Self-Publishing Update
It's been so long since I've posted. 2017 has been such a year of emotional curveballs. I put my writing aside for months, haven't promoted my books, became very depressed, spent most of my time on political activism, rebooted, took time offline, and began writing. I do have a nonfiction book project in the works, and I'm hoping it'll be ready in time for the holidays, but we shall see.
In the meantime... in September, I was contacted by Kindle Direct Publishing. They wanted to feature my memoirs
Let Me Get This Off My Chest as one of their Prime selections, which means they pay me a lump sum at the end of the 90-day feature period. On my end, I do nothing except leave my title in Select, which I was planning on doing anyway. I still receive my regular royalty payments for non-Prime purchases. It was a win-win for me, so I agreed. Soon after its inclusion in the Prime library, my book hit No. 1 on the bestseller lists in its categories and has stayed there for the past couple of weeks.
A couple days later, I was contacted by Hershman Rights Management, a literary agency specializing in subsidiary rights management--in their case, audio book rights and foreign language translations. I did some vetting, including contacting one of the authors they represent. She is very happy with their representation, and they've obtained audio book deals for two of her series. Since I wasn't doing anything with my subsidiary rights, and the contract is straightforward and favorable, I went ahead and signed with them. So now I am represented for those rights, and I have to admit, it feels like a bit of a feather in my cap. (Self-publishing can be such a lonely process. And being a writer is setting one's self up for self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy with brief moments of euphoria. Feels like we need to celebrate the good stuff.)
That is where I am now. Hoping I am able to finish this book. (The challenge: It needs to be better.)