Is there a 'right' way to publication? Author Adria J Cimino shares her success story.

Hi all!

Lovely to see you here. If you check out my sidebar, you'll see I've read 28 of my 120 books for the goodread's challenge. Many are Paris inspired which is what led me to today's post. 

An author who writes Paris-inspired novels contacted me through goodreads and I've been very happy to check out her blog. Recently I read her interview on Huffington Post where she recounted about her publication journey. 

Everyone has their unique 'publication' story. It's a topic I'm always interested in, so I invited Adria to visit my blog and share her thoughts re Indie and Traditional publishing.

So settle back and enjoy what Adria has to say.

An Indie Path to Publication

By Adria J. Cimino

Is there a ‘right’ way to publish?

I used to have a literary agent. I still remember my delight the day I signed the contract, naively thinking I was on my way to success. Months passed. Years passed... 

The glory days of self-publishing arrived, and I watched the books of self-published authors and those publishing with smaller houses climb the rankings. My agent agreed to publish my debut novel as an e-book through his agency’s imprint but told me I would be on my own in terms of marketing.

As my indie friends continued to progress, I found myself stagnating. My novel, “Paris, Rue des Martyrs,” was literary fiction and I soon learned that many readers of literary fiction prefer print books to e-books. So much of my audience actually wouldn’t even have access to my book!

My literary agent was set on the e-book path, and our strategies simply diverged. The decision seemed obvious, yet felt like free falling. Drop the agent. And so I did, going for the free fall. A scary proposition for someone like me, who had imagined that traditional path to publication for so long.

I could have self-published, but another idea was cooking in my mind. There were plenty of new authors around who found themselves in situations similar to mine. And that is how Velvet Morning Press was born.

Fellow author Vicki Lesage and I joined forces, pooled our skills and formed this small indie publishing house, aimed at publishing our books as well as the books of others. Why not take all that we learned in editing and marketing our own books and apply it across a broader scale? We moved forward, full speed ahead.

We re-released “Paris, Rue des Martyrs” in paperback as well as in e-book format. We published a multi-author short story anthology, “That’s Paris: An Anthology of Life, Love and Sarcasm in the City of Light,” and released my second novel, “Close to Destiny.” 

Next up, on April 17: “Legacy,” a short story anthology including award-winning author Kristopher Jansma and New York Times best seller Regina Calcaterra. 

Through my work marketing my own book and now my work with Vicki Lesage at Velvet Morning Press, I realize that there isn’t one “right” way to publish. One thing is certain though: More and more authors are turning to some form of indie publication.

How to make the decision?

Here are the positives/negatives I considered before choosing what path to take:

Indie

Positives: shorter time to publication, higher percent of royalties, larger role in decision making

Negatives: difficulty getting the attention of major media, difficulty getting into some bookshops

Big Publisher:

Positives: easier access to major media, greater access to bookshops

Negatives: lower royalties, cash advances are lower than in the past, longer time to publication

And what’s equal? Publicity. Unless you’re J.K. Rowling, chances are, even if you are published through a large publishing house, you will have to pitch in to some degree on your own marketing.

So there you have it, my story and a few tips so that you can embark on your story.

Happy Writing!

Thanks for visiting with us today Adria. So...if you'd like to check out Adria's books, here are the links. I'm currently reading 'close to destiny' and am enraptured.

 BOOK LINKS:

 “Close to Destiny”:

http://www.amazon.com/Close-Destiny-Adria-J-Cimino/dp/0692346945

“Paris, Rue des Martyrs”:

http://www.amazon.com/Paris-Rue-Martyrs-Adria-Cimino/dp/0692335072

“That’s Paris”: 

http://www.amazon.com/Thats-Paris-Anthology-Sarcasm-Light/dp/0692340114

Adria J. Cimino is the author of novels “Paris, Rue des Martyrs” and “Close to Destiny” and is co-founder of indie publishing house Velvet Morning Press (http://www.velvetmorningpress.com). She also is a contributor to short story anthology “That’s Paris.” Prior to jumping into the publishing world full time, she spent more than a decade as a journalist at news organizations including The AP and Bloomberg News. Adria is a member of Tall Poppy Writers (http://tallpoppies.org/) a community of writing professionals committed to connecting authors with each other and with readers. In addition to writing fiction and discovering new authors, Adria writes about her real-life adventures in her blog “Adria in Paris.” (http://adriainparis.blogspot.com/). You also may learn more about Adria and her work by visiting her website at http://ajcimino.com/ or following her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Adria_in_Paris.

• If you're published, share a little of the path you took to achieve your goal.
• If you're still seeking publication, how is your  journey going?Check out Velvet Morning Press.
• Did Adria's story help you in any way?