Adventures in self-publishing chap 1: Why?

I never planned, nor ever wanted, to self-publish a book. In fact, I admit to being a snob and a bit smug about my status as a traditionally published author. Or I was. All that imploded when the publisher of my first two books (REWIND and UNLEASHED) told me over the summer that they were going to cancel my contract for the final book in the trilogy due to disappointing sales. I’ll spare you the details of my devastation and just say August wasn’t my best month in a year that already ranked pretty low.

After spending a while licking my wounds—and ignoring the whole thing by working on the first draft of a completely different novel—I decided it mattered to me that all three books were out in the world. My fan base may be limited, but I still don’t want to disappoint them, and I really, really want Alex’s story to be complete. Besides, the whole book was actually written, and I had a detailed editorial letter from my very apologetic editor. No new publisher was going to pick up the third book in a trilogy (especially one with unimpressive sales), which meant that the only option for me if I wanted the book to exist was self-publishing.

So here I am, dipping my toe into waters that I never meant to swim, and working very hard not to feel overwhelmed. This blog is both a response to curious friends who have asked me to share what I learn, and a prod to make sure I keep up with my own goals, the primary one being to meet the book’s originally scheduled release date of May 2021. I invite you to tag along, ask questions, offer advice, and/or witness the birth of my newest literary baby, the culmination of the REWIND saga: RECKLESS.