Hereafter and Thereafter (Re) Release Dates Set!
So…what exactly is going on with Hereafter and Thereafter?
I’m so glad you asked!
I’ve been sitting on this news for a while because there were a lot of moving pieces that weren’t in place, and I didn’t want to announce anything until I had firm release dates. And now that I have all the pieces and some set release dates… drum roll please…
Hereafter will be re-released January 31, 2014 and Thereafter will finally be released May 1, 2014!
Hooray! Hooray! ::throws confetti, flails like Kermit the Frog, runs about like chicken sans head::
There’s been a lot of angst and crazy-fast staff happening the last couple of months. I fielded offers to publish the series from a couple of different publishers and, after careful consideration, decided to self-publish. This was a scary, scary decision for a variety of reasons—the stigma that attaches to self-published works, the extra work that attaches to self-publishing, and the risk of ending up in an “echo chamber” of my own misguided thoughts and opinions on how to market the series just to name a few.
On the other hand, I realized my main reason for seeking a publisher was validation (that my work is good), and I also realized that I no longer need that validation—readers have given me that; they’re the only opinion that matters to me. There was also the fact that there’s a particular artist and artwork that I was absolutely determined to use for the series’ covers, and I had (and still have) absolutely no intention of needing anyone’s permission to do so. My mind was pretty firm on that point. As I got into the nitty gritty of laying out a book’s interior, I realized I also had very definite opinions on a good many details and that I have a really clear idea of what I want my books to feel like, both physically and stylistically. It was at that point that I figured I really just needed to self-publish rather than torturing some poor publisher with my Very Definite Ideas Of The Way It Needed To Be. When an author signs with a publisher, she has to be prepared to turn over control of her work, and I realized I wasn’t prepared to do that, which would have resulted in a toxic relationship that just wouldn’t have worked for either party.
And so here we are.
So, here’s what I’ve been up to for the last two months:
I hired a professional editor to give both books a thorough going over. The edits have been completed on Hereafter and now the editor is working on Thereafter. Though Hereafter remains essentially the same, I’ve cleaned up some nit-picky grammar things and missed typos, plus cut miscellaneous words to accommodate an attractive page layout (i.e. cut words to get the last few sentences of a chapter to fit on the previous page rather than wrapping to the next page). So, it’s not exactly the same and will be a genuine second edition.
I’ve commissioned new covers with a fabulously talented young woman that I can’t wait to introduce you all to. I’m keeping her a secret for the moment because I don’t want anyone swooping in and scooping her up before she finishes my covers :-). I believe I’ll have the cover art for Hereafter and Thereafter by the end of the week. We’ve also already mapped out the design for Book #3 in the series; Book #3 (titled Whereafter) is 75% written and I hope to release it in Fall 2014.
With the help of an amazing team of people who have gone through this themselves, I’ve completed the interior layout for Hereafter and think it’s going to be a sharp looking book. It will be available in both print and e-book (all formats). Even better, both the print and e-book versions are going to be less expensive than before.
So, at the moment, my plan is to have Hereafter back in print by mid- to late-January (I’m hoping to have print copies for Arisia, which I will be attending). Thereafter will be released May 1, 2014. Any bloggers/reviewers interested in reviewing an e-ARC of either (or both) book(s) should email, DM, tweet, FB message, etc. me as I’m compiling a list.
As always, the gratitude I feel for everyone who has supported and encouraged me over the last few months has been overwhelming. There is no doubt in my mind that none of this would have been possible without you guys. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
And now, I’ll leave you with this teaser glimpse of the new Thereafter cover. What do you think?
Comments
Break a leg with your release!