When I decided to
self-publish my second contemporary romance series, I was both
nervous and excited. On the eve of the
first book in my Pacific Vista Ranch series, Nobody
Else But You, launching into the world, the
excitement outweighs the nerves. Here’s how I arrived here.
I was thrilled to sign
with a small press to publish my first romance novel, Second
Chance in Laguna, in 2017.
The next two books in my Finding Forever in
Laguna series were released in 2017 and 2018. I learned a great deal
from my editor and the wonderful people at my publisher and am
forever grateful. Now that I’ve been in the industry a few years, I
felt ready to try something different.
I wanted more from my
next books: more control over the publishing process and edits, more
control over the covers, more control over pricing and sales, and
more money. I write because I love it and I write because I want to
eventually make a full-time income from it. Yes, fame, fortune, and a
movie deal would be great, but hey, maybe next year.
I began researching by
asking questions and studying successful hybrid and indie authors.
Tons of resources exist to discover what works and what doesn’t. I
learned I needed a great developmental/content editor and knew I’d
spend the bulk of my budget on edits. Working with my editor has been
life changing. I received dedicated personal attention and had an
hour-long phone call to discuss the first round of edits. I received
feedback on what needed to change in the story to fix pacing as well
as suggestions of ways to deepen emotional intensity. Also, I hired a
proofreader for one final read through. Another bonus: edits have a
one to two-week turnaround time as opposed to months.
Based on recommendations
and studying covers I loved online, I contacted a few different cover
designers and ended up working with The Killion Group. I’m thrilled
with the covers for the first three books in the series and was able
to collaborate until I was satisfied they represented my stories.
Next, I learned about
formatting and uploading the books. Several companies perform both
services for reasonable prices or you can do it yourself. Services
like Draft2Digital are excellent and easy to use. I used
Killion Group. My books are on every major site and I’m using
Ingram Spark for print because bookstores, libraries, and I can
easily order them!
After the initial
research and decisions, I was set. Now, I have my team in place for
future books. In terms of the money? I’ll be making more than
double in royalties at seventy percent, so anticipate earning back
what I spent up front quickly. Most importantly, these books reflect
my writing and style completely and that’s priceless.
We
thank Claire for her candid response to our questions and wish her a
lot of luck.
Here's
an excerpt from Nobody
Else But You
Swallowing
a flutter of nerves in her throat, she rapped on the door. She was
simply going for business. Ranch business. Bringing him dinner was
simply being polite, like her father had raised her to be. So why was
her heart hammering against her ribcage?
“It’s
unlocked.” A muffled voice called. So much for manners. Holt
apparently didn’t seem to bother with them.
She
hesitated a moment. She smoothed back an errant strand into the
ballet bun she hadn’t bothered to unravel. Although she’d changed
out of her dance gear into her favorite old pair of jeans and a
super-soft t-shirt, she hadn’t been in the mood to mess with her
hair. Briefly, she regretted not being more like her twin sister,
talented with makeup and hair. But, nope, Dylan had received the
lion’s share of feminine genes.
Whatever.
She
opened the door, and then froze. He was rubbing his hair dry with a
white towel slung over one shoulder. The pristine white material
emphasized his bronzed skin. Tiny beads of moisture clung to chiseled
pecs and the light sprinkling of golden hair on his chest was the
only thing preventing him from looking like a marble statue. Barely.
Shredded eight-pack abs and sharp V-cuts of muscle converged at the
waistband of a pair of jeans as faded as her own. Her mouth suddenly
parched, she swallowed. Hard.
“Sorry,
I got stuck on the phone.” He grinned and tossed the towel onto a
nearby chair.
She
jerked her gaze up to his face, which had to be safer, right? Her
pulse thrummed in her temple and heat descended to her belly. Damn.
His face was definitely not safer than his gorgeous body.
“How’d
you get that scar?” She blurted out the words, desperate to
distract herself from his pure physical presence. He really needed to
put on a shirt. Pronto.
“Scar?
Which one?” He laughed, seemingly oblivious to her reaction, thank
goodness.
“Forehead.
The one across your forehead.” A flaw. Weren’t scars flaws? Why
did it make him look just a little dangerous? And it did save him
from utter perfection. Didn’t it?
To
learn more about Claire Marti and the stories she creates, go to:
Website:
www.clairemarti.com
Twitter:
https://www.twitter.com/clairepmarti
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/clairepmarti
Bookbub:
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/claire-marti
To
purchase Nobody Else But You, go to:
AMAZON:
https://amzn.to/2YT4b36
B&N:
https://bit.ly/2Tot1GO
KOBO:
https://bit.ly/2TpyGg8
IBOOKS:
https://apple.co/2YCVcrA
Thanks for hosting and asking about my experience with indie. So far so good!!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Claire. Self-pubbing is an idea I've been toying with, so thank you for sharing your experience. I hope it works out for you. :)
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