Welcome to Harlequin Intrigue author Carol Ericson. Carol is here to share her exciting journey into adding self-publishing as a component of her career plan. With eight Intrigues to her credit (and more to come!), I’m not even sure how she found time to blog for us, much less self-publish two additional titles this summer. Carol, how–and why–did you do it?
“Taut, edge-of-the-seat contemporary romantic suspense tales of intrigue and desire” is the standard description for Harlequin’s Intrigue line. And I love writing those tales. I’ve been writing Intrigues for Harlequin since Dec. ’07 when my first Intrigue was released, and I haven’t stopped since. I enjoy writing for Harlequin and with it the ability to write short series like my McClintock Brothers series, my current series, Brothers in Arms, and my upcoming series about a creepy house on the coast of California. Since I’m so busy writing for Harlequin, why dip my toe into the world of self publishing? Good question!
Like most writers who eventually sell a book to a major publisher, I had written several books by the time my first sale came around. When I sold my first book to Intrigue, I had three completed manuscripts (and a half-completed manuscript) tucked away. I had submitted one of those manuscripts to Intrigue before and it had been rejected; however, I had re-written the thing a few times. So after my first sale, my editor asked me for other projects. I hauled out my 3 ½ manuscripts and sent them off with high hopes. All three…and a half…were rejected…on my birthday.
Ha – rejection is like red meat to an author. I got to work on a brand new fresh book and sold that one as my second Intrigue. My eighth Intrigue, Mountain Ranger Recon, was just released in April. But I still had those 3 ½ manuscripts under the virtual bed along with a completed single title romantic comedy.
As the buzz surrounding self publishing grew louder and louder, I took a second look at my 3 ½ manuscripts and figured, why not? My editor hadn’t rejected the stories because they were awful or poorly written or boring. They just did not fit the Harlequin Intrigue line. I got comments like—too slick, too single title in nature, wrong setting, wrong professions for hero/heroine, not enough hooks. So the stories weren’t right for Intrigue, but did that mean they weren’t right for other readers to enjoy? So I took the self pub plunge.
I started with Dead Air and Smokescreen because those two books were the most polished. They had been edited and both had placed in and won several contests. Before I started formatting the books, I read through them. I was pleasantly surprised that they’d held up well and were good, compelling stories. However, after writing ten Intrigues, it was crystal clear to me why they didn’t fit the Intrigue mold. Other than a heroine in jeopardy, they didn’t possess any of the standard category romance hooks. Also, both of the heroines are a little rough around the edges—Carly in Dead Air is a loud, brash radio talk show host, who lives for ratings and Deirdre in Smokescreen is a rock singer in a club band, a former smoker and party girl. The tone of the books is a little grittier than my Intrigues and the sex a little hotter.
I formatted Dead Air for Smashwords and Amazon, and I formatted Smokescreen for Amazon only (it’s not too bad as long as you don’t use a lot of weird formatting in your original Word document). I decided to hold off on the third book as it needed more polish and editing. Once the books were formatted and ready to go, I needed a couple of great covers. I turned to Rae Monet, who does my website and did a few of my covers when I wrote for Red Sage Publishing. She did not disappoint. I also got lucky in that she used cover model Jimmy Thomas on the Dead Air cover. Jimmy is very good about promoting his covers and he posted the Dead Air cover on his Facebook page where it generated several comments.
Once I had formatted the books and gotten my fabulous covers, it was time to publish. Several clicks later, the books were available on Amazon. Now I had to let people know they were available. Ah, yes, that five-letter word – promo. I started with my Intrigue fans and sent out a newsletter announcement to them. I posted the announcement on Facebook and Twitter. I sent in an announcement to NovelTalk, I announced the news to my online groups, and I put the book covers on my website. And I’m still learning.
I’m at the beginning of this journey, and I’m here to tell you that no, I didn’t sell a million copies of the books in the first month. But I have made enough to cover the cost of the covers and the sales keep dripping in bit by bit. And I have the opportunity now to release my romantic comedy, which I love.
