If you’ve been looking to get copies of the Strange Sagas of Sabrina Summers from Amazon or Kindle recently, I’m afraid you’ll have been disappointed, but for a great reason. I have just signed a contract with Morgan James, a well-established hybrid publisher based in the States, who have agreed to publish The Uncooperative Flying Carpet!
So, why Morgan James? Why not a traditional publisher? Well, that takes me back to why I chose indie publishing in the first place – generally speaking, a traditional publisher does nothing to make books available to readers who are dyslexic. Morgan James have not only let me keep the copyright of my own books, but are happy for Shropshire Lass to continue to publish the way I am consulted during a weekly phone call about marketing, editing, the cover, sales etc. They’re keen to actively support me, but best of all, when I was talking to their lovely Fiction Acquisitions Editor, she said they wanted to work with writers who, like them, wanted to make the world a better place.
So, why Morgan James and why not continue publishing independently? Indie publishing is tough (especially the distribution side), lonely and it’s very easy to put things like earning money first! With MJ, I’m in a partnership where not only am I given the support to give me the confidence to get out there myself, they actively promote my books in bookstores throughout the States and the UK (leaving me to focus on NZ and Australia), send copies to be reviewed, provide promotional materials and