One day, my husband walks into our office and starts talking about self-publishing. It sounded like he was talking in tongues. My blood sugar was low, I was cranky, and I had a brand new email from a fan asking where my novel was. My husband gets talking and I keep staring at him like he's an alien and his words are utter gibberish. We go out to eat, my blood sugar levels out, and his words sink in.
Slowly.
Now, self-publishing the Victorian Gothic vampire tale or the new modern day vampire in Texas story is something I wouldn't consider doing, but the zombie epic? Oh, hell yeah! I have a built in fan base. I got a kick ass story. I know people who can do killer artwork and help me put up a website. It was like little gears (and a few big ones) suddenly started turning in perfect harmony.
In a few short weeks, it was evident the zombie epic is really a zombie trilogy and reading up on the business of publish on demand made it clear that I could get the story out to its ardent fans in a solid, professional book. My mother (an English teacher) immediately agreed to edit. Anyone I talked to about the endeavor seemed to instantly support the idea. Suddenly, my husband's speaking in tongues made total sense.
Do not get me wrong, I love my Victorian Gothic vampire tale. In fact, the lead in that story is my great love when it comes to characters. I adore her. She's my girl! I also love my modern day vampire tale set in Texas. It has vampires, a fiesty Mexican grandma, vampire hunters, a bad ass necromancer, and lots of good ol' Austin, Texas in it. I love both those tales.
But the zombie trilogy has its fans already. It already had a great run online and still has fans clamoring for an actual book they can hold in their hands and put on their shelf. It's ready to be out there NOW. And it will be by late summer. The first book will be "As The World Dies: The First Days" and it will have additional scenes in it. It will be a cleaner read due to revisions and edits, but will still be the same kick ass story of two women escaping into rural Texas to escape the zombie apocalypse.
I'm presently working on my marketing stargeties and getting ready for the hard push to publication. The remaining two books in the trilogy will follow.
As for the other two novels, I've decided to try the old traditional routes. One I'll try and get an agent for: the other I will send off to publishing houses. In other words, I am not going to put all my eggs (novels) in one basket.
The one thing I loved about Jenni and Katie in "As The World Dies" was that they were take charge, kick ass women. I think self publishing my zombie epic is me taking charge and kicking a little arse.
Besides, I'm Texan. You can't expect me to do this the easy way, can you? *grin*
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