Will self-pubbing (or indie pubbing as it’s now being called) replace my traditional contracts with Harlequin Intrigue? No. I’m hoping there’s some cross-over from my self-pubbed books to my Intrigues. In fact, I can see it already in increased sales for my March and April Intrigues. Once an Intrigue has been out for a few months, the sales begin to taper off, but both of my spring Intrigues have seen a resurgence in sales on Amazon—and I’m attributing that to my two self-pubbed e-books.
So whether I sell a million copies or a couple hundred, I’m glad I took the plunge. It’s exciting to have control over your books from start to finish. It’s interesting to keep track of sales and which promo efforts are paying off. And it’s lovely to give life to books that still hold a place in your heart.
O brave new world!
Carol will be in and out today to answer questions and reply to comments. Here’s what we’d like to know from readers: Carol’s Intrigue titles are clearly going to fit that story “mold.” As a reader, are you willing to branch out and read an author’s works even when they’ve moved beyond a specific category or sub-genre?
Good for you Carol!
Like you, I’m not making millions on self pubishing, but making more than I made with NY. It’s hard to get caught up in the stories of indie authors making tons of money, just like it is easy to compare ourselves to successful NY authors. It’s better to keep in mind, like you, that these books were probably just sitting on our computers and why not make some money? Whatever that amount might be.
Is there something you do to keep from comparing yourself and your success to others? That whole jealousy thing?
Carol, I’ve already branched out into self-publishing, and I’m loving it! I can see it getting better and better. Now that I’m making money, my husband is happier, too. It’s all good.
Hi Lori, I do have a very good career with Intrigue and I’m very happy writing for them. These particular books just did not fit that Intrigue model, but it’s been great to get them out there and give them life! I don’t tend to be a jealous person
I figure if authors are doing well with self-pub, then it’s good for all of us. So I love hearing about others’ successes. A few of my fellow Intrigue writers have also taken the self-pub plunge (Ann Voss Peterson has pubbed a novella with Joe Konrath), and I know several have more sales than I do, but they have much higher name recognition too. And that’s great! It can only rub off on me, right?
Hi Edie, the whole self-pub venture is fun, isn’t it? I love giving my cover designer input and seeing what she comes up with (always something fabulous!). I also like giving titles to my books since HQ so often changes my titles. And it’s great to be able to track those sales every day. Since writing this post, my sales have gone from 2-3/day to 8-9/day, so the sales model is different from category romance as well where all your sales typically come in the first few weeks the book is released and then taper off. The self-pub sales seem to grow. It’s fun to watch. I’m glad you’re loving it (and making money).
Carol, you’re so brave. I’m afraid to strike out on my own.
Carol, I love your intrigues and have no doubt your others will be just as good when I finally get a chance to read them. I just uploaded my self-pub titles this morning and am waiting for them to go live. yay!
Like Lori, I’m being realistic and not hoping to get rich (though I wouldn’t complain!) but just make a little money.
Edie, my hubby would be thrilled to see $ from my writing, too.
Aw, come on, Sandy. You can do it! It doesn’t take bravery, just lots and lots of time for formatting and promo!
That’s what I’m afraid of, needing more time, Carol. lol
Thanks, Stacey! Congratulations on getting your titles up and running. It’s exciting.
As long as you keep writing for Intrigue I’ll keep reading your books. I love them. Unfortunately I have no means of reading ebooks except on my computer and that is hard on my aging eyes but I really hope you have a lot of success with them.
Carol, you know I’m one of your biggest fans
and I’ll continue to read your Intrigues as long as you keep writing them. Like you, I’ve taken the plunge into self-publishing. After trying to sell to HQ and being rejected because my stories “don’t fit the line”, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I still have the dream of selling to NY, but in the meantime, the stories I wrote and loved are being given new life on Amazon, B&N and Smashwords. I’m also dipping my hand into designing my own covers, but the learning curve is huge. But the best part, I’m having fun and earning a few dollars along the way. It’s all good.
Hi Carol,
Delisghted to see you visiting here! The self publishing venture is fun! I just published Tuesday’s Child a week ago and will be releasing my first YA, Dangerous Designs, this weekend.
Ideally, keeping legacy publishing and indie publishing for those manuscripts that you can’t sell to NY. Just because they don’t fit the mold, doesn’t mean they aren’t great stories.
Congrats and good luck!
Thanks for dropping by, Ellen, and thanks for your support. I love Intrigues too! It’s hard reading on a computer. I got a Kindle for Christmas and I love it. You should stay tuned since the Intrigue authors are thinking about having a contest with a Kindle give-away. If you’ve never seen one, you’ll be amazed at how clear the text is on the screen…even in the sunlight.
Margery, your new cover is amazing! Yes, there are definite guidelines for HQ, so it’s nice to be able to “go outside the box” with some plotlines and characters that don’t fit the HQ mold. My heroine in Smokescreen, Deirdre, is not your typical HQ heroine!
Dale, that’s the word I use to describe self-pub too – fun!
Good luck with your venture. Ah, Tuesday’s Child, reminds me of one of my favorite Georgette Heyer books, Friday’s Child – the most hilarious hero in Sherry!
Carol, count me as another fan of your Harlequin Intrigues! I look forward to reading one of your self-pubbed titles.
I also uploaded a couple of my WTR titles to Amazon today (hope I did it correctly!). I have no illusions about getting rich, but it sure would be nice to make a little money, like Stacey said. To be able to show my husband a check that can cover more than dinner at Applebee’s. *grin*
Thanks, Donna! I wish there was a better way to reach my Intrigue fans with my self-pub stuff. One of the reasons I went with self-pub this summer was because there was an 8 month gap between my Intrigues. I think Liza James should self-pub some erotic romance.
As a matter of fact, I have two Liza James in the works I plan to self-pub.
I’m also going to self-pub Golden Opportunity once I get a chance to revise it a bit. 
Hey Carol,
Congrats on the self publishing… big step. I too am trying to delve into the business. Since Reuters, I have given up the corporate world and trying my hand at producing published material. I would love to get together with you one of these days and show you what I’ve been up to. Take care.
Congrats on the two self published titles, Carol. I’m always willing to take a chance when an author I like branches out to sub-genres. If I don’t like it, I’ll still continue to buy the books in the sub-genres I like from them.
Hey Steve, great to “see” you here! I’d be interested to hear what you’re working on. I’m still writing for Harlequin Intrigue and loving it, but maybe the self-pub venture will finally allow me to give up the day job. (Or maybe I’ll be forced to give it a try, since we’re going through some layoffs!)
Jane, that’s good to hear. So far my self-pub titles are Intrigue-ish in that they are romantic suspense, but they wouldn’t work as Intrigues. However, I have a romantic comedy that I’m going to release as an e-book as well. I LOVE this book; it’s about an English soccer star who comes to play soccer for a failing U.S. team. But rom/coms are a tough sell right now and I could never find an agent willing to take a chance on it, especially with the sports figure hero. That’s what’s great about self-pub; it allows you to break the rules and if there are readers who like to see some rules broken now and then, you can find an audience.
Congratulations on your self-pubbing venture, Carol. Its a big step, but as you say … if your stories don’t fit the mold, you should branch out and find other options.
Thanx for joining us here at MM.
Thanks for having me, Liz. Indie publishing is especially fortuitous for category length romance. Once HQ decided it didn’t fit their mold, the story used to be dead in the water – too short for a single title and too long for a novella. Now the length doesn’t matter. I’d love to work with some novella-length rom/sus. I used to write novella length erotic romand too – love that length!
Carol, congratulations on your self-publishing venture. Wishing you mega-sales. I got Dead Air already, can’t wait to read it. Will continue to read your Intrigues. I love that line and your stories.
Jill, thanks for giving Dead Air a chance and the thumbs up to Intrigue.
Congrats on exploring the brave new world, Carol! And thanks for visiting today!
Cynthia Eden`s last blog was …More Winners
Thanks for having me, Cynthia. I sure wish I could get the rights back to some of my Red Sage titles written as Mia Varano. Would love an opportunity to self-pub those.