On Being a Hybrid Author

By the end of this month, I will be able to retrieve the rights to the last remaining books held by Simon & Schuster. It has taken over a year to dissolve my relationship with them, and right now, I'm still represented by three different publishers. I'm considering what to do with these last two books. Should I try self-publishing again? My first trip down that road was a failure, but I learned a lot.

A hybrid author, for those reading this blog who are readers rather than authors, is one who has a toe in both traditional publishing and self publishing. There are benefits and drawbacks to each type of publishing, and it is refreshing for an author to finally have a choice in the matter, rather than to wait anxiously for word from a traditional house that they want, or reject, your work.

But as much as the freedom to be your own boss is with self publishing, there's something to be said for belonging to a traditional house as well. In addition to the marketing support you get, which in most cases is marginal, you become part of a sisterhood that can extend far past your contract with the publisher. Your universe of like-minded people grows with each publishing house and the benefits are great. Fellow authors are a great support system, and the more ways you can grow that list, the better.

I recently finished a manuscript and sent it off to a new-to-me publisher in hopes they'll consider it. Why would I consider adding a fourth house? To meet new people, to expand my reader base, to not place all my eggs in one basket. Take your pick of reasons. As for the two books reverting back to me? They may become my next attempts at self-publishing. Time will tell.

Retooling

Every so often in the life of an author, it comes time to take a breath, sit back and contemplate your career trajectory.

That's what I've been doing this year. As soon as I made the move from Ohio to North Carolina and got hooked back up to the internet, I found out Simon & Schuster decided to do away with the Crimson Romance line to focus on more mainstream fiction and non-fiction works. I sorted through my options, not ready to cut the chord and demand my rights back until I had a plan in place. I hired an agent, talked to my writing buddies, bounced ideas off anyone who would listen, and finally settled on a plan.

I could only regain the rights to four of the eleven books Simon & Schuster had. They turned out to be the first four in the Cotillion Ball series, so it made sense to me to start retooling them and spiff them up a bit. I finally decided to work with Prairie Rose Publications on them, since I didn't want the hassle of self-publishing. The first two books, The Reluctant Debutante and The Abolitionist's Secret, are scheduled to be re-released into the Amazon world in August. My past few weeks have been spent looking at stock photos and working with Prairie Rose's cover artist, the magnificent Livia Reasoner. We have this uncanny ability to home in on the same photos to use, so it's been a fairly painless process to create new, striking covers for the books.

There have been some issues, though, to deal with. Since six of the books remain with Simon & Schuster, I wanted to maintain some consistency for the series as a whole, so I couldn't steer off in a totally different direction with the covers. Crimson abandoned the sepia-tone covers along about book six, so I tried to match the new ones with the last ones in the series. A consistent font was necessary, as well as a few other elements.

That being said, I'm pleased to offer cover reveals for both The Reluctant Debutante and The Abolitionist's Secret. The real bang for the buck comes when you compare side by side the old and the new. Here, for your viewing pleasure, are the covers.

On the left is the original cover, which was released in March, 2012. Since it was my first-ever cover, I thought it was beautiful, and had it blown up on canvas and proudly displayed in my office. But the new one, on the right,  just knocked my socks off. I may have to update my wall.







The second book to be released in the series is The Abolitionist's Secret, about Ginger's younger, and less flamboyant, sister Heather. Here are the old and new versions of those covers. I'm loving the new looks of these books, and my career is once again on track. What do you think of them?

The End Of The Road

It saddens me to say this, but Crimson Romance is no more. 

I had great hopes for the line when it was bought by Simon & Schuster. And S&S did some nice promotion for my Cotillion series during the year Crimson was under their control.

But alas, on Monday a tweet came out announcing Crimson was being shuttered, effective immediately. The editors had no advance warning, nor did we authors. I guess S&S figured if Donald Trump can fire people via Twitter, so can they.

We're all just kind of spinning in circles right now, trying to figure out what our rights are and where to go from here. I had a book due April 15, which they no longer want, and I don't know quite what to do with it now.

This really took my breath away, as I'm sure it did for quite a few people. Crimson was my first publisher. They took a chance on me when I was green and we grew together. The editors were fabulous to work with, and the professionalism they showed was phenomenal. I hope our paths cross again.

In the meantime, I have a house to put together, which is fortunate, since the move is occupying my mind now instead of putting the finishing touches on my book. When one house opens, another closes. Cést la vie.

RIP, Crimson Romance.

Becoming a Big 5 Author

Okay, I am well aware I snuck in the back door of Simon & Schuster. But I can still lay claim to the fact I'm part of a Big 5 publisher.

Last week, the changeover was finally completed and the Crimson Romance line became a part of the offerings at S&S. So my Cotillion books appear on the S&S website for the first time. Please take a moment and go to my author page and become a fan. Here's the link: http://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Becky-Lower/2137651463

I'm honored and apprehensive about being the first of the Crimson authors to be promoted by S&S in the form of a BookBub ad. On February 6, the bundle of all nine of the Cotillion books plus the novella about how the parents, Charlotte and George, met and fell in love, will be featured on BookBub. For only 99 cents, this collection can be yours. So if you've been tempted before to buy one of these books, but didn't want to commit to the entire series, here's your chance to scoop them all up for one low price. How can you beat 99 pennies?

As if that's not enough, all the Crimson titles are going on sale for the month of February, our Valentine's gift to you. For only $1.99 you can load up on all those tempting Crimson titles. All e-books are available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_st_price-desc-rank?fst=as:off&rh=n:283155,p_30:Crimson+Romance,p_n_feature_browse-bin:618073011&unfiltered=1&qid=1485374096&bbn=283155&sort=price-desc-rank

In addition to the changeover happening, I've been going through the first round of edits for my second Lobster Cove book through Wild Rose Press. This romance is called Sweet Caroline, and I'm in love with Grant, my hero. Caroline is a cousin of Abbey and Penny, who appeared in the first Lobster Cove book, "Love's In The Cards"and she returns to the Cove after sixteen years away to participate in Penny's wedding to Del.

My editor hates the word ït" and has challenged me to banish it (see what I mean?), rather, banish the word from my manuscript. I never gave much thought to how often the word shows up in my work before now. I'll add it to my naughty word list and will decide whether to put it in the "Don't Use At Any Cost" list or the "Use No More Than Five Times In A Scene" list. I climbed out of the editing cave today in order to work on my Regency, and to begin thinking about my next American historical. However, regardless of what I'm working on, there will be no "It" in the book. I'm proof you can teach an old dog new tricks!