News: The Fifty-Fourth Issue

October 2024

Writing

“Once more into the breach” William Shakespeare.

Every month I seem to get into a discussion with someone about the differences between traditional publishing and self or indie publishing. Before this year, I had never tried the indie route. The series that I write are both traditionally published.

The Jamie Richmond stories are with Inkspell Publishing.  I have always been pleased with the feedback and support they provide. Working with Melissa Keir and her staff of editors and artists has been a positive experience. Melissa is open to brainstorming strategies about promotion, stories or ideas about books in general.

The Jefferson Chene novels are published by The Wild Rose Press. I’ve been fortunate to work with the same editor on all three books, which has led to great results.  My suggestions and ideas for the cover art are well received and corrections have easily been made.

This year I decided to try self-publishing an old novel that was just collecting dust on the shelf. Rules of Desperation needed some serious work. My skills at writing have dramatically improved over the years. That meant a thorough revision by me (twice!) before I sent it to Diana Kathryn Penn at Pages Promotions for editing.  Two more rounds of edits followed before we got it relatively clean and came up with a cover that appealed to both of us.

All this took time and money. Paying for an editor was something I never did before. The publishers take care of that. Now it was up to me. But let me be abundantly clear here. That was money well spent.

Recently I was at an event where several local authors, who are self-published, had their books on display. I glanced at a few.  The artwork was bland. One had chosen to write the entire book using italics. I learned later from another writer that the guy’s wife had done the editing for him and refused to acknowledge that it could have been better if an objective party, such as an editor, had reviewed and repaired the manuscript.

Indie authors may never know the thrill you receive as a writer when a traditional publisher accepts your work.  That’s confirmation that someone else recognizes your talent when it comes to creating a story. They also don’t realize the support and assistance you receive to prepare your book for publication.

There are benefits to both sides. For me, I will continue to submit work to traditional publishers, especially those in the Jamie or Chene series.  But I plan to utilize self-publishing as well, when it fits with my strategic plan.

Events

While I am no longer a road warrior, traversing the state each week, there are still a few events on the calendar.

On October 26 at 1:30 p.m. I will be at the Hazel Park Library with fellow author Donald Levin.  We’ll be reading a scene from our latest books and talking about our writing processes.  If time permits, we’ll also take questions from the audience.

After that session, both Don and I will have our books available for purchase and autographs.  That’s a great way to get a jump on the holiday shopping.  Books make excellent gifts. 

Work In Progress

I had the best intentions of turning all my efforts and free time to working on the crime novel featuring Leo Agonasti.  With almost 55,000 words written, progress was being made. My plan was to finish the manuscript, hand it off to a couple of beta readers and get it ready to submit to a certain publisher. 

That was the plan.

​But as Mel Brooks would say, “Man plans and God laughs”

Scenes and ideas for what will eventually become the fourth Jefferson Chene mystery continue to demand my attention. Chene, Simone, Pappy and the rest of the crew would have to be patient, remaining in the background until Leo’s book was done.

Also, part of the plan.

Then a concept reared its ugly head. Even if I knuckled down and finished the crime novel, there was absolutely no guarantee that the publisher I have in mind (if the book is accepted) would have it ready for publication in 2025. The same realization is true if I shifted my attention to the Chene novel.

But I’ve grown to like having a new book on my display table each year.  In 2021, it was Stealing Haven.  2022 brought The Wayward Path. 2023 Jamie returned with Chasing Favors. And this year, Rules of Desperation joined the party. I really wanted something new for my display next year.

Which meant a shifting of the gears and a change to the plan. If you listen closely, you can probably hear Mel Brooks laughing.

That lead me to a crime novella. The idea is to crank out about 25,000 words on a story.  Almost 7,000 words are already written. When the first draft is complete, I’ll tag my team of beta readers, clean it up and send it out for editing.  Then I will self-publish this in 2025.  My string of new material each year will continue.  Once that is done, I’ll be able to return my energies to Leo Agonasti and the crime novel. 

It’s just that easy.