Monday, March 30, 2015

Monday Mish Mash

On Saturday evening, the Wayne High School basketball team became the Ohio State Division I Champions! Whoo hoo! This is the first time our school has even made it to the final four. Very exciting. Almost makes up for the football team’s loss in the championship game back in December. Almost. J

@@@@@@@@@@

This morning I will be going back to the gym. I’m almost afraid to go, though. The last time I did, I got so sick. But if I want to lose weight and get in shape, I have to go. Plus, I don’t want to have wasted my money on that membership. And I need to make sure my hamstring is okay, too. I haven’t been doing my exercises like I’m supposed to and I go back to the physical therapist next Monday. I’d like to be able to say whether or not it’s getting better. I’m hoping it’s getting better because I’m getting kind of tired driving to the base hospital all the time!

@@@@@@@@@@

I received a royalty check in the mail on Friday. I’m always excited about seeing how my books are doing, because I can’t find that information anywhere on line. I didn’t make a lot of money from Oct-Dec (less than $100 on 95 books sold), but it was better than the previous statement. My next royalty statement should include the sales for Ghostly Liaison, which I think is probably my biggest seller (based upon rankings). Still, at this rate, it will take me years to make the Published Author Network (PAN) of RWA. I’ve got to make $1000 through a publisher or $5000 through self-publishing on ONE title for that to happen. But I do want it to happen because it’s the next step in my career (and yeah, this is my career—I don’t plan on ever retiring from it).

Gee… Do you know anyone who would love to buy my books? **grin**

@@@@@@@@@@

Okay, so Blind Temptation is with my formatter (yay!) and I’m trying my darndest to get back into Ghostly Interlude. I need to just sit down and write ANYTHING to blast through whatever problem I created (because I’m sure I created the problem, who else would have done it? My characters? Hmmm…). After I finally finish the first draft, then I have to decide what I want to do before I start in on the edits. Maybe you can help me decide.

I have this finished novel (Alien Desires—a sci-fi romance) that needs some polishing (okay, maybe a LOT of polishing). I’d like to query agents with it, but then again, I wonder if I should just self-publish it. What’s stopping me from self-publishing? Well… this book could possibly be the beginning of a series and I don’t have any of the other books written or even ideas of what they should be about. Should I put that kind of stress on me? Plus, something way deep down inside still wants that agent and I know getting the agent is the slow way to getting it published, but that also means I’ll have time (and motivation) to write the next book. But… writing the next book in that series could possibly take me away from my other series. Should that matter? I don’t know!!

The other project I have in mind is writing a novella (which I’d self-publish) about John’s & Sarah’s wedding (they are the couple in Bite Me, I’m Yours). I basically have a lot of it written already (from a book that will never see the light of day) and it’s something I could put out fairly quickly (I hope). Problem is, that novella could possibly feed into another book and I have lots of ideas to continue with this series. Should I put my time and effort into something that isn’t selling well? Or is it not selling well because there aren’t enough books yet? Ugh!

So… Should I polish the novel of a possibly NEW series or write the novella of a CURRENT slow-selling series? Which one makes more sense to you?

I know, what a problem to have, huh?

Have a good day!

Stacy

10 comments:

B.E. Sanderson said...

Yay for your team! Boo for your hamstring and the gym making you sick. Bleh.

If you self-publish Alien Desires, realistically how soon could you have a sequel ready to publish afterwards? I'm no expert, but from what I understand, readers are happier with you if you can present them with new stuff every three to six months - especially if it's a series. Having said that, though, I think moving ahead with the novella might help you accomplish your goals quicker. So what if the series isn't selling like hotcakes. Maybe the novella can jumpstart something. Get new readers interested in what the series is all about.

Would your publisher be okay with you self-publishing a novella based on stuff you published with them?

JeffO said...

What *should* you do? No idea. Congratulations to the team for the title--our girls basketball team just won the state title for their class as well. Cheers!

Maria Zannini said...

I would do the novella (and give it away free for a set time) as long as you have the character rights from your publisher.

BE is right, you need several books in a back list to build your fan base.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Beth - Actually, I'm hoping Blind Temptation will help my series (since it's the third book in it). As for my publisher, they have no rights to my world or characters (I made sure of that when I signed the contract for My Sunny Vampire and Bite Me, I'm Yours). They got first shot at Blind Temptation and didn't want it. I'm free to do whatever I want with my world or characters.

Jeff - Congratulations to you, too. It's exciting when your school wins big, huh?

Maria - Don't know if I'll give it away free (heck, I have a short story I'm giving away free and have YET to see a review on it!). Guess it really depends on how LONG the novella ends up being, or how desperate I am. Haha! Maybe it's something I can give away to my newsletter subscribers. We'll see...

Jennette Marie Powell said...

My inclination would be to publish the novella--it will help sales of Blind Temptation, AND your other books with the publisher. As for Alien Desires, you could always approach publishers with it first, then self-publish if none bite. Glad to see you finally kicked that cold!

Stacy McKitrick said...

Jennette - Hopefully I'll have some insight into the sales of Blind Temptation by the time I'm ready to work on my next project. That might help make up my mind!

dolorah said...

I always like moving on to a new project. Probably why I have so many unfinished on my computer. I am happy to hear you are getting royalty checks, at least you are selling. Cudos.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Donna - Yep, I'm selling. Not a lot, but it's a start.

The Happy Whisk said...

I can't offer a suggestion on either but wishing you fun back at the gym.

Stacy McKitrick said...

Ivy - Fun at the gym? That's a good one. :D