, it's not ready yet.
· I was supposed to get the cover proof yesterday. (My team leader—yes, that's what she's called, which always makes me smile because I think of Star Wars and I want to say, "Copy that, Gold leader," after everything she says—told me last Monday that I would have it in 5 business days, which is standard.) When it hadn't come by 5:00 p.m. today, I called CreateSpace. Their representative said that they're "slammed" in the art department and it could be as late as the 22nd that I receive my new cover proof. (And she hinted that it may even be later than that, so I had to thank her quickly and get off the phone so she wouldn't hear me beating my head against the wall.) This is very bad for me. I'm desperately trying to have this release by at least the 31st of March. Everything is up in the air until I get the cover, so I plan to give you updates as I get them. · In the spirit of managing expectations, I feel I should mention again another point for those of you new to this sandbox: when I say release, I mean the paperback version of my book. The eBook version usually follows 2-3 weeks after the paperback goes live on Amazon.com. (I know, Grrrr, right?) I feel the same way! I want them to go live at the same time, but that is not how they build sandcastles around here. I don't make the rules; I just try to avoid the cat poop. (And right now there's a big, steaming pile of it headed my way if I don't pull this off by the end of March.)
14 Comments
Charity
3/20/2012 20:37:52
Cat poop shmat poop. I'd wait a whole more month.. nay two months if I had to. Maybe even three months without wanting a single piece of cat poop to be thrown your way. :)
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Heather
3/21/2012 00:24:31
UGH!...I cant even imagine the agony you must be feeling! Just hang in there, and know that there is a reason for this devine timing. I know its frustrating, you dont have to understand it or even like it...but there is a reason for you to release just a little later than you had hoped. Just breathe, and focus on enjoying the fact that you have created another masterpiece, and now you are just waiting on the framing to place it on the wall next to your other treasures - which is out of your control. Just breathe and enjoy, and we'll be elated to help you celebrate when they finally get it all together for you! You are awesome and worth every moment we have to wait for! ! !
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Riala
3/21/2012 10:04:29
Hang in there and don't get discouraged!! Everything will turn out just right in the end. Keep up the good work! I am super excited for it to come out!! But I am also a little sad that I will have to wait a few extra weeks for it ti dime out for the ereaders. :( But I know that it will totally be worth it!! You are such an amazing writer, so just keep on truckin!
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bree porter
3/21/2012 14:27:42
I might nOt be able to wait 2 weks to read it on my kindle. I've been on theedge of my seat waiting for this thing. I always check your blog to see if youve thrown me a bone about what's going on. But, its all worth the wait. I have a feeling this ones the best one yet. I can hardly wait to get my hands on it.
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Paula
3/21/2012 17:55:38
You know what....I'm fine with waiting. It builds the anticipation that much more. And maybe this time the final cover they're working on getting to you will turn out better than anyone has hoped, and it'll just be the magical final piece to this master piece. The struggles you've been going through will all make the final product worth it when you have it in your hands. I'd rather put my all into something and have obstacles to over come, than have something without putting any sort of effort into it at all. When you look back at this book and it's process when all is said and done, you'll be able to say "I did it. I fought for this. Through all the struggles and hardships, I ACCOMPLISHED something. I have something to show for myself." After all, not many people can say that. It makes everything that much more special, and gives this series that much more heart.
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cookiegirl
3/22/2012 08:36:36
Anyone that truly is psyched about the book would never think of you and cat poop in the same sentence. I am so excited that I keep checking your blog just to see if anything new is happening. It is excitement that keeps me on edge, and not anger at a delayed release. I am used to waiting for years for a next book.... The last inheritance book took over two years to come out, and I had it pre-ordered for six months, I think your fans can handle a week or two late when compared to the rates other authors put their books out. Keep writing! You are great at it!
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Kate
3/22/2012 10:01:03
I could wait longer for the book release if it were an okay book but your books really grab my attention and I really wanna know what happens next which is making me quite impatient. I am also one of your daily blog checkers to see what news you have for us or what other workings you might be coming up with in the future.
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Andrea
3/22/2012 13:58:21
Just a question... Why do your books get published in paperback first? Is it better for sales?
