Saying Goodbye by Patty Smith Hall

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.   Ecclesiastes 3:1

February was a month of bittersweet endings and new beginnings for me. For one thing, I finished my last contracted novella. It was probably the hardest story I’ve ever written, one because I didn’t want to write it. I’m excited to start my journey into indie publishing, and just wanted to ‘get on with it.’ So writing this novella was not at the top of my to-do list.

But write it, I did. Once I dug into Patrick and Grace’s story, I didn’t want to let it go. Their story could have easily turned into a full-length novel, and as usual, I got a bit frustrated I was limited to a novella. But it might just be one of the best ones I’ve ever wrote.

Once the manuscript was sent, I was a mixed bag of emotions. I’ve been blessed to have been traditionally published these last ten years. For a girl who wondered if she’d EVER get the call, I’ve loved every single second of it. It’s a dream fulfilled by God who had bigger plans for me than I’d had for myself. And going indie doesn’t mean I won’t turn to traditional publishing again. It just means that my focus will be on my indie projects.

Once I mourned a bit, the excitement of going indie caught up with me and I have work to do.

Now for what I learned last month.

In February, I found the Self-Publishing Show podcast, and as I was going through past shows, I came across one regarding rapid release that piqued my interest. If you don’t know what a rapid release is, let me explain. Rapid release is when you write three or four books, then releases one each month for four months. During that time, you write the next book in the series, and the next. The quick release of those first four books builds excitement for your next book and dovetails into backlist sells.

Because I’m not the quickest writer, I wondered how I could use this to my advantage. I have two books written and in edits, and the cover for one of them. I also got the rights back on the WWII series I wrote for Love Inspired Historical and arranged for new covers.

While I won’t have a new book out until July, here’s how I’m using the rapid release system.

• April 1—Release of Hearts in Flight (WWII series, Book 1)
• May 1—Release of Hearts in Hiding (WWII series, Book 2)
• June 1—Release of Hearts Rekindled (WWII series, Book 3)
• July 1—Release of Gold Dust Bride (Rushed to the Altar series, Book 1)
• October –Release of Rushed to the Altar series, Book 2
• November—Release of WWII Box set with bonus Christmas Novella
• Early 2021—Release of The Baby Barter (WWII series, Book 4)

My hope is this will build my reader base and give me enough time to finish the third book in the Rushed to the Altar series as well as the first two books of a contemporary series (one written and needs editing.) I’ll be running Amazon as well as Facebook ads, and offering all the books on Audible.

A busy month ahead. But I want to give you a little preview of the cover of my new Rushed to the Altar series coming out in July.

Once I mourned a bit, the excitement of going indie caught up with me via @pattywrites #SeriouslyWrite #amwriting

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Patty Smith Hall lives in North Georgia with her husband of 36+ years, Danny. Her passion is

to write tender romances based in little-known historical moments. The winner of the 2008 ACFW Genesis award in historical romance, she is published with Love Inspired Historical, Barbour and Winged Publishing, and is a contributor to the Seriously Writing blog as well as Journey magazine. Patty is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. 

4 Women Bring Southern Charm to a Cowboy Town 

Crinoline Creek, Texas, 1868
A Cowboy of Her Own by Patty Smith Hall

Bookish southern belle Madalyn Turner knows what she wants—to be a cowboy and own a Texas ranch. But books are far different from real life and soon she realizes she needs help.

Adventures in Indie Writing by Patty Smith Hall

Patty here, and as I shared with you in an earlier blog post, the closure of Lifeway’s brick and mortars was a wake-up call for me last year. Add that with the shrinking book space at Barnes and Noble, and I began to wonder where I, a mid-list writer, would fall in this ever-changing publishing scene. With the hundreds of books that are published each year, how could I compete for a cherished spot on the shelf? I have a healthy backlist of novels and novellas, but they’re getting very little traction in the market.

In other words, for all the time and effort I’ve put into my writing, I’m seeing very little fruit for my labors, and isn’t that why we write? So that readers can see Christ in the pages of our books? To show our characters living out their faith despite their problems? If my ministry is to put out books that point toward Jesus, what do I do if there’s no room on the bookshelf for me?

