The very sad news was announced last week, that my publisher, Momentum is closing its office. The Pan Macmillan imprint will still exist, however they are scaling back the number of titles they publish. It also means that the wonderful people I worked with, are now without a job. 🙁 I really enjoyed working with Joel, Patrick, Michelle, and also Ashley and Tara, and I used to recommend Momentum to anyone looking to get a book published.
So for those wondering what that means for me and my books, the situation is like this. The Texan Quartet will remain published and be business as usual, with just my contact person changing to someone at Pan Macmillan. However The Flanagan Sisters, which was due out this year, will no longer be published by Momentum or Pan Macmillan. It is effectively without a home.
I've thought long and hard about what to do. Book 1, Break the Rules has already been fully edited and just needs the cover, and Book 2, Change of Heart was just waiting for edits from Momentum. The publishing schedule of April, July and October is still achievable, if someone wanted to publish it.
The problem is, nothing happens fast in the publishing industry. If I was to submit to another digital publisher, it would likely be months before I get a response. If one of them accepted the manuscripts, they would need to fit into their publishing schedule which probably would not happen until 2017 at the earliest. If I tried a traditional publisher, I would need to find an agent first and that would be an even longer process.
I really don't want to disappoint my readers who are looking forward to the new series. Some have already pre-ordered Break the Rules! (any pre-orders which have been made will be cancelled when all the documentation has been processed)
I'm looking into indie publishing the series. There are some wonderful cover designers out there, and some fantastic editors and I believe I can put out the same quality book as I had with Momentum. It's a big learning curve though; reading through contracts, finding out about formatting and tax issues now that I'll be doing things internationally, and all sorts of other things. I am lucky I have friends who have indie published and are willing to answer my questions, so I'm hoping it will be a smooth process. When I've finalised all the details, I'll amend the release dates as required and let you all know what is going on.
I appreciate your support and understanding while I sort everything out.
