A Year of Living Dangerously

There are times in our lives when events overtake us, like a tsunami that picks us up and takes us away. We don’t know where the events will take us, but we are prepared and, as always, hope for the best. Our tsunami dropped us on safe ground.

The last year has been challenging for my family, with serious illnesses, dramatic changes in publishing and distribution, and some uncertainty. We got through it and are healthier, more robust, and wiser. More importantly, we are still here punching, kicking, and writing.

I won’t divert you with the illnesses; they were complex and challenging, but now the future looks terrific.

On the other hand, publishing and distributing an author’s hard work are parts of the writing industry that are as important as writing itself. I have been down many publishing roads, initially self-publishing my first dozen or so thrillers, mysteries, and novels. Then, through the efforts of an agent, I hooked up with Thomas & Mercer, an Amazon imprint. They were great, and I did two thrillers with them. Then, as happens (this is a business, you know), they cut me adrift – what I thought would be a long relationship ended in divorce after two years. Undaunted, during the next few years, I kept writing and published a half dozen additional books within my other ongoing series (see sidebars to the right and website).

On the River

Bouchercon 2023

Incidentally, about this time, we took a road trip through Montana, explored this glorious expanse of America, fly-fished some incredible rivers and streams, and came up with the idea of a new series focusing on a new character, Deputy Sheriff Jordan Tynes, from Park County, Montana (the northern gateway to Yellowstone Park). With a helpful suggestion from my agent, I contacted an established publishing house (really a distributor since I kept the rights), who took me on. They published three of my Jordan Tynes stories but didn’t market the books the way I wanted. We amicably parted, I took all the distribution rights back, rebranded my titles, and voila, I reestablished our publishing house, Windsor Hill Publishing. We then rereleased all the novels, thrillers, mysteries, and science fiction stories with new covers and renewed vigor.

Here is a photo of the stacks of titles and fourteen years of work—it measures almost 19 inches and almost two million words.

Fourteen Years of Work

We are currently attacking the marketplace utilizing Written Word Media and Freebooksy.

They are just one of many, possibly dozens, of BookBub-type marketing sites that utilize a pay-to-play to get your titles to potential readers. All require payment for one day of email distribution to tens of thousands of potential readers. It's a great way to get your name out there, but consistency is required, and the more titles, the better. We did a Freebooksy for Deputy Sheriff Jordan Tynes's first book, One Yellow Dog, and gave away almost six thousand copies. Do you know how many bookstore events it would take to reach that many new readers? And for only $100. This immediately rolled over into sales of the other two titles, hits on the website, and sales of our other titles. We are proud to say our best two-month stretch of sales—ever.

Look for three new novels coming in the next six months. These are Wars Amongst Lovers, Four Women Named July, and the fourth Sherif Jordan Tynes modern Western, Fire on Breakneck Mountain.

Have a great fall, and I wish you all the best in your writing endeavors.

 

More Later . . . . . . . .