The day I was offered a publishing contract

This week my heart raced when I opened the post and pulled out a publishing contract for a picture book story I submitted before Christmas. Hands shaking, I read the accompanying letter, my heart sinking the more I read. The editorial team had only compliments for the story. With the right graphics it was felt that my story could have a chance in the children's book market. BUT. Because I am an 'untried' author, they could only offer me a contributory contract. Now, I've read that a publisher should never ask you for money, and that if they do, it's called vanity publishing. But this offer was something different; not vanity publishing but rather, HYBRID publishing. 

I read on, curious to see how big of  contribution they were asking me to make. They wanted a minimum of £2500 for my story to be turned into an eBook and paperback; I'd need to pay more if I wanted hardback and audio versions.

There was no decision to make given that I'm not in a position to pay that amount of money to get my book published at this time, and so I had to decline it. I felt deflated afterwards, but not for long. I BELIEVE in the story. I have had good feedback on it so far (and not just from the publishers), so I intend to keep on submitting it. If it never finds a home with a publisher (and a traditional publishing contract), I will look into self-publishing it.

As you know I've self-published before. The reason I haven't self-published this story YET is because it needs illustrations. I'm no artist, so I can't do them myself. I'd be reliant upon finding an illustrator, which I will do if necessary.

The moral of this tale? To keep going - keep writing - and to believe in yourself. Do BEWARE of vanity publishing where you'll be paying the publisher to publish your book; you'll the one taking all the risks. A contributory contract is a different matter, but do your research. How much is the publishing company going to do on your behalf? Have they got a good reputation? If you've got the budget, then maybe it's something worth considering.

If you're interested in finding out about the pros and cons of being a hybrid author, here's a useful article from the Alliance of Independent Authors: https://selfpublishingadvice.org/the-pros-and-cons-of-being-a-hybrid-author/

Until next time,

Helen x

On writing and Christmas

I was asked the question recently as to whether I'll continue writing over Christmas, or take a break. The answer is that I will probably take Christmas Day itself "off", but if inspiration strikes during the rest of the holiday period, I won't rest until I've got it down on paper. I love writing so it never feels like work to me. 

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and all good wishes for the New Year.

Until the next time,

Helen x

PS. I took this picture on a recent trip to Birmingham. 

New paperback

It took a little longer than I'd hoped, due to problems with the cover, but And Then She Shines: A Collection of Novelettes is now available in paperback! This is the first time I've had a fiction paperback out so I'm feeling proud. It also marks the beginning of the end of a project I embarked on last winter, when I decided to rewrite some of my old novelettes.

Four of the novelettes in this collection were once published under a different name. They've all had a refresh. Finding Ella is new material though. And Cassie's Choice will be new to some people because I didn't release the old version separately. It was only available as part of my old collection of novelettes, which was called Snapshots.

There are now just two novelettes left for me to revise and I've decided to combine them. It's going to be a novella. I can't wait to tell you more about Gemma and Kate, but I'll save that for 2020.

For now, I'm going to celebrate the release of And Then She Shines. It's not every day you have a paperback book out!😊

Until the next time,

Helen x



#womensfiction #shorterfiction

New audiobook

I have a second audiobook out! It's called More About Archie: The Post Puppy Years, and it's the sequel to All About Archie: Bringing Up A Puppy, which was released last year. Once again it's been narrated by Julia Eve, who has been wonderful to work with.

We had quite a few conversations this time about the pronunciation of names, as well as about pauses, and generally how to make the book make sense to listeners. 

It's hard to believe I now have two audiobooks out there. It's been a learning curve, although it was easier this time round, and I have to say that ACX makes it fairly straightforward.

If you would like to take a listen, there's a sample here.

Happy listening!

Helen x

Publication Day

It's publication day! The eBook version of And Then She Shines is now available on Amazon. If you like shorter reads, my collection of novelettes could be just the thing you're looking for - there are five stories to enjoy. Want to know more? Take a closer look here. #Ad #womensfiction

And Then She Shines: A Collection of Novelettes

I've had more than one project on the go during the last few months, one of which was putting my novelettes together in one collection. The collection includes the previously published Ruby's Secret, Love, Anna, Laura's Embrace, Finding Ella, as well as my new novelette, Cassie's Choice. I thought it would be a quick job, but as it turns out, it wasn't! I got there in the end and this week I've listed the eBook version for pre-order. If you'd like to take a look, you can find it here. #Ad

The formatting took more time than I thought, but the most time consuming element was deciding upon a cover. The picture I eventually chose was originally going to be used for the cover of Cassie's Choice, but then I decided not to publish Cassie's Choice on its own. I'm really pleased with the end result. 

The eBook will be released on 1st November and I hope to have the paperback available by the end of November. I can't wait for the paperback because it will be the first time I've had a fiction paperback out! 

There is actually a secret element to my collection of novelettes (blink and you'll miss it). Yes, they are all standalone stories, but could they be linked in some way? You'll have to take a look to find out.

Update: The Archie Collection Paperback

The printing issue has now been resolved and the paperback version of The Archie Collection: Bringing Up A Puppy & The Post Puppy Years is now live!👏😊 You can find both the eBook and the paperback here. #Ad