So it's no secret that I'm a huge fan of romance novels. I love reading them and writing them. I just released my first inspirational romance, SECOND CHANCE RANCH, a couple of weeks ago. My sister-in-law read it and texted me and said, "This is like a Hallmark movie! And I mean that in the best way possible."
This warmed my heart. Because I love those Hallmark movies. And then I found out that Hallmark is showing a new movie every Saturday night! All the way until Christmastime, when the movies will be on twenty-four hours a day.
Love is obviously in the air!
I've been busily working on the third book in my Three Rivers Ranch romance series. The second book, THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM, is at the copy editor and will be released in time for Christmas -- on December 1.
Between now and then, I'm going to be watching a lot of Hallmark movies...
So my western inspirational romance is out in the wild! It's been almost a week, and there's nothing quite like releasing a book, that much is for sure. It's been a fun journey, and I've enjoyed it.
I've learned some things along the way too.
1. Ask for help. I can't stress this enough. I can't make covers or do a lot of other design work. I hired someone to do that for me, and I asked friends for help with promotional graphics and such. There's no shame in this! I certainly am not good at every aspect of self-publishing.
2. Pay attention to what's going on around you. I'm in about five million Facebook groups. No, really. Okay, maybe only four million. I don't comment a lot, and sometimes I feel completely overwhelmed, but I pay attention. I see what other self-published authors are doing, and what they're saying works.
I take notes of these things -- literally. I have about 10 drafts in my email inbox right now with notes. Ad sites, promotions, boxed set ideas. The list goes on and on. I think that's one perk of self-publishing. There are unlimited ways to produce and promote your work.
3. Release the book! I have a game at school I have my 1st and 2nd graders play on the computer. It's called Seed Ball, and when I show it to them, I always say "Release the seeds!" in a really dramatic voice.
That's what you have to do with your book. And in more ways than one. You release it. I can't tell you how many times I changed the release date. And there were Reasons. But really, I was waiting for something I couldn't really put my finger on.
So I finally chose a date and refused to change it. Not only do you actually need to hit Publish, but you need to release your attachments to the book. We put so much work and time and effort and emotion into our books, so this is hard to do.
But it can be done, and it should be done. Release it. Let readers love it or hate it.
4. Write the next book. I've done this, and it's currently with my editor. It's called THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM, and I'm getting the cover made right now too, because it will be released on December 1. #yay
Anyway, I learned tons more, but that's enough for today. I hope you'll give SECOND CHANCE RANCH a try. You can read it for free if you have Kindle Unlimited.
Wow, summer has been so busy! The days flew by as I penned two more novels, revised a third, signed with an agent, and have been waiting on pins and needles for news from my submissions.
I mean, whew! It's a lot, and I suddenly realized I haven't blogged in months! But my schedule is normalizing again, so I expect to be around a bit more.
What have you been up to this summer??
