Of my three blogs, this one gets neglected the most. That's because it's pretty hard to post something positive about a book series that hasn't had a release since 2016. I keep hearing the three other Companion Dragon Tales books that have been turned in are coming out soon. I've seen cover art in various stages for at least two of them. But we still haven't had a release in over four years. I have no idea why not, and frankly, I'm discouraged.
This is a series that is near and dear to my heart. It has appealed to people of all ages, so these are good family share books. What better time is there for that now, when so many folks have been hunkered down at home? I understand that I'm not a special snowflake when it comes to having my work released, the publisher has numerous other authors who are just as anxiously awaiting their own books. But I can't let this incredible little series languish much longer. It's been popular and one that I've gotten plenty of feedback on, at least privately if not in many actual reviews.
In my publisher's defense, this year has been a tough one with conventions cancelled, which means selling opportunities have dwindled. There could be other circumstances involved that I've not been apprised of. We all have lives outside of the business of writing and publishing, and things can go wrong that mess up what has been planned. Yet something's got to give here.
I'm toying with the idea of taking the series self-published to help resolve this logjam. I have plenty of other writing with this publisher, and several other books that are either awaiting print or haven't been turned in because of the backlog. We'll be having a discussion about this shortly because if money was already put into cover art, that is a significant investent on the publisher's part. I'm not looking to financially harm anyone. I just want my work to get out in some sort of timely manner so that readers can keep up with a series they clearly enjoy.
We'll see what comes of this, and I will update here when I have some sort of answer or solution.
~NANCY
