Just under two weeks ago, I hit a big milestone. A year ago, I was chewing my nails and editing frantically, trying to make the goal of getting Back to December out to the world on August 5th. I say that I was birthing my third child (not to be confused with the large, Alpha man who lives with me), my self-publishing career. The metaphor, it turns out, extends beyond just the birthing stage. Much like having a human baby, a writing career goes through changes. Just as it was with my children, the last year brought so many things into my life, some of which I could not have expected. I took a marketing class last fall that helped me focus on my goals. Now that we're at the 1-year mark, it will be interesting to see how my goals compared to reality.
I've made new writer friends, many of whom have been instrumental in growing my brand and helping me improve as a writer. This happened in a variety of ways. Some, like Marie Hall, Brenda Rothert and Minx Malone, I friended on Facebook and followed on Twitter just because I loved their work. They have all given me great advice and in turn, I've done my best to help spread the word about their talent.
Others, like Bethany Averie (who has become a great friend) and Danael McGuire, I actually met through Marie's Facebook page. Danael, in turn, brought me on board a group that connects authors and reviewers. Through that I met some really wonderful people: Ella Medler, who gave me the best review I've ever had (I swear, I will get to your books!); Rene Folsom, who has taught me so much about graphic design (she's an extremely talented graphic artist as well as a great writer!); and up-and-coming author, Avery Hale, who impressed me with her debut novel and has a similar work ethic to my own. Rene introduced me to amazing writer SL Dearing, who is also a fantastic maker of book swag. I found Clarissa Wild via one of the first book blogs I followed on Facebook, and we've been helping each other grow ever since.
I also met my superfan, Mandy through Marie's page, and I met another new fan, Connie, through the reviewers group. And just like that, networking expands, the brand grows, fans are found and they help spread the word. One day, you have a personal Facebook page and you realize you need a professional page instead. The ten followers who are family turn to fifty and before you know it, you've got 1,425 people who have liked your page. I've expanded this blog to encompass blog tours and reviews, cover reveals and promotion - all for other people. I've done blog takeovers on Facebook and held many giveaways on my page as well as in conjunction with others. And I now have a fan page - Christopher's Minions - where I'm rewarding the big fans with all the latest info first. Guerrilla marketing at its finest.
So, where are we at? My Ward Sisters series now has four books complete, and by the end of the month, I will be publishing a boxed set with all four of those books as well as some bonus content in the form of deleted scenes from each novel. I'll also include a teaser from my next book, Time to Begin - and not the one that appears in the back of This Year's Love. Here's the cover for the boxed set - the 3D image with the 2D cover on the front.
In 2014, I'm hoping to get both Time to Begin (Ward Sisters, #5, launch date of September 15, 2014) and Just Realized (Ward Sisters, #6, tentatively Christmas 2014) published. When those are done, I'll launch my first spinoff series, Vega Brothers, probably next spring. Then, the pre-quel book in my other spinoff, Deacon Security, will come in the form of Ward Sisters, #7, Think of Me. That should take us through just about this time next year - I'm aiming for a book out every 3-4 months. My personal situation has changed, so we'll see how that impacts my writing - it may be that things move faster, it may mean they move slower. But, now you know my plans. If things change, I'll be sure to post an update.
The last bit I wanted to share is that I'm splitting the final book in Ward Sisters into two separate volumes. No, they will not be half as long. The decision has been made because I think that it best serves the story I was ultimately telling to break it into two pieces, as each segment is capable of sustaining a full-length novel by itself. I've said before that I didn't envision writing a his/hers story and telling the same tale in two separate books. This won't really be that, because the story of Dan Williams and Charlie Ward Williams is not one of just two people. Yes, I'll give you a major spoiler, this story will follow Dan and Charlie as their marriage hits a crater and that story will involve two other people you will have met earlier in the series. Currently, I plan to write the two stories together - I have been all along and will actually separate the parts that are Dan's point-of-view like a conjoined twin surgery. I'll publish them back-to-back and might offer them as a two-book set, at least initially.
Once I've launched Time to Begin, I'll have new cover material to show for the final two books, which will now be #9 and #10. The changes in how the story is being told means that what was originally the last book will still be that and will be Charlie Ward's story, book #10. I'm separating Dan's part of the story and calling that book #9. I've also decided that Better Be Home Soon isn't a good title for either of the final two stories now that I've split the narrative into two separate pieces, so when I do the cover reveals, I'll also be sharing the new story titles.
