You’ve recently released your new novel, Dead Remnants. What’s it about and who would like it?
When a threat looming over the dead and the living is exposed, a ghost teenager has to race across the Wild West afterlife, phantom posse in tow, to save her friend and the world.
Dead Remnants would appeal to folks who like Joss Whedon, Stephen King, and Neil Gaiman. It’s a wild, crazy ride, filled with phantom buffalo and nefarious ghost cowboys.
How did you have the idea? What does this story mean to you and what drove you to complete it?
The idea started over twelve years ago. I’m not even certain how it developed but overtime, little kernels of ideas started to attach themselves to one another. When I started to jot down the first scenes that popped into my mind, I didn’t feel ready to write the whole thing, so I’d put it away for a few years and go back to it only to put it away again. Rinse/repeat.
I didn’t actually start writing it until three years ago after I moved from the United States to Scotland. I had more time to devote to it, so I worked diligently to get it done, a little bit at a time.
There’s a lot of me in this book. A lot of thinly-veiled themes regarding existence and death, a lot about some of the more ugly bits of US history – like racism and genocide – and I just felt it was a story that needed to be told.
Do you have a favourite character? Or a favourite scene you can share without spoilers?
My favorite character would definitely be Macajah, a ghost cowboy. He was the first character to take shape in my mind, well before the protagonist, and I had the most fun writing him and his dialogue. He’s a man of honor, but he can be bullheaded to a fault. I can relate to that.
You made the choice to go Indie and self-publish. What was behind that decision and how to you go about getting into print?
When I ended weighing my options, it seemed as though it might be the better option for me (at least for now). This way, I maintain total creative control and earn more royalties in the process. I found that small print, a lot of times, didn’t put in as much time/effort into the cover or marketing (this is not always the case, but it was a common theme), and I figured if the marketing was going to fall to me anyway, I might as well try to make the most of it.
The flip-side, however, is that I had to bet on myself. Not only financially, but artistically as well. I don’t have a large support group so this aspect, for me, has been the most difficult as I tend to be cynical when it comes to my own work. It can always be better/stronger/greater.
Luckily, self-publishing is far easier now-a-days. Beyond Amazon, getting distributed to bookstores and libraries is just a matter of researching the proper channels. I decided to publish both through Amazon and IngramSpark in order to get my book onto as many platforms as possible.
You made the brave decision of sharing your costs on twitter recently How did you decide where to spend your money and what did you feel was the most important objective for your publication?
So far, including all marketing/printing/etc, I have spent £1800. The bulk of my expense was hiring an editor who used to work for Canongate Publishing and the National Library of Scotland and who specialized in the fantasy genre. I wanted a solid, well-edited product, so this, by far, was where I chose to spend my money. However, be aware that my editor’s price wasn’t unreasonable – the average starting cost of editing seems to run around the £1200-£1600 mark, so mine was a decent price.
The next expense was the cover (£400). I wanted a bright, eye-catching, professional look and I think the guy nailed it.
From there, I purchased my own ISBNs (you need a separate ISBN for every edition – so paperback, ebook, hardcover) which was an additional £164 for a pack of 10.
And the rest has been due to print costs, bookmarks for marketing, and general advertisements. Most of the books I’ve sold have been through social media and to my followers, so that has been a tremendous help in achieving sales and reviews.
The book has now been out just shy of 3 months and the reviews have far exceeded my expectations. Sales have been better than I thought, but I do work on spreading the word pretty regularly. Getting reviewers and word-of-mouth going has been the more difficult aspect for me, especially as I find I’m not that great at self-promotion. I am now debating on spending a little more on additional advertising, but for now, I’m sitting tight to see how things go for the next few months or so.
What did you find to be the most surprising thing about self-publishing? What advice would you give to people following in your footsteps?
Mainly, it’s been a learning process, so none of it has necessarily been a surprise. I’ve just been taking one step at a time.
If you decide to self-publish, I would advise that you look at it in pieces to avoid getting overwhelmed. Work on one piece first (like your editor and your editing) and get that squared away, then tackle the next step. Just like finishing a novel – one brick at a time until you have the whole wall built.
Finally, where can we buy Dead Remnants?
Dead Remnants is available anywhere books are sold. You can even get it in your local bookstore!
And, of course, it’s available on major sites like Amazon. If you want to see if it’s something you may like, you can preview the first three chapters for free on their ‘Look Inside’ feature. You can also find my goodreads profile.
