First of all, EXODUS, second edition is now avaliable on Amazon, having gone through a thorough edit. It's still no bestseller, but in indie publishing it's the "long tail" that counts (Sales in the long term, basically. And yes, I'll come back to the "why indie" part, as I guess a few of you are wondering about that). Having said that, in the days since it first went live, which is about a week, it has sold about the same as the first edition did in almost a year. If that says anything about quality, I guess I did something right second time around.
Second, I mentioned a while ago that I won a Goodreads giveaway, and the prize was a free production of a book trailer. It is now live and you can have a look at it here. It is produced by Yume Consulting, and I think they did a great job! What do you think?
So why did I want to spend the time and money to release a second edition of EXODUS, when I could have worked on new stories instead? Well, it was partly because I wanted more control, and partly because I believed it needed a thorough edit in order to become the best it could be. Having made the decision to go through with it, I checked out several editors that came highly recommended, some working for bestsellers both on Amazon and elsewhere. In the end I found a perfect match in Shelley Holloway. Working with her was enjoyable all the way because of her editing skills, her interest and attention, and also because I learned a lot about writing in general and my writing in particular.
So when I published the second edition of EXODUS, one year after it first hit the shelves of online retailers, it was with a confidence that I hadn't experienced before. The first edition, although proofread and polished, was only as good as I could make it on my own. And if there is one thing I've since learned it is that professional editing can make all the difference. With Shelley I was not disappointed. She gave me exactly what I needed: a keen eye for detail, a bird's view of the story as a whole, and some tough, but needed, criticism. And at the same time, she respected my voice, the choices that make it my story. I am now looking forward to working with her on my future books.
So now, with the second edition out, I can finally concentrate fully on AURORA, which has lagged behind because of all my other projects. I'm already about half way through, so it's not like I'm staring at a blank screen, but the difference will be that AURORA will now be my only project, which will definitely boost my output...