Thanks for taking this journey with me! I hope you'll stay on the ride!
Much love,
Patti Korbet
Yes, it has officially been a year since I started my blog. Technically, that was yesterday. Flag Day! How did I miss that before? I don't know. It was motivated by the premiere of Man of Steel, not celebrating flags of any sort, so there you have it. You can read my first blog post here, and that will tell you about the whole Superman thing.
One year and 80 posts later, and a lot has changed. Now, my blog isn't just about me. I've been writing reviews, participating in blog tours, doing cover reveals (for me and others), having contests and giveaways and still occasionally posting about random ramblings or about my work.
As of the start of the blog, I hadn't gone back to social media yet. Now, I have not one, but TWO Facebook pages. I'd reconnected with many old friends and found that my 'author' page was becoming too personal, so, I created an actual Author Patti Korbet page. There, I share the posts of this blog, talk about my work, and help promote other authors, blogs and pages I support. Did I mention that I launched it on October 29, 2013? On February 28, two weeks before I published my third novel, Right Here Waiting, I had 48 LIKES. Today, I have 1,312. You read that right. I gained over 1,250 people paying attention to my author page in 3.5 months. Not that I haven't worked hard for that - on the contrary, I've worked my tushy off promoting others and offering contests or giveaways - but I am humbled by the very idea.
I'm on Twitter, too - @PKorbetAuthor. I don't go there as often as I did in the beginning - when I have big news to share, I post over there. Or, if I've been away a while and want to post a quick update, I sometimes, do that. I read my whole feed all the time in the early days. Now, I don't have the time because I follow too many people! That hasn't grown as steadily as Facebook, but it's all good. I mostly do it for fun and cross-promotion. I'll share the blog there or post the occasional teaser images. Today, I changed my background to the cover for my next book, This Year's Love, and I updated my top segment with a banner that shows all of my Ward Sisters covers.
Ah, covers, another thing that has changed a lot in a year. I hadn't even found the right image for book 1, Back to December, when I started the blog. The one I eventually chose is still the cover image, but I've tweaked it several times - adding taglines, changing fonts, changing text embellishments. I did the same thing with book 2, Only One. Part of why the cover changed so much was that I've learned how to really take advantage of the freeware program GIMP, which is the image manipulating software on my computer. Between talking with my friend, the amazing Rene Folsom at Phycel Designs, and trial and error, my skills have improved dramatically. I've finished all the covers for Ward Sisters, and I can't wait to move on to my other series.
Speaking of other series, did I mention that? Yep, it's another big change. While completing Right Here Waiting, I realized that I wanted to write for a couple of the story's secondary characters, but I didn't want them to be in the main series. Thus, a spinoff was born called Vega Brothers. As of now, I have 4 stories already planned, plotted (to some degree) and in some cases, partially written. Likewise, I was inspired to write for more of the soldiers who appear in Ward Sisters. It wasn't a stretch to combine that idea with a spinoff involving Deacon Security, the company which protects Deac Roberts in Back to December and is owned by his brother, Rick. That series has 4 books currently planned, plotted and also partially written. I'm intending it to have the possibility of being ongoing and tapping into the suspense category. I'll post about that soon.
Also soon? My second Blog Takeover. I did one a couple weeks ago and it was fun (and pushed me over the 1k mark). This next time, I'll have two whole hours and it'll be all about promo for the next book. I'm also hoping to organize a blog tour, but we'll see if that can come to fruition this time or if I should just wait for the next round. In August, we'll be at the 1-year mark for Back to December - my 1-Year Pubiversary - and I might save the major blog tour until then.
Either way, the next big thing is the publication of This Year's Love, Ward Sisters Series Book #4. With any luck, after months of struggling to assemble and massage and tweak and smooth, it will be published next weekend. I'll keep you posted, but either way, the next blog entry will be the synopsis and maybe some new teasers from the book. Look for that much later in the day.
In fact, I'm all savvy now, so I'm going to set this baby to post in daylight hours, and I'll do my sharing later. It has been a wild ride, but I've loved it! Maybe not every minute - there have been moments when I wanted to scream - but in an overview, it has been fantastic.
Here's to another year!
