Major Announcement!

It's truly funny how things work out sometimes.

For the past year, since about the time my son began pre-treatment for his bone marrow transplant, my thoughts where publishing were concerned have turned dramatically towards self-publishing. I've seen countless friends self-publish in the past 5 - 8 years, some who even surprised me because of their vehemence towards NOT self-publishing in the same time frame.

I've spent numerous hours in the last year reading popular self-publishing blogs, listening to podcasts, and questioning key friends who have both self-published and been traditionally published. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that self-publishing was for me because of the certainty of having my words and stories in print, and because of the level of control I'd be able to have.

And then, a random post about a month ago turned things on its head.

On my personal Facebook page, I made a comment one weekend about the priciness of ISBNs--those 10 or 13-digit numbers that uniquely identify your book and its edition. I knew I'd need several in the next year or two, considering my plans. But, yikes! Were they expensive!! I'm a stay-at-home mom, and I can't ask my husband for $500 for 20 ISBNs (or whatever the rate is.) We just don't have it in the budget, and I haven't shown him the evidence that I could earn it back yet.

So, back to the comment. I was surprised at how many people responded to my post--all authors, of course (because who else knows what an ISBN is??) It was an interesting conversation, especially because I commented that I almost wished we lived in Canada, where ISBNs are free to authors.

What I didn't know is that they're free in other countries, too. Like New Zealand.

One of my friends happens to live in New Zealand.

She also happens to have her own press.

She also has read my work, and was my mentor when I did the Team PYP challenge about two to three years ago.

And, late last year, I'd asked her advice on a short story I had wanted to develop into a longer piece of work, and she gladly gave me some advice which was key into developing it into a novella rather than a short story.

She also invited me to send her the completed novella to possibly publish it through her press.

My brain turned on its head. Traditionally publish? But... but... but... I've been planning to self-publish for the past nine months!

Still, this was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. One thing I've struggled with was the idea that my stories were worth it. Another was what I'd do about editing because I knew I'd need at least a good polish, if not much more. If she was interested in the stories, maybe they do have worth, maybe they are good enough. If not, well, maybe she'd have some input on what I could improve.

I'm not going to prattle on much longer in my story, but long story short is: I sent the novella. She loved them. We talked. We agreed it would be mutually beneficial for us to work together.

A contract was sent. A contract has been signed.

As of March 25, 2014, I'm contracted with Splashdown Books. My editor is the fabulous Grace Bridges. I'm completely over the moon, especially since this is my birthday week. What better present could an author ask for but a contract?? Of course this year, I'm just thrilled to be home on my birthday, with my husband, daughter, son, and dog. But a CONTRACT! Probably one of the best presents ever!

We're still working out all of the details, such as titles and time frame. That information will be forthcoming as it's available. Check here, the Splashdown Books website, Twitter, my Facebook, or the Splashdown Books Facebook page for updates.

So, that's my major announcement! I'm so, so happy to share this with the rest of you!

Until next time...