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Amy A. Bartol
3/24/2012 03:55:07
Hi, Andrea! Thank you for reading my books. I'll try to answer your question. CreateSpace is a division of Amazon that publishes "print" books for independent authors. They offer services such as interior formatting, covers, and editing. When I published Inescapable, they just started offering the Kindle conversion services to their customers (Kindle is another division of Amazon—so CreateSpace and Kindle are essentially branches of Amazon). CreateSpace will now convert the PDF to a Kindle format (it's called mobi) and upload it to Kindle Direct Publishing, which builds the page on Amazon.com for me. CreateSpace is the print book division. They make books but they saw a niche they could fill for their customers. I would have to convert my own PDF to a mobi format and then upload it to Kindle Direct myself without this service. I could do it, but it wouldn't look as professional as if I paid for it to be done. The unfortunate part is that CreateSpace only does it after the book is done. I think it is in CreateSpace's best interest that you buy a print book rather than an eBook. CreateSpace gets the profit for the print book because they print it on-demand every time it's purchased vs. Kindle Direct Publishing getting the profit for the eBook sale. (But, Amazon owns them both—so in the end, it's all Amazon.) I make a small amount more on print books vs. eBooks (but it's pennies more). I sell more eBooks because it's my niche market, so I would take eBook volume over making a few extra pennies on a print book any day of the week. It's in my best interest to get the eBook out as soon as possible. I hope that answers your question. :D
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Andrea Wilmot
3/27/2012 11:02:21
Thanks for explaining! All of that makes sense and is probably the route I would take for publishing also. Now just the ticking away of the clock as I wait for Indebted. :)
Diana
3/23/2012 08:38:59
I loved the first book so I just knew I'd love the second one but you did the Stephanie Meyer thing ie I was interested in Bella and she gave me Jacob. I'm interested in Evie and you give me Russell. Why? It disrupts the flow and Evie was a strong character without any help from Russell. I hope the third book doesn't do that - I'm mid way through the second book. Thanks for letting me vent.
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Amy A. Bartol
3/23/2012 16:01:19
Hi, Diana! I'm going to attempt to answer your question regarding why I wrote from Russell's first person POV (point of view). I chose to write this series in the first person POV. That means that the reader gets the story from Evie's perspective. One knows only what Evie knows or sees as she tells her own story. If I had written it in the third person omniscient, then I could tell readers what was going on in the minds of every character and what was happening everywhere whenever I wanted to because it's an all-knowing perspective. I didn't write in the third person because, although it is interesting, I feel like the reader doesn't get to live in the character's shoes and breathe her air like one does while reading a story in the first person (and that is wholly my opinion, others may not feel that way.) One of the challenges of the first person perspective is that Evie needs to be present to know what is happening. She has to see it, hear about it, or talk about it in order for the reader to know about it. Sometimes, Evie can't always be around. Things will happen that I want you as the reader to know about but Evie not to know about it because it only works for the plot if she doesn't know about it. What I mean is Evie can't always be present for the story I want to tell to work. As a solution to that, I wrote from Russell's POV. That was one reason. Another reason was I wanted to give you an idea of what I meant by soul mates and I thought Russell would be the best to explain it since he has unlocked the mystery to it. I could've had him explain it to Evie in dialog, but I felt that living it through his POV would be more powerful. The same goes for his evolution into angel. When he begins to evolve angelic traits, I thought it would be more interesting hearing it from his perspective then from Evie's perspective watching him. And then there was the Debbie Downer reason. Evie is really sad for a while there. Not only do I write in the first person, but I also write in the present tense. That means the reader lives it with Evie—moment by moment. I want the reader to know that Evie is sad, but not to have to "live" it for so long. Russell's POV seemed a good alternative to that. :D
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Diana
3/25/2012 06:47:24
As a middle aged grandma I've read a lot of books so I tend to nit pick now and again, also I'm a Christian who has never read anything about angels before except in the Bible. At first I have to say I was concerned but the characters are not lewd nor have you used sex gratuitously. I'm sort of drowning in vampire books and this is a nice break from Charlaine Harris and the plethora of other vampire authors out there. Both books were filled with new ideas and nice plot twists, I was pleasantly surprised. As a Kindle reader I will have to wait for a month or so until amazon.com offers your book but I am excited to see where Evie's adventures will take her. I will recommend your books to my friends who also like fantasy romance.
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Margaret
3/27/2012 17:03:05
UGH!!!!!! I waited so long and now i have to wait another week. This is just way to sad T_T
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