Monday, February 25, 2019

Author Life: My Publishing Story

I get asked about my journey into publishing fairly often so I thought I would go ahead and share my story here.

There are various points at which I could begin but for the purpose of answering the main question that I get: "How did you get a publishing contract?", I'll start at the point after which I had already self-published ROAM.

In fact, by the time I received my first publishing offer, I had already self-published four books.  I knew that I wanted to seek out a traditional publisher as well and had sent out a couple of query letters which were rejected.  One to a publishing company that responded that my book wasn't "what we're looking for right now" and one to an agent that auto-replied that they didn't have time to review new queries.  A lot of authors get a ton of rejections so I wasn't too upset but their responses made me decide to take some time to research querying a little more and just focus on self-publishing for a while.

In 2017, a year after I had stopped querying (it was perpetually on my "I'll get to it eventually" list), I ended up having a very unfortunate summer in which I broke my foot and was laid off from my job as a graphic designer where I had worked for nearly ten years.  The boredom of the recovery process and my overall "What have I got to lose?" mentality spurred me into action.  I spent time researching publishing companies that I thought would be a good fit for my M/M Paranormal novel, ROAM, and also freshened up my query letter.

I decided that NineStar Press would be the best place to start and I sent in my submission.  Three weeks later, I received an offer and the next day I was signing my first publishing contract!  



I recognize that not every author gets an offer so easily.  I do feel that perhaps the stars aligned in my favor at that time because if I hadn't been injured and entering unemployment then I probably wouldn't have felt the drive to go outside of my comfort zone and take that next step.  I also feel that I had more success the second time around because I did do my research on finding an appropriate publisher for my story and updating my query letter.  If you'd like for me to go more in depth about writing query letters then please let me know in the comments and I'll work it into a post!

I sent in my submission to NSP for HUNTER shortly before ROAM released and it was accepted as well.  I definitely plan to submit my manuscript to them for the third book and anything else I write that I feel would be in alignment with their company as they have been a pleasure to work with.



I also plan to continue self-publishing certain titles.  If you'd like to learn more about my self-publishing process, let me know that in the comments as well!

Thanks for reading and I wish you all the best of luck with your own creative journeys!
- Dez

- Be sure to stay updated with special announcements and new releases through my newsletter!  You can sign up on the main page of my website.
- If you're interested in my daily life, what I'm reading, and writerly musings, you can also follow me on Instagram and Twitter.


COMING SOON - April 8th 2019




OUT NOW



Amazon | B&N | NSP
It's time to face your nightmares.

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

HUNTER Cover Art Reveal & Blurb

I'm thrilled to finally share the new cover art for HUNTER!
So, without further ado:


The title was a pretty good indicator that you'd get a Grady cover. :)
Natasha Snow did an amazing job (as always) and I stand by my conviction that she is, in fact, a magical design creature.

One of the prominent things that stands out is the portal and I can't wait for you all to find out more about that!


BLURB

"Dr. Grady Hunter has a vampire infestation on his hands in the town of Shady Pines but he’s been deserted by those best suited to help. After enlisting Chris Reed, a techno-mage, they find the vampires might only be the tip of a deadly iceburg.

Returning home from his dream travels, Ethan Roam is eager to experiment with his newly discovered powers. But Ethan isn’t the only familiar arrival in Grady’s life. As more reminders of his dark past crop up daily, Grady and Ethan are swept up in a mystery of cosmic proportions.

Grady must fight to keep an ever-evolving Ethan on his side while being challenged by the ghosts of his past."

Old favorites plus new friends and fiends arrive in this one so prepare for a wild ride!


Be sure to add HUNTER to your Lists on Goodreads and I'll keep you updated once pre-orders are available!

AVAILABLE APRIL 8 - NINESTAR PRESS


I'll be back with more info soon.  
Have a fangtastic week!
~ Dez ~

- Be sure to stay updated with special announcements and new releases through my newsletter!  You can sign up on the main page of my website.
- If you're interested in my daily life, what I'm reading, and writerly musings, you can also follow me on Instagram and Twitter.

OUT NOW



Amazon | B&N | NSP
It's time to face your nightmares.

COMING SOON



HUNTER (ROAM: Book Two), coming April 8, 2019 through NineStar Press.

Monday, February 18, 2019

The Dead Oaks: Where Jasper And Wes Go From Here



It's been eight months since the release of the second book, Midnight Monsters, in my YA Paranormal series, The Dead Oaks.  I haven't talked much about it over the past few months and I'm sure those of you that read it would like to know more.  So, here's what's happened since then and where it goes from here:



Midnight Monsters was self-published in June 2018 and although I've received a number of positive emails and messages about it, I still didn't see it gain much traction in sales.  I only have myself to blame for this as I was still a novice indie author (to be perfectly honest, I'm still learning so much about book marketing) and I didn't promote it like I should have.  I wasn't aware of possible venues for it at the time or that there are reviewers who will take on sequels without having had read the previous books.  Thankfully, I know of them now and will definitely reach out to them for future releases.  Another mistake that I feel I made was releasing it on Wattpad.  Wattpad is a great platform for YA and I wanted it to be available for readers that might not be in the position to purchase books like this themselves (i.e.- teens) and while I think that's still a great reason, perhaps I shouldn't have put the book in full on both platforms.  

Moving forward, I still have not made an official decision as to whether the rest of the series will strictly be a Wattpad series or if I will only release it on Kindle Unlimited.  There are pros and cons to both and I haven't had time to really weigh those yet.  However, if you personally have a preference then let me know!

As you've seen, I've been swept up in a very exciting time for me in publishing.  The first two novels in my ROAM series were picked up by NineStar Press!  ROAM was re-released this past October and HUNTER will be out in April.  I'm also currently working on the first draft of the third (and final) book in this series.  So, my writing life has mostly been filled with ROAM-related business.  This is why I haven't begun the third Dead Oaks book yet.

That being said, fear not!  I do plan to write it.  I have a general outline ready and as soon as I finish up the third ROAM book then I will begin working on it.  Ideally, I'd like to have it available for you by autumn of this year but if not, then at least by early 2020.  I will definitely keep you updated!  I love these characters so much and they continue to grow on me as they grow together.

As for any teaser bits, I can tell you this much:  
Roadtrip.  Cryptids.  Relationship Leveling-Up.

It will be worth the wait.  :)

Your Writerly Friend,
- Dez -


If you haven't read the first two Dead Oaks books yet, you can find them on Amazon and Wattpad.

- Be sure to stay updated with special announcements and new releases through my newsletter!  You can sign up on the main page of my website.
- If you're interested in my daily life, what I'm reading, and writerly musings, you can also follow me on Instagram and Twitter.



OUT NOW


Amazon | B&N | NSP
It's time to face your nightmares.

 
COMING SOON

HUNTER (ROAM: Book Two), coming April 8, 2019 through NineStar Press.