2010 was the year I–
- blew my first ever publishing deadline
- pushed finishing a novel off by four months
- finished the book while sicker than I’ve ever been
- revised, line edited and copy edited the manuscript less than a month later, over a period of only a few weeks
- watched said publisher nearly go out of business just a month before the book’s release
And that was just one of my publishers (Dorchester).
With the other (Harlequin), while I had a successful book release in the spring, by the fall (once I was feeling less like death warmed over), I was seriously contemplating switching to a new imprint/line in-house. Which meant even more change. Those proposals went in to the potential new editor in December–hoping to find a home at Harlequin Intrigue, where I’d be thrilled to write!
My point?No matter what was going on in the publishing world at large–and 2010 was BIG year for digital, small press and ePub authors and publishers, and for the rest of us as these niche markets exploded all over the scene–nothing could compare to the emotional peeks and valleys of my personal little corner of the writing world.
The end result?
- I now have my then-November, mass-market, romantic suspense/thriller, Dochester release slated for a ‘11 April digital release and a May trade paperback (targeted to independent bookstores) release. As sci-fi/fantasy. Oh, and they’re re-releasing the first paranormal in my Legacy series in trade as well. As sci-fi/fantasy as well, because they think it’s a perfect fit
- And I’m officially pushing to move from a home and family line (where I was bucking the system writing heavily external, outside the box, suspense) to one of Harlequin’s suspense lines. More than anything, because that’s where I’ve belonged for a good while now.
Upheaval? Don’t get me started.
Crazy-making and scary? Check.
Pushing the envelope? Totally.
But this is the time for it, my friends. Whether you’re a writer or not.This country, this world, of ours is changing faster than we can keep track. It’s understandable to want to find your place in it. But for me, since 2010 was such a crazy place to try and make sense of things, it’s actually been a place where I was worriedly trying to blend into a lot of different realities (Am I a romance writer? A suspense writer? Paranormal? Thriller? Now fantasy? Am I genre? Cross-genre? Mainstream? Employed with two publishers? None at all?), but now am excited to be bleeding through all those boundaries into something that is uniquely me.
What in the world am I talking about? All the changes–mine and the publishing industry’s–they’re not bad, I’ve realized. They’re not nearly as disturbing as they initially appeared. They’re the future.
Where I thought I might be blending genres (I’ve had countless articles written about me for doing that very thing), I’m now bleeding into entirely new ones.
Have I been writing fantasy all along, with the strong parapsychology and contemporary world-building of my mainstream work, which didn’t to fit in any romance sub-genre there was? Have I been a suspense writer for six years, blending into a sweet, home and heart line at Harlequin? What have I been so afraid of, that I couldn’t decide what I wanted my writing and publishing to become?
Or maybe it’s that I didn’t know enough about myself as an artist or my industry to decide until now.
And maybe, just maybe, I had to face being too sick to write, and possibly not being able to continue my career, then possibly having to start over completely depending on which way the industry shifted from one day to the next, to really know that this is what I wanted.
That I don’t just want to blend. I want to bleed. I want to work and create and strike out in new directions and find where my books fit even better than I have so far.
My Jan 4th Publishing Isn’t For Sissies advice to every other writer out there–do the same. The floodgates are open. The boundaries are gone. As are a lot of the road signs that have helped us find our way before now. YOU are the only one who really knows what you want to write and how badly you’re willing to work. Now, you have to decide what to do with all that.
Do you want to blend, or do you want to hunker down, work you fingers off, aim for the stars, and bleed until you’ve grabbed everything that’s waiting out there for you???
Tags: Anna DeStefano, digital publishing, Dorchester Publishing, ebooks, ePublishing, Legacy Series, writer, writer resource, writing, writing articles
Wow Anna. I wasn’t aware you were going through so much. But what an amazing blog, so inspiring and resonating with good advice. Good luck with Intrigue and it sounds as if you are bouncing back from the Dorch experience. We’ll need to chat in New York, have a drink and catch up. *hugs*
I’d love to Kim. I really feel like I’ve been let out to play after being couped up for an entire year.
And I’m so excited about your SRS success! Way to go, girl!
And count me in for the drink and gossip at RWA ;o
I wish you health in this year and many more successful years of publication!
Thanks, Christine.
This week alone is like a late Christmas present. Light years away from where I found myself last January. I’m thrilled!
That is a lot of work and deadlines to meet; good luck.