That’s when I thought about going indie. Indie publishing has lost the stigma it’s held in the past. For the most part, indie writers have learned from past mistakes. They’re hiring editors and professional cover designers to work with them. They’re advertising alongside traditional publishers and pulling in devoted readers, in some cases, making more money than traditional houses.

But indie publishing isn’t for everyone. I took a long hard look at myself to see if this could work for me. I’m a very independent person who doesn’t need a deadline hanging over me to get my work done. I work better alone. I have the financial means to hire editors/cover designers to make my books stand-out and to advertise. I have a good start on a backlist of books and novellas.

The only parts I didn’t have a grasp on was the business and tech side of going indie. Enter my husband and daughter. After years of being in charge of operations for a large international company, Danny is working from home and ready for a new adventure that will use his business skills. He loves the idea of working with me (I’m going to be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about it yet, but I’ll keep you posted!) And our daughter Carly records and produces her own albums as well as YouTube videos and podcasts.

As all the pieces fell into place, I felt as if the Lord was giving me His okay. I had a peace about it as well as an excitement that I hadn’t felt in a very long time.

But I had a lot to learn. Six months ago, I began my in-depth study of indie publishing. I took classes with Hallee Bridgeman (Hi Hallee!), listened to podcasts on the indie market and read books on the subject. I joined 20Booksto50K, a Facebook group made up of indie authors who share their experiences in the indie publishing world. Most recently, I joined a mastermind group of indie authors.

I’m ready to get started.

For the next year, I’m going to share with you my adventures in indie publishing, the good and the not-so-good. I will be transparent about my wins and misses as I navigate new and uncharted territory for me. I do ask you to do one thing for me—Keep me in your prayers as I embark on the next step in my writing journey.

Have you ever considered indie publishing? What held you back or pushed you forward in your decision?

As all the pieces fell into place, I felt as if the Lord was giving me His okay. I had a peace about it as well as an excitement that I hadn’t felt in a very long time. via @pattywrites #SeriouslyWrite #indiepub

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Patty Smith Hall lives in North Georgia with her husband of 36+ years, Danny. Her passion is

to write tender romances based in little-known historical moments. The winner of the 2008 ACFW Genesis award in historical romance, she is published with Love Inspired Historical, Barbour and Winged Publishing, and is a contributor to the Seriously Writing blog as well as Journey magazine. Patty is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. 

4 Women Bring Southern Charm to a Cowboy Town 

Crinoline Creek, Texas, 1868
A Cowboy of Her Own by Patty Smith Hall

Bookish southern belle Madalyn Turner knows what she wants—to be a cowboy and own a Texas ranch. But books are far different from real life and soon she realizes she needs help.

Commitments to Your Characters by Janet Sketchley

With my newest release, Hidden Secrets, I was strongly tempted to publish without using an editor. Sure, I’d needed one for each of my previous books, but the manuscript felt good to me. I’d self-edited it many times, and after three novels and a novella, I had a pretty good handle on this writing thing. Plus I’m blessed with naturally good spelling and grammar.

Are you laughing yet?

My editor is, if she’s reading this post.

Common sense said the professional thing to do was to find an editor. Find, because the editor of book one, Unknown Enemy, had moved on to other work. I’d heard good things about Brilliant Cut Editing, and when Deirdre agreed to squeeze me into her schedule, I sent off my manuscript.

She’d find a few things to tweak, I expected, and I should be on track for a fast revision and a late 2018 publication date.

You’ll notice it’s now summer 2019 and I’m writing about my “new release.”

The document came back with 926 comments. Nine hundred twenty-six. And a cover note about it being pretty raw in places.

As well as assigning a mountain of work, the comments identified strong points and those which could become even stronger. So many of them addressed punctuation errors that I’ve dubbed myself the queen of misplaced commas and run-on sentences.

Writing can be humbling. But I’d far rather be humbled by editors and beta readers—who are on my side—than by readers and reviewers after publication.

I remember working on my first novel, Heaven’s Prey, and rewriting for years. My commitment to my characters was that as long as I could learn to do better with their story, I’d keep revising. Working with a trusted editor, beta readers, cover artist, and any other necessary resources, is part of keeping that commitment. We writers owe it to our characters.

What promises have you made to your characters as you write?

I’d far rather be humbled by editors and beta readers—who are on my side—than by readers and reviewers after publication. via @JanetSketchley #SeriouslyWrite #amwriting

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Janet Sketchley is an Atlantic Canadian writer who likes her fiction with a splash of mystery or adventure and a dash of Christianity. Why leave faith out of our stories if it’s part of our lives? You can find Janet online at janetsketchley.ca.

The secrets of Captain Hiltz may not have died with him.

When Landon Smith returns to the Green Dory Inn, she finds innkeeper Anna Young still shaken by the recent vandalism and unable to cope when the inn is targeted in an online vendetta. Prickly neighbour Bobby Hawke can help with Anna’s cyber woes, but when the attacks escalate to physical threats, Landon and Bobby must work together to unmask the culprit.

A cryptic message about a tunnel points to the property’s original owner, a notorious Prohibition-era sea captain rumoured to have left hidden wealth. Contraband, treasure, evidence of things better left buried…

How far will Anna’s enemy go to claim the tunnel and its contents? Protecting Anna will require courage and faith as Landon battles the locals’ attitudes and the scars of her past. Even then, she and Bobby are tracing the faintest of clues. With Anna on the brink of emotional collapse—and danger rising like the tide—time is running out.

A Few Thoughts on Self-Publishing by ACFW Qualified Independent Publisher Stephenia H. McGee

So, you’re wondering what this self-publishing thing is all about. What will it mean? Will people think you weren’t “good enough” to have a “real” publisher, or are you getting directly to readers who will love your work, even if a house isn’t looking for your particular type of story exactly at the time you submitted it? These are questions each author needs to consider and pray over.

What are your goals? Are you looking for the satisfaction of “making it”? Is your goal writing full time? Do you long to see your book on a major bookstore’s shelf? What is it that, at the end of the day, means the most to you?

There are a lot of things that should be contemplated before you decide if, or why, you should consider self-publishing. But if you do, here are a few things I think might help you.

• Craft. This almost goes without saying, but be sure to spend a lot of time honing your writing skills. You do NOT want to publish too early. Make sure what you have is good material before sending it out onto the internet. Work that isn’t ready will only hurt your career. 

• Being self-published is running your own business. You will have to do bookkeeping and taxes. Be prepared to learn about a lot of business aspects if you don’t know them already. 

• You will need to hire other professionals for the publishing process (don’t do these on your own unless you truly are a professional). Be sure to research and know how much to budget for an editor, cover artist, print and ebook formatting.

• What about print books? There are a lot of POD services out there as well as companies such as Ingram that will list your book in catalogs for bookstore ordering. However, most are not likely to order from indie authors or small presses. 

• No matter how you publish, be prepared to learn about marketing. Even with a traditional publisher, you’ll need to do your own marketing. Writers groups are very helpful and can give you ideas.

• The benefits of self-publishing: Aside from having control over your product and your publishing schedule, you are the publisher, and therefore get both the publisher’s and the author’s cut.

• Disadvantages: Don’t expect to see you book on a major bookstore’s shelf. Reviews with big magazines are much harder to get, and visibility is more difficult to achieve. 

Hopefully, this gives you a little insight into the world of self-publishing, and gives you some things to think about if you are considering taking this road. The good thing is, writers these days have more options than ever. You can be traditionally published, self-published, or be a hybrid of both. Authors now have a better opportunity than ever before to connect directly with their readers. It’s a great time to be a writer!

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Stephenia H. McGee became a qualified independent publisher with the ACFW two months after the release of her first title, The Whistle Walk. Since then, she’s published five other novels set in historic Southern locations, including her bestselling novel In His Eyes (Belmont Plantation in Greenville, Mississippi) and The Liberator Series (Rosswood Plantation near Natchez). Her newest Civil War novel, Eternity Between Us will release this October. Stephenia lives in Mississippi with her husband and sons where she writes stories of faith and love steeped in the South.

Stephenia's website, which also includes the book trailer and excerpt: http://www.stepheniamcgee.com/books/eternity-between-us/

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2P64eVL

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/eternity-between-us-stephenia-h-mcgee/1129292609?ean=2940155731474

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1425898569

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/eternity-between-us

Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Stephenia_H_McGee_Eternity_Between_Us?id=tLRoDwAAQBAJ