The Background of Angelfall
I have been asked by a lot of people why I'm an indie author rather than one backed by a traditional publishing house. There were several reasons and you can find them on the net here and there. But the biggest factor was an emotional one that I never talked about, mostly because I am a private person but also because I didn't want it boiled down to a soundbite. No one has ever accused me of over-sharing and that's perfectly justified. But I'm going to make an exception here because I respect and love my readers and I want you to know Angelfall's background and likely future.
Angelfall's journey through publishing started off very personal. I was in a seven year relationship that meant a lot to me. When it ended, it almost broke me. The first draft of Angelfall was written during the breakup.
Angelfall started with the loss of a relationship that was important to me and I hoped that it would result in forging new relationships with readers that would in some way, ease that loss. A reader's connection with a story is in many ways, a connection with the author and I felt a strong need to find those readers.
I didn't know if there was even one person out there who would enjoy my book but I needed to try. I couldn't wait the year or two it would take for it to go through the traditional publishing route, nor could I stomach the thought that the only readers during that time would be people who read the story for the purpose of weighing and measuring it for its commercial value. So I published it myself without ever reaching out to agents or publishers. It was my message in a bottle attempt to connect.
I've said this next part before but it's worth saying again.
When the book reached 10 ratings, I was so excited! I walked around in a happy daze, thinking about the people who voluntarily spent hours of their lives sharing my dream of Penryn & Raffe. They enjoyed it! How amazing is that? I had found my tribe.
When it reached 100 ratings, I was flabbergasted.
Well…you can imagine how I feel today. There are now over 450 reviews on Amazon and over 4,000 ratings on Goodreads. The readership support has been phenomenal.
Words like "stunned", "honored", "grateful" and "moved" come to mind. But really, there are no words to describe how I feel. The readers have given me the gift of a lifetime.
The Likely Future of Angelfall
Who would have thought there would have been so many of us in the Angelfall tribe? Foreign publishers have been contacting me for translation rights. Libraries are asking for the book to be input into a more accessible system for them. Bookstores are requesting that it be published in such a way so that they can order it in a traditional manner that works with their business. Angelfall is growing beyond anything I ever expected—and beyond what I'm comfortable handling.
It's time for me to partner with professionals who can manage all this stuff and more. So I am currently talking with Amazon Childrens Publishing to relaunch the book.
I like that they are considering keeping the Angelfall ebook price super low and even lowering the price of the paperback. This is a great indication that they are serious about keeping the readers happy. The cover will most likely be the same or essentially the same because so many of us love it. And they are giving me a stunning amount of input into the production and presentation of the book. A tentative relaunch date of the end of August has been set. Angelfall will continue to be on sale right up until Amazon relaunches it so that the readers won't have an interruption in having access to the book. It's currently planned to be a simultaneous launch of ebook, paperback and AUDIO BOOK (audio book!!!!!!).
This is everything I can say right now so I can't really answer any questions at this stage. I will post an update to what's happening with Book 2 in the upcoming days/ weeks and let you know what's going on with that as well.
I have LOVED being an indie author. That kind of freedom and fun is very dear to me and I suspect that I will have other indie projects out there in the future.
As always, THANK YOU for all your support and enthusiasm. Angelfall readers are a writer's dream come true and I can't wait to share the next part of the journey with you.
