Why I
went Indie?
By Emma Mills
Big thanks to Mist
for having me on her blog today, as she is a very busy blogger, with mountains
of books stacked up (probably to the ceiling). She hasn’t yet read my
Witchblood series, so instead of a review…which I hope will happen one day
soon… she asked me to write a guest blog.
I thought a chat about why I
chose to self-publish might be interesting and would let you know a bit more
about me, so here we go…
I wrote Witchblood after
becoming, quite frankly addicted to paranormal YA fiction. I happily devoured
the Twilight series and then moved on to all the vampire fiction that followed.
As a quick aside, some of my favourites are, the Sookie Stackhouse Series,
Vampire Academy…I’m a big Adrian fangirl, Wings by Aprilynne Pike and more
recently The Hunger Games.
The one thing I couldn’t find, at
the time, was anything set in the UK. Now I have read, loved and become friends
with some great UK authors, but they are hard to find in this genre. I also
couldn’t find any YA fiction with witches in it…I hadn’t come across The Secret
Circle then! So I decided to combine my two favourites and mix it up a little...
vampires and witches, set against the
wet, cloudy backdrop of my local city, Manchester.
I wrote Witchblood throughout
2010 and after a thorough edit I was overjoyed to land myself a UK agent, who
loved the book and believed in me. However, by the time she was sending to
publishers it was the second half of 2011 and the response was always the same:
We like her writing style but we have
stopped taking on vampire fiction, or The
market is saturated, could she write something else?
In one way their feedback was
great…at least they thought my writing was good enough, but on the other hand
it was SO frustrating. I knew that Witchblood was different, and I knew that
people were still buying supernatural YA, but the tides had turned and there
was nothing I could do. I did try writing something new, but my heart wasn’t in
it. I still wanted to write the whole three book series I had planned out. My
characters had become real to me and I couldn’t shut them away in a drawer, so
when a friend suggested I self-publish on Amazon, I looked into it and decided
I had nothing to lose.
Would I recommend becoming an indie author? Definitely! Do I still want a publishing contract? Of
course I do, but I’d think about it carefully! Basically, self-publishing is
hard work. I am the author, editor, cover designer and promotions team all
rolled into one! The good thing about it, is that I can set my own timeframes
and deadlines. For example I have just had meningitis, and I didn’t think I’d
be able to publish on my planned date, which I had brought forward to coincide
with this tour, but apart from a promotions angle, it wouldn’t have mattered.
If I feel poorly or the words aren’t flowing, the only pressure I’m under is my
own. I have total control over my work, when it’s published and what price to
set.
On the other hand, I haven’t yet
published in print, because self-publishing in print, in the UK, is tricky and
can be costly. However, I would love to see my books in print on the
bookshelves of my local bookstore.
Do I think supernatural YA fiction is ‘over’? Not from what I’ve
seen. Witchblood has had over 5000 downloads in its first six months, and its
fans are asking for the second book…
Well, here it is, and I hope you
enjoy Witchcraft!
Witchblood book two.
Jess is no ordinary vampire. Protected by the Manchester vampire clan, and initiated by her family’s east coast American coven, she is sought after by every dark witch and warring vampire faction. Jess must fight if she wants to keep hold of her friends, her sanity and finally her existence.
Jess is no ordinary vampire. Protected by the Manchester vampire clan, and initiated by her family’s east coast American coven, she is sought after by every dark witch and warring vampire faction. Jess must fight if she wants to keep hold of her friends, her sanity and finally her existence.
As the dead bodies of human girls begin to stack up, and her recently accepted vampire boyfriend, Daniel, finds himself in prison, Jess goes on a crazy, forbidden trip to London, racing against time to save an old friend and solve the mystery behind Daniel’s incarceration. In battling new enemies and finding new friends, Jess’s confidence finds room to grow, but who will she lose along the way?
Buy Witchcraft on Amazon US, Amazon UK, and Smashwords - coming soon to B&N, Kobo and Nook.
If you like the sound of Witchblood then here's your chance to win a copy for your ereader.
The giveaway is open internationally for a week.
Just fill in the form.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