It's fitting that today is one year since I wrote the final words for my first draft of Back to December, and I'm posting about the rest of the books in my Ward Sisters Series as well as the two spin-off series. Granted, Back to December went through some major revisions after that, but the day was monumental because I'd fully completed a manuscript. So, without further ado, here are the books I have planned. And when I say planned, that means I've plotted them in my head, may have started the stories and in some cases, have complete or nearly-complete manuscripts at the ready for editing. If a book is currently available, I've linked to the Amazon page and posted the date it was first published. If I know a planned publication date for a future story, I've included it. Listed are the main characters, but there are NO plot details.
Ward Sisters Series
WS #1 - Back to December, Emily Ward and Rob Deacon (August 5, 2013)
WS #2 - Only One, Liam Neely and Jenna Ackerman (December 21, 2013)
WS #3 - Right Here Waiting, Meghan Miles and Captain Neil Murphy (March 17, 2014)
WS #4 - This Year's Love, Annie Ward and Josh Ricker (late June, 2014)
WS #4.5 - Buying the Cow, Eddie Besson and Reggie Reynolds
WS #5 - Just Realized, Nina Jacobs and Sergeant Owen Nichols
WS #6 - Think of Me, Noah Adams and Mary Cate 'Catie' Neely
WS #6.5 - Tell Me What It Takes, Dr. Aaron Wallace and Ally Carmichael
WS #7 - Better Be Home Soon, Charlie Ward Williams, Dan Williams and Jack Armstrong
Vega Brothers
VB #1, Steal Your Heart, Nico Vega and Sarah Neely
VB #2, You Got Me, Carlos Johnson-Vega and Christopher Pilling
Deacon Security
DS #1 - Even Now, Nate Hogan and Olivia Deacon
DS #2 - Far From Ordinary, David Magnusson and Jessica 'Mase' Nichols
DS #3 - The Way I Loved You, Eric Brady and Isabel Neely Davies
Yes, about nine months have passed since I started my blog. It was my return foray into the digital world prior to publishing my first novel. If you go back to that first blog post, you'll get a sense of where I started. We're nearly 60 blog posts in at this point, which is an average of about 1.5/week. Pretty good, considering that I don't post every day or even every week. Sometimes, I'm just too busy writing, editing, promoting or doing my other job (the one where they call me 'mom').
So, after nine months and three novels, I thought it was time to do another update. Oddly enough, it was about 6 months ago when I did the last update.
First, I took a marketing class last fall, which anyone who follows my blog, Twitter or Facebook pages might remember. My professor was great - very supportive and fully embraced my desire to create a marketing plan for my writing. Did you know that self-published authors are responsible for all their own marketing? Either you do it yourself or you pay someone else to do it. One way or another, you have to understand your intentions, and the marketing plan required as part of my grade was a huge help in not only giving me marketing goals, but also giving me publication goals.
With that said, six months ago, when the only book I'd published was Back to December, I had one novel under my belt and one book complete in my Ward Sisters series. I was in process on Ward Sisters Book 2, Only One. Since then, Only One went live on December 21, 2013 (and had a HUGE revision between the update and publication time). Book 3, Right Here Waiting, went live this past Monday, March 17, 2014. I've learned so much in the past year, past nine months, past six months, past four months. It's run the gamut from improving my storytelling skills to finding new ways to guerrilla market my books. So, let's get to the update of future plans. Rather than give you detailed word counts like I did before, I'm going for the overview here.
Ward Sisters Series
Book 4, This Year's Love, was my NaNoWriMo project. It stars oncology nurse Annie Ward, Emily's younger sister, and park ranger Josh Ricker, Em's ex-boyfriend. My muse is refusing to speak about it for the moment, but suffice to say that I know she will talk before it needs to be completed. I'm planning for a June 2014 publication, probably at the end of the month.
Book 4.5, Buying the Cow. I'm still not sold on the title, but until I find an alternative, that's the Work In Progress (WIP) name. This story centers around Rob's former makeup artist Reggie Reynolds, and reporter Eddie Besson, Josh Ricker's best friend from childhood. It will pick up right where Book 4 leaves off. I hadn't been sure before if it would be book 3.5 or 4.5. Now, I've decided and it follows Josh and Annie's story, is almost a continuation of that from two other points of view (POV), but it will expand into a separate story, too. Probably an early fall release, around late September/early October 2014.
Book 5, Just Realized. This story focuses on Realtor Nina Jacobs and Army Sergeant Owen Nichols. Nina appeared briefly in Back to December and she played an important role in Only One. She's also Charlie Ward's best friend and Meghan Miles' cousin. For anyone who wanted a Happily Ever After (HEA) for Nina, this will be where you hear it. We meet Owen in Right Here Waiting. He's one of two soldiers who Captain Neil Murphy considers to be his best friends in the service. Their story is mostly written and I expect that it will be published sometime in late 2014 or early 2015, depending on how quickly Book 4.5 comes together and how other things gel. I'm currently planning for February 6, 2015, but it might come earlier.
Book 6, Think of Me. Bodyguard and former FBI agent, Noah Adams gets his turn, along with Mary Cate Neely, Liam's twin sister. My marketing plan didn't include this book's release date, but I'd come up with a schedule that had a new book in the series every 4 months. If we push Book 5 ahead, this will get pushed ahead. If not, we're looking at August, 2015, which will be 2 years post-Back to December publication. I'd like to get it out sooner.
Book 6.5 Tell Me What it Takes. This one focuses on Dr. Aaron Wallace, who you'll meet in This Year's Love along with his high school flame (and Liam's ex), pharmaceutical rep Ally Carmichael. Again, depending upon everything else, this might come earlier, but expect it by Christmas 2015.
Book 7, Better Be Home Soon. Right now, this story has three POV and involved Charlie (Ward) and Dan Williams, as well as Neil Murphy's Army buddy, Jack Armstrong. That could change as time progresses. For now, while I'd love to get this book out sooner, it looks like we're at March 2016 for a current date on the schedule as it stands. The thing with this schedule is that it was originally generated when I was still writing/editing Only One, and between late last fall and now, I've changed a lot about how I approach my work. Suffice to say, I can't see it taking longer than two years from now to get this part of the series wrapped up, but it could always happen sooner. I'll keep you posted.
Deacon Security and Vega Brothers
As part of the process of finishing Right Here Waiting, I met two new characters whose stories I wanted to write. Rather than folding them directly into the Ward Sisters Series, I'm going to given them an offshoot series. It will be called Vega Brothers and for now, will include Meghan Miles' college best friend, Carlos Johnson-Vega and his older brother (and Meg's ex), Nico Vega. I imagine as I delve into their story, I'll find more characters who want to be heard, but for now, this will be a two-book minimum series.
I was musing recently and realized that a lot of potential existed to explore the men of Deacon Security. This is the company that guards Rob Deacon and his family, the security firm started by Rob's brother, Rick, when he became his younger brother's bodyguard. I'm currently writing a transition story, called Even Now, that will bridge between Ward Sisters and Deacon Security. The idea is that Rick's company, which is based in Minneapolis, will branch out to the East Coast when Rob permanently relocates his home base. They'll need a whole new crop of talent, and some of those guys will come from the men that Neil Murphy and Owen Nichols led in the Army. So, the series will still visit our Ward Sisters friends, but we won't focus on them specifically. I'm envisioning, so far, three stories beyond Even Now, so at least 4 books. But given the focus of the series, there is always a possibility that more could follow.
Warwick, Maine
The book I'd originally thought I would publish first will be part of this new series. It will be completely unrelated to Ward Sisters. I have a first-person, New Adult-oriented novel that's basically complete and needs to be edited, which I will use as a prequel for this series. The current title is Closer to Fine, so we'll see if that survives the editing stage, because this one will get a little bit of an overhaul. It's an existing story I wrote that I'm folding into this series. I'm hoping to have that ready in the next couple months. Then, in late summer, I'll be revealing more about the first regular book in the series, called The Piece I Don't Need. That will likely release between Book 4.5 and Book 5 of Ward Sisters, tentatively in November. After that, I have at least 5 other books planned or in process, I'll Be, In Another Life, Beneath the Stars and two that are thus far untitled, plus a shorter story that might make it into that set.
So, you can see I have a LOT of things coming down the pike. I'm getting quicker with my drafts - for Back to December, I wrote a first draft and went through 5 revisions (and Laurie edited 5 versions) before publication. Only One had as many versions (or more, possibly), but it only got the full editing treatment for 4 of them. With Right Here Waiting, I'd learned so much from the first two processes that it only went through 2 edits with my editor - one for content, the other for the nitty-gritty stuff, like grammar, missed punctuation, typos, etc. But I sought beta readers this last time around (super readers who review like my editor, for content and if they see technical errors, they can mention them), and I liked how the new process improved the flow for me and for everyone else. I anticipate more of that in the future and hopefully, it will streamline things so that I can get more out quicker.
That's the update on where things are currently at and where they're headed in the future. Thanks for continuing to take this ride with me!
