The Times They Are a’Changing
By Lois Winston
I don’t like change. I much prefer the security and comfort of habit. I’m not the kind of person who climbs a mountain just because it’s there. I need a reason to step out of my comfort zone, lace up my hiking boots, and ascend into the unknown. When I’m confronted with the need to change, I first spend time soul-searching and deliberating.
Unfortunately, the publishing industry has been fraught with change for quite some time now. Gone are the days when an author had a home for life, and the people she worked with at the publishing house became like a second family to her. These days there’s a lot of divorce going on in publishing. More and more authors are being dropped because their sales aren’t strong enough. Or authors decide for various reasons that they need to leave their publishers. Both situations are very scary for the author. No matter which party institutes the divorce proceedings, fear of the unknown can overwhelm an author.
Twelve years ago, I realized I needed to institute a change in my life. I didn’t want to, but after several long months of soul-searching, I knew it was time to climb the mountain. I laced up those hiking boots and walked away from two new publishing contracts—one for additional books in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series and one for a new series, the Empty Nest Mysteries.
Was I terrified? You bet! Being published by a traditional publishing house is the Holy Grail to all aspiring authors. Or it used to be. Times have changed. Self-publishing, now often referred to as indie publishing, no longer has the stigma it once did because authors are in control, not questionable vanity presses.
Rather than sign with one of the small publishers interested in continuing my series, I went indie. I continued writing the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, adding a series of three connected mini-mysteries. I also published the Empty Nest Mysteries and several standalone mystery novellas. I reissued my backlist and published some unsold romances and romantic suspense novels.
Would I regret my decision? After all, not only had I given up the “legitimacy” of traditional publishing, but I’d also given up some decent advance money. There were nights I tossed and turned, wondering if I’d made the biggest mistake of my life by going indie, especially when I didn’t see the huge numbers of sales that other indie authors claimed to have.
Was it because I didn’t write super-sexy books with shirtless studs? Or was there some other reason? My traditionally published books had received stellar reviews, including starred reviews from Publishers Weeklyand Booklist for my mystery series. I’d also won quite a few awards for my fiction. Why weren’t my indie books selling better?
One mantra I kept repeating was something I’d heard from other authors: It’s not a sprint; it’s a marathon. It was hard to convince myself since I seemed to be limping along, not sprinting. But eventually I saw that they were right. It took some time, but since publishing my first indie book, I’ve seen steady growth in sales. Can I support myself on what I’m making? Heck, no! But then again, I couldn’t support myself on what I made from traditional publishing.
However, as time has passed, I’ve become more comfortable with my decision. There’s much to be said about having total control over your writing career. What I’ve also discovered is that readers don’t really care who publishes you. Authors might constantly ask other authors, “Who’s your publisher?” but readers are only interested in good books. They don’t know PRH from Level Best. Mention “the Big Five,” and they’ll most likely think you’re talking about a college basketball conference.
Meanwhile, Sorry, Knot Sorry, the thirteenth book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series, is currently on preorder and releases June 4th. For those of you familiar with Anastasia, I hope you enjoy her latest adventure. For those of you who haven’t gotten to know her yet, I hope you will.
An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 13
Magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack may finally be able to pay off the remaining debt she found herself saddled with when her duplicitous first husband dropped dead in a Las Vegas casino. But as Anastasia has discovered, nothing in her life is ever straightforward. Strings are always attached. Thanks to the success of an unauthorized true crime podcast, a television production company wants to option her life—warts and all—as a reluctant amateur sleuth.
Is such exposure worth a clean financial slate? Anastasia isn’t sure, but at the same time, rumors are flying about layoffs at the office. Whether she wants national exposure or not, Anastasia may be forced to sign on the dotted line to keep from standing in the unemployment line. But the dead bodies keep coming, and they’re not in the script.
Craft tips included.
Buy Links (preorder now. Available June 4th)
Paperback and Hardcover editions available after June 4th.
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USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website where can also sign up for her newsletter and find links to her other social media: www.loiswinston.com