Okay, I promised this post a few weeks ago now.  I’d been holding off, hoping I could get the blurb of my soon-to-be-epubbed novella together, but it’s still in the works.  Darn if that isn’t proving to be the hardest book ever to blurb.

Anyhow, I posted a few weeks ago about my belief that e-publishing is good for the romance genre.  And today I’m posting about why I think it’s a good move for me.   I have a NY print contract and three books coming out this year.  In terms of royalties and readership, realistically speaking, my e-pub novella is not going to come anywhere close to my print figures.  So what’s in it for me?

1) Exposure.  I wrote this novella largely with hopes that it would build interest in my print books and draw traffic to my website.  My original thought was to post it for free, perhaps in installments.  However, I changed my mind when I realized how much time and effort I’d have to spend on promo to draw a significant number of readers to my website.  The freebie idea might work well next year, but right now I’m an unknown author.  By going with a well-known e-publisher (Samhain), I’ll get my name and work in front of their already-large readership.  Even if they don’t all buy the book, hundreds (I hope thousands) of people will read my excerpt and get a little taste of my voice, and maybe remember my name. My e-book will also be available via the Amazon Kindle, and my excerpt available in the Kindle store.  Also, Samhain books are frequently reviewed by online review sources.  It all adds up to more name recognition, which is a top priority for me, as a new author.

2) More creative freedom. This novella was pure fun to write. Even though it’s a historical at heart, it has a paranormal hook. (Don’t anyone start worrying I’m changing subgenres.  It’s not a real paranormal, it just references them in a lovingly humorous way.)  It’s not something my print publisher would likely be interested in (and my agent checked with them first, to make sure), but e-publishing offers me the opportunity to write a little outside the box and have fun.

3) Community and support. Since e-book sales and promotion are so author-driven, Samhain offers great support and continuing education for its authors.  Classes on promotion, opportunities for group advertising, and more.  Just today someone posted to the authors’ loop a fab tutorial on using Amazon Connect.  I don’t really get that kind of thing from my NY house–and I’m not complaining, just noting that it’s a different focus.  My print publisher’s emphasis is on doing promotion FOR me (and boy am I grateful!), instead of helping me learn to do my own.  But the information and resources I get as a Samhain author are useful to me in all my promo efforts, for all my books.

4) Money. Yes, I will make some.  I’ve already received a small advance, and I’ll receive 40% of the cover price ($3.50) on all direct sales.  If my e-book sells 700 copies, I’ll have made about $1000…which to me is pretty good money for a few weeks’ writing.   I don’t know if I’ll sell that many copies in the first month, but the book will still be for sale after my print books release, so I’m hoping for a second wave of sales from people who are introduced to my print books first, then come looking to see what else I’ve written.   Because it’s an e-book, it will never go out of stock.  Taking into account the free promotional benefits, I see it as a very worthwhile endeavor, financially.

5) Fun! Self-explanatory.  The whole process of this book, from writing it to editing it to filling out my cover art request, has been fun.   And fun is important, at least to my career.  I write my best when I’m having fun.

So that’s how I came to be an e-published author. If anyone has questions about what the process has been like, I’m glad to answer them!  And I promise, that blurb and excerpt are coming soon!  And hopefully some cover art…can’t wait for that.