The good news is that my next thriller, my first spy thriller, is finished and ready to publish. Yippee! Some of you may be asking why it's been such a long time in coming. The truth is that I've been wanting to explore whether this could be the moment when I switch from self-publishing, instead trying to find a more traditional publisher. There are so many pros and cons either way - but the overwhelming lure of the traditional publishing route is that it would make it easier to get my book in established bookshops at airports and railway stations where my target audience, browsing for their next holiday read, are likely to be looking for a thriller like mine.
The less good news is that, boy, is it still competitive out there! You hear of all these famous authors who are rejected so many times before they find someone willing to work with them to help them get published. Believe me, it is still like that. So far, I have had ten rejections and they all take time - the average turnaround time from submission to hearing back can be anything up to about three months. So, whilst I was ready to publish before Christmas last year, I have been waiting to see whether I might have any luck with my latest thriller, The Stand-In.
Now that it's already February, I have decided not to waste any more time and energy on this and go, full guns blazing, on the self-publishing route once again. If I strike lucky along the way, then so be it. However, I owe it to my readers to focus on my writing and getting my more thrillers published. Self-publishing needs a plan and my current aim is to get this book published in May this year. I have a great cover that has been designed and shortly I will be revealing this in an upcoming blog post. Plus more on what the book is about. I am actually really excited by the Stand-In - my sample of early readers who give me feedback before I publish have told me that they think this is a thrilling read. I hope, in time, you will like it also.