Monday, May 23, 2011

New Plans and Paths

I'm going to update my world-building series next, really!  First, though, I wanted to talk about what's been so eating at my mind and distracting me so very much.

First, my husband and I made the decision to try to move back to Tennessee this summer. I lived there for a good chunk of my life--my family moved to Tennessee when I was eleven, and I didn't move away until three and a half years ago. I've been in Ohio the past few years.  The possibility of moving back has been very exciting and preoccupying.

On top of that, I have one book, Rising (which is my steampunkish fantasy book), that I just finished, and I'm beginning to work on the sequel. I wasn't sure when I was writing it whether I thought it would be a good fit for my publishing company, and this got me doing a lot of thinking about what I wanted for the books, why I write, what my goals are, things like that. Some things that I had thought I might not want and some things I thought I might want have shifted quite a lot.

These two books and what I might want to do with them got me thinking about another book I wrote. This one has an insanely long title: Confessions from the Realm of the Underworld (Also Known as High School).  I wrote it in 2009--it was my first (though not last) foray into a regular story about a modern day family. Usually I'm all about writing fantasy. It also turned out to be one of the easiest books I've ever written in that the characters and story all clicked in my head from the beginning and flowed so easily as I wrote it.

My publisher offered me a contract on this book, and I was going to take it.  And then...in the interim, I got to all of this thinking and praying, looking at the future of my two new books and what I wanted for them, what I wanted overall with my writing, and then looking at Confessions.  I talked to my husband and rambled like crazy as I wavered on the edge of the unknown.  I did research. A lot of research. I weighed pros and cons.

I love my publishing company. My editor has been so patient and fantastic, and my co-author and I still have a contract on the second book in our series, and a contract pending on the third book. I've been thrilled to work with them and believe in their goals, and the wait to get my first book published with them was very worth it.  But I've also decided that there are some things I want to try and some new things I want to explore.

In the end, this weekend I made the decision to self-publish Confessions. This is both terrifying and exciting, because it's a whole new avenue, and I have so much to learn and do this summer.  I haven't set a definitive release date--I want to do some more research and organize a list of what I want to do beforehand--but sometime this year. I'm tentatively leaning toward September, but we'll see if that gives me enough time.

My summer is going to be quite busy with that and with hopefully moving. So that's what's happening with me and why it's been so hard to concentrate on anything else. What's going on with all of you?  Anything new or unexpected happening in your life?

13 comments:

  1. Laura, You have so much going on in your life right now, it's a wonder you can keep everything straight. I'm sure writing this post helped place some order or priorities.
    Moving, even back to a familiar area, is always difficult, physically and emotionally.
    Good luck with your writing and with your major life challenges.
    I've experienced many changes and managed to roll with both good and bad. I guess that's the secret!

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  2. Good luck on the move! Keep us posted on how the self-publishing goes. That's exciting.

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  3. Good luck on the move and with Self-Publishing! Sounds like you've got a good plan to move forward.

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  4. You'll have to report on your experience with self publishing and how the self marketing works for you.

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  5. Gail-It's sure been a lot to sort through! I'm just glad my kids' homeschooling is almost done for the year; it's so hard to concentrate on everything all at once. Thank you so much!

    Tonja-Thank you!! I'll definitely post updates. :)

    Kari-Thanks! There's a lot to take in right now.

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  6. Donna-I will! It will be interesting to see how it goes.

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  7. sounds like you've been thru alot. and the second blog friend today to self publish. i look forward to seeing it!
    good luck and keep us posted!

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  8. Good luck self publishing. I really want to get into it. Also, good luck with your move. Moves are always scary (and exciting!)

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  9. I think it's fascinating how many authors (published/unpublished) are dipping into the self-publishing. Or at least considering it. Best of luck to you!!

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  10. Looking forward to hearing about your adventures in self-publishing - I don't know much about it. I'm excited for you!

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  11. Wow, I'm excited for you Laura and know that whatever path you choose to take with all of it. . .you will succeed:)

    FYI Blogger hates me today so I can only post anonymously. Boo. Lindsay @ Tiptoe-Kisses

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  12. Tara-Thanks so much! Yeah, there's a lot happening right now.

    Rebecca-I'm so nervous and excited and having such a hard time concentrating. LOL. Thanks!

    Susan-It's been fascinating for me to see, too. I honestly didn't think I'd choose this path--it's funny how things can change. Thank you!

    Alexis-I'm looking forward to seeing how the adventure goes. :D Thank you!

    Lindsay-Thank you soooo much! And I'm looking forward to seeing how your journey goes!

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  13. Self-publishing?! What an exciting and scary decision! Looking forward to hearing all about it.

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts!