So many exciting things are coming in May for my sci-fi/fantasy Secret Legacy release,most of which I’m partnering with the amazing associates at Dorchester to make happen:
- Look for exciting FREE DOWNLOAD offers for Dark Legacy on sites like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders and Deisel books from May 2nd – May 9th. From May 9th – May 23rd, Dark Legacy will be a .99 cent download, then 2.99 through June 6th. All to, as you might suspect,build momentum and interest in Book 2 in my psychic fantasy series, Secret Legacy.
- Guest blogs and giveaways at cool siteslike Night Owl Scifi, Dreams and Speculation, ScifiGuy, etc.
- Features in ITW’s Big Thrill newsletter and other places like a May spotlight and Free Friday Download on Barnes and Noble’s Unbound blog.
- Cool Author Interview and Cover Story book book trailers coming from Circle of Seven, complete with great bonus discount offers from Dorchester.
- And more…
All of which is the kind of promo being done all over the place by authors hoping to plug into the viral marketing that makes Internet buzz happen. But having my Dorchester team behind me and Secret Legacy in a powerful way has opened so many more doors than I could have myself.
It occurred to me as I started the PIFS blog series that not all the majority of the talk about Dorchester switch (and, through them, mine) from a traditional mass market publishing model was coming from people who weren’t immediately involved in the situation. Not that bystanders’ viewpoints aren’t valid. But it struck me at the time, as it does now, that there’s a lot of talk about what hadhappened and how the facts as those outside the immediate crisis saw it, meant doom for Dorchester authors and others who were about to be trampled under the digital publishing wave. There’s very little insight coming from within the trenches, from the perspective of authors that all this is happening to–those of us making difficult choices and deciding to trust the Dorchsterteam still working hard behind the scenes to make the best possible solution emerge from some unfortunate circumstances for everyone.
I’ve talked at lenth in past PIFS posts about my viewpoint then and now (as I watch Secret Legacy’s release fast approaching). I won’t repeat myself, except to say that last fall, when Dorchester’s announcement surprised everyone, I was in the middle of a two-book contract for an ongoing series, and my decision wasn’t as straight forward as others. I could have gotten the rights back to my unpublished novel (Secret Legacy), but Dark Legacy had been released the previous year and sold well. Dorchester had done their job with it, as they continued to assure me they would with Secret Legacy, and therefore would retain rights to that story. Which meant I couldn’t take the entire series elsewhere looking for a home, or even build momentum as a self-published author as some have, by offering both books to readers on my own. Also, I know a great number of self or indie published authors who regularly share the wealth of their hard-earned experience, and I knew the daunting task of self publishing and promoting a novel across various platforms and to hard-to-target audiences isn’t the slam-dunk many would like you to believe it is when you strike out completely on your own.
And then there were the professionals at Dorchester, communicating regularly with my agent and myself about their ongoing plans for their business and my books. Brainstorming with me. Partnering with me on ideas for how best to target traditional, digital and indie markets with my series.Agreeing to move my release date out until we had a firm release and promotion plan in hand. Making themselves available whenever I had questions, even to this day. And, yes, paying me for the work I’ve done, as they’re contractually required to do. Just in case there’s any confusion, I’ve been paid what I’m owed for both my novels. Those who demand that you believe no one who’s worked with Dorchester has received any money for years, for whatever reason those persons feel it necessary to want you to believe that sort of thing, aren’t talking from my experience or that of other Dorchester authors I know personally. We’re not stupid, those of us who have trusted our publishing team to the best job they can for our books. We’re just finding a way to continue to do our jobs and build our careers amidst trying circumstances for both us and our publisher.
It’s in Dorchester’s best interest, as it is mine, for Secret Legacy to do as well as possible. We all want it to hit the sci-fi/fantasy market hard and sell, sell sell. We’re all working our butts off to make that happen. Together. I am constantly amazed by the creativity and ingenuity of everyone I’m on this ride with. And as one of the writers in the trenches, involved in implementing this new “hybrid” publishing model with a novel I’m more personally attached to than anything else I’ve written, I excited to share that journey through Publishing Isn’t for Sissies. So are the Dorchester associates and staff that I’ve been working so closely with.
Hannah Wolfson has already shared some of the details behind Dorchester’s NetGalley partnership and what Secret Legacy’s feature there might mean for promoting the release.
I have five more great Dorchester guest posts scheduled for May and early June. Mark them on your calender (and come back in between, where I’ll share more of my personal experience in the midst of the mania that will be my life as Secret Legacy launches and we see where all this might get us):
- Friday, May 6th–Editor Chris Keesler talks about the Benefits a Traditional Publisher Offers Authors Targeting a Digital Release.
- Thursday, May 19th–Vice President Tim DeYoung talks about Industry Trends and Dorchesters Switch To a Digital/Trade Paperback Model, specifically discussing the disappearing channels for midlist mass market books.
- Thursday, May 26th–Renee Yewdeav, Dorchester’s Production and Art Supervisor, will discuss The Technical Reality of Digital Publishing and the hidden kinks and things to consider that lurk behind the scenes that make authors surviving this seemingly convenient technological revolution more complicated than it first appears.
- Thursday, June 2nd–Hannah’s back to talk more about the Brainstorming and Promotion Planning that’s gone into so much of what’s being done to help Secret Legacy and other Dorchesterspring releases find their digital and trade paperback legs.
- Thursday June 9th–Allison Carrol, Editorial and Web Coordinator, wraps things up with a big picture perspective of Coordinating a Digital Release like Secret Legacy and the value that a “traditional” publisher like Dorchester offers its authors as it moves strongly into the digital market.
I’ll be posting about Dream Theories and the Psychic Realm almost daily leading into Secret Legacy’s launch. Things are going to get pretty fantastical around the blog for a while, because I just can’t help myself. I’m so damn excited that this novel is FINALLY coming out.
But Publishing Isn’t For Sissies (and How We Write Wednesdays) will be going strong, too, so if that’s your thing, keep coming back ;o)
Tags: Anna DeStefano, digital promotion, digital publishing, Dorchester Publishing, ebooks, ePublishing, gallies, indie publishing, Legacy Series, PR, promotion, reviews, Secret Legacy, writer, writer resource, writing, writing articles
