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“When is the next book coming out?”
“When can I read the next book? I can’t wait to get my hands on it!”
“Is the second book out, yet? My wife is driving me crazy to ask you for a copy.”
“I liked the short story you wrote at Christmas but I want the real thing! When is the next book coming out?”
I hear these questions every day. Let me state that again. I hear these kinds of questions EVERY DAY! People want the next book! I do, too! It’s written. It’s edited. It’s in a great cover. But, I don’t have it in my hands, yet. Why?
Well, the publishing process is complex. When I co-authored “Conquering Depression” I couldn’t understand why it would be almost two years before the book would hit the shelves. Mark Sutton and I signed the contract for that book in January, 1999 and it hit the shelves in February, 2001. 25 months from contract to completed book on the shelf.
I sent the final manuscript for “The 12th Demon: Vampyre Majick” to the publisher on April 1, 2007. By the old standards, the book should have hit the shelves May, 2009! But, this is why I chose to use BookPros and Synergy Books. I have more control over the process of getting the book out to the market place. Notice I said, “more” control. Not, complete control.
It seems that the process of choosing and designing a book cover took longer than I thought. It set back the final process by two to three months. Originally, we were thinking the book might be available in February, 2008. That is less than a year after the finished manuscript went to the publisher.
The book went to the printer in December, 2007 and I should soon have some finished books at my disposal. But, that doesn’t mean the books will appear in the stores any time soon.
Why, you ask?
Well, as important as the publishing process of editing and book cover design and book printing is, the most important step is in the distribution. You may not be interested in this, but understanding this process may help you understand why you may not get your hands on the book until May. The difference in the second book and the first book is in this distribution setup. I discovered far too late that iUniverse does NOT have a normal distribution pattern for its books. You can only get the books POD or “print on demand”. That means they print the books when they are ordered. This is no problem if you order online through Amazon or Barnes & Noble. But, books stores order in bulk and they must have the assurance that they can send the books back if they don’t sell within a short period of time. POD books cannot be returned. Therefore, book stores refuse to carry them in stock. That is why it is so hard to find a copy of “The 13th Demon” in a book store.
But, “The 12th Demon” will have a normal distribution pattern. This means that Syngery Books will work with a book distributor to push my book into book stores. So, the extra months from now until May will be very important for Syngery Books. They will meet with book distributors and promote my book to be distributed to book stores. Book stores then will have to be “sold” on carrying my book by these distributors. Of course, there will be little risk for book stores. If my book doesn’t sell, it can be sent back.
Now, this is probably more than you wanted to know. But, I hope it helps to explain why the book will not be available until May. Be patient, please. It might help for those readers who want a copy of the second book to begin asking now at your local book stores. Tell them the book “The 12th Demon: Vampyre Majick” will be available in May through Syngery Books and can they plan to stock it.
My hopes are that once the second book arrives through conventional means to book stores, it will drive sales of the first book through the internet. Then, I am planning on approaching a major publisher with the idea of combining the first two books in one volume and republishing them (with the errors in the first book fixed!) prior to the release of the third book, “The 11th Demon: Children of the Bloodstone”. The sales of the second book will determine whether or not there will be a third book out there. I am writing it right now and finishing up the rough draft. But, don’t count on the third book appearing quickly after the second book. It will be at least a year before the third book is on the shelves.
My plans are to try and put out four books a year. There will be the next installment of “The Jonathan Steel Chronicles” each year. This will be joined by a new series called “Shadow Merchant” if I can find a publisher. Along with this, I plan a science fiction series “The Node of God” which should be available by 2009. And, the fourth book will feature adaptations of my plays such as “The Homecoming Tree”.
So, if you are reading this, please say a little prayer for Bruce Hennigan and 613media. I am working hard on securing an agent and a conventional publisher for these works. If not, I may go the route of becoming my own independent publisher. We’ll see what God has in store for the future.
Again, I appreciate all of you who have taken the risk of spending money on a book written by a poor little country boy from Blanchard with a wild imagination. Thanks again for the support.
