The
Exciting World of Self-Publishing
I have to start this post by saying that I
love my editor at Harlequin Mills & Boon – I’ve worked with her on eight
books in two years, and I trust her implicitly. That alone meant that working
on a book without her was quite a daunting challenge, even though I had the
support of my literary agent, as well as her editing expertise. But where my
editor tells me what she loves about my work before gently suggesting what
needs to be revised, my agent just says it like she sees it (no hand holding
there!).
Even
though I’m a “needy” author though, I’m also a businesswoman, and that meant I
was desperate to try self-publishing. I have no intention of not writing for my publisher, but I like
the idea of writing some slightly different stories that I have full control
over. Earlier this year I self-published a young adult novel, and I’ve loved
watching my Amazon rankings and checking my sales each day.
So
anyway, that’s how The Navy SEAL’s Promise came about – a novella that is
slightly different to my “sweeter” Harlequin Romance books, but very similar in
that it features two fantastic military characters. Something I’d been thinking
about for a long while, knowing it wasn’t quite right for Harlequin Romance,
but wanting to write it regardless. The hero is a sexy Navy SEAL, and the
heroine a strong yet feminine soldier.
And I have to
issue a warning that this story is a little hotter than my regular readers
might be used to, and I issue full blame to my agent. She encouraged me to amp
up the love scene a little, and even though I blushed A LOT when I wrote it, I
think it works for the story J
Self-publishing
has presented authors with a great opportunity to produce more work and take
control of their writing, but no matter how enjoyable it was to work on this
project, I wouldn’t give up my editor for anything!
