February 9, 2021
The List Post Two
Week 6, Day 2 – The List
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Original Release Date: May 26, 2015
Second Release Date: July 5, 2019
Original Cover Design: Lyrical Press
New Cover Design: Kate L. Mary
Formats: ebook, audiobook, and paperback – grab the ebook for just $0.99 for a limited time!
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Universal
Audible
Goodreads
UK Audiobook Listeners Can Grab A Code for a FREE Audiobook HERE!
The list.
Twenty things every girl must do before she turns 20…
Body piercing
Get drunk
First kiss
But thanks to her crazy, over-protective father, Annie Roth is way behind schedule. Good thing it’s her first semester of college, because Annie is more than ready to start checking off items….
Fake ID
Skinny dipping
Road trip!
Where it gets complicated? Ryan and Chris. Best friends. Both sweet, funny, totally hot, and totally into Annie. But there are some things on the list that Annie only wants to do with Ryan….
Lose it
Get heart broken
Fall in love
What was the writing and publishing process like for The List?
If you read my last post, you know I wrote The List in hopes of getting an agent and/or traditional book deal. Guess what? I did!
In February of 2014 my family and I were getting ready to move from California to Oklahoma, and in the middle of all that craziness, I got an email from an agent who had read and liked The List. We talked on the phone, which gave me a huge boost in the confidence department, but ultimately she decided not to sign me. I can’t even remember why and it doesn’t matter, because I had confirmation that I was a good writer. We moved and I kept at it. Somewhere along the way, I learned that Kensington Press, a traditional publisher that’s been around since 1974, allowed unsolicited queries from authors, meaning you didn’t need an agent. So, I sent a query for The List.
I’m not sure how much time passed, but I do remember an editor emailing me and asking for the manuscript – you’re only allowed to send a query letter at the beginning. I was thrilled, of course, but by this point I’d had quite a few agents request to read various things I’d written, so I tried not to get my hopes up. Time passed, I don’t know how much but it was probably a couple months, and one morning as I was lying in bed scrolling through my inbox, I saw the email I’d been waiting for. The editor had loved my novel and she wanted me to give her a call. At this point, I had the full manuscript out with an agent by the name of Stacey Donaghy who represented a good author friend of mine, Diana Gardin, which really helped move things along. I told the editor that an agent was reading it, she had me message that agent to let her know I had a deal on the table, which I did. The agent put my manuscript at the top of her to read pile – or she maybe had her intern read it. I can’t remember. Anyway, she liked it as well and I signed with her. We had a bit of back and forth about taking the deal from Kensington vs. submitting it to other publishers, and ultimately I think we did do a quick sub to other places. In the end, though, we went with the Kensington deal, and I had an agent and a three book deal by August of 2014. It was the most amazing feeling imaginable.
I already had a few books out at this point, as you know, but this was my first experience with a publisher. It was strange not to have the control. There were a couple scenes cut by the editor – I almost added them back in when I got my rights reverted to me – and I had zero say in the cover.
I hated the original cover at first because I felt like it didn’t reflect my character’s innocence, but it’s grown on me since then (which you can tell because when I later got my rights back and made new covers, I used the same stock image). Ultimately, though, the first book did really well. I had a fair amount of pre-orders and Kensington was doing their part in the marketing department, so I was happy with how it was going. My agent represents author K.A. Tucker as well, who I’ve since met and can say is a genuinely nice person, and I was able to get a blurb for the cover from a USA Today Bestselling Author.
“An absorbing coming-of-age journey full of first love and first heart break.”
There were frustrations, though. One day, after The List was released, I opened my email from BookBub and saw my book there. It was on sale and the publisher had never told me. Now, getting a BookBub deal is huge, so I was thrilled, but I hated not being in the loop. Unfortunately, that continued. I could never keep track of when there was a sale, and eventually stopped trying. My sales were never that great after the first book, and since I had no control over the price or when it was dropped, I had no way to buy ads to give it a boost. All my other books were on Kindle Unlimited, which is where I make the majority of my money, but this series wasn’t, so even my readers who might have been willing to try a romance novel from me couldn’t give it a risk free shot. The years passed, I published more books. I submitted to my agent a few times but never got very far, and ultimately always chose to go the indie route again. My royalty checks from the publisher started to become a joke. I remember getting one as I was on my way to get my hair done. It was a quarterly check for four books, and it wasn’t even enough to cover my hair appointment. I laughed, but it was found it frustrating when I thought about all that time I put into writing something I had no control over.
That was why I pulled my out contract in the spring 2019. I knew it was only for a short time period and I couldn’t remember how long. After five years, which was approaching, I could request to have my rights returned to me. But I had 3 other books with the publisher, so there was no point in getting the rights back if I couldn’t have the whole series. Thankfully, there was a clause that said I could possibly have my rights earlier if the sales weren’t good, which they weren’t. So, I asked my agent to contact Kensington and request that the rights for all four books be reverted to me, and was thrilled when they agreed. Now I had the control.
I designed covers, worked on formatting, set release dates, and put the books up for pre-order. Plus, now that I had total control, I was able to look for a narrator so I could have an audiobook done. I love the new covers I created, and the interior formatting for the print books is amazing!
The List is never going to be my best seller. It’s not what I’m known for and not what my readers want, and I’m okay with that. But I want control over my work. While I’m happy for the experience of being with a publisher, it’s has helped me realize that I’m not missing out on much by doing it on my own. I’m good being an indie author, even if there are people out there who probably still don’t consider me a real author. I know the truth, and that’s enough for me.
