Three Years Later

The Beginning

When I first signed my contract with small press publishing house, Anchor Group, I had many aspirations for being an author; my new career.

I thought I would hit the scene with a one of a kind book and everyone would be amazed and they would all know about it. I was wrong. Boy was I wrong. 

One thing I did gain was fans. Adoring and loving fans that have been with me since day one!

But I didn't anticipate the hard work that I would have to put into my writing. I thought, "This will be easy. I'll write and then let Anchor Group publish it and sit back and watch the dollars come in."

Excuse me while I laugh at my naive self. Hahahahahahahhahah

Okay, I'm done. 

The Daily Work

Hard work is one thing you have to put into this industry.

You have to spend at least three hours, if not more, into social media and promoting daily. Once your new book comes out, you can celebrate for a little while, but then you have to get right back onto the computer and write another one. There are no breaks for writers. 

My 'muses' if you will, don't ever stop talking to me. They are constantly chatting me up and giving me new book ideas.

I have to sift through my ideas and come up with the ones that will become the best series or the best books.

After you've written the book then it goes to the editor and you have to start thinking about ways to promote this new book while promoting all your other books that have been published already. *Sigh*

Week by week I have to choose which of my two series and my standalone to promote. It's like choosing between your children.

Asking yourself, “Which child do I spoil today? Which one do I spend all day telling people about?"

Do you see the stress I go through?

No?
Well, read on.

All the Millions

Okay, how about this; I don't make millions of dollars. Yes, I'll admit it. Authors don't make a lot of money for what they do. I recently had an acquaintance ask me why I don't buy myself a new car instead of driving my Honda Accord. "If you're a writer, why don't you drive a BMW?"

After I laughed so hard that I peed myself, I calmly explained how whatever money I make gets split between my publisher and me. And then when my portion comes in, I put it right back into promoting my books. I buy swag, ad spots, or pay for promoting myself on blogs.

Never do I make enough to buy a BMW. 

Do I hope to make enough for something like that? Well, sure. Who wouldn't? Although I'm not a Beamer type of girl. I'd spend my money on other things, like my kids college fund, but that's dreaming. I need to be present in reality.

The Dream

Do I hope someday to hit the 'big time'? Yes! It's an author’s dream to hit the NY Times Bestsellers list. But will I quit writing if that doesn't happen? No. 

I won't. I write for myself. I write for those fans that have been there since The Many Lives of Avery Snow. 

I write for my daughters, because they believe in me. They see Mommy went after her dream and she writes pretty books.

Every book that I write, I put my heart and soul into. I've learned so much since Avery Snow came out. I've grown into a better writer since then. That’s what all writers should do. 

If your characters all sound the same in each book, you've got a problem. 

I try to write different genres; challenging myself with each book. 

My Future

This year I signed with Anchor Group again to publish Slumber. Yes, I originally said I was going to self-publish. But something that self-publishers don't tell you is the money you put into it. Wow! Give them a hand for all that they do to put into their books. *Clapping* 

I stay at home with my youngest and contrary to popular believe, SAHM's don't make any money. I added up the costs for Slumber to be published and sat back and said "Wow."

The only way to publish it would be to make it the best it could be. Pay the best editor, get the prettiest cover by the best artist and format the inside by the hardest working formatter.

I could do it cheaply but it wouldn't look very good, would it?

So I spoke with Anchor Group and they wanted Slumber. They have always had my back, since day one. They pulled me aboard when I was left out at sea after the nightmare I went through in the very beginning. And I feel good about this. 

So, Slumber will be released March 16th by Anchor Group and I'll work just as hard to promote it, even though Facebook has changed dramatically...

I plan on writing more books; I'll never stop.

But this year will change for me in my personal life. My little one will start Kindergarten this year and that means, mommy needs a day job. Yep, yours truly will need to get a job and I'll have to change up my promoting plans.

Will I still have three hours a day to promote? Probably not.

I'll write during the nights, like I do now, and during the day I'll be working like the rest of  the American women out there do. You know it's hard to be a woman who stays at home and raises children. I get a lot of flack for it. But I did it for five years. And for all those years I wrote books and raised kids. So why would that change now? My hours available will change but my passion for writing will not.

Plans

I've made plans for my books and they include some pretty amazing things.

The Brown House will become an Audiobook and I'm so excited for it. To have my bestselling book in audio is a dream I've always had.

The Past Lives Series will be rewritten and I'll add new content; making it better than ever! Anchor Group is going to put the books into one big Anniversary Edition box set. So you'll be able to buy the book and have all the books in one book. I'm also writing a special added story with Landon and Avery!

Not only will you have a new and improved original Avery story but you'll be able to have extra scenes. 

The Slumber Duology will include two books and book two, Awaken, will come out this year. I'm also planning on some collaborations with other Indie authors that I'm excited about. 

If you've read my other posts you know I plan on writing my first zombie book, The Survival Pact.

I'm not done writing just because I won’t be at home any more. My dreams won’t change, ever.

My love for my fans will never change. I owe it all to you. You've read all of my books and I can only repay you by writing more.

xoxo

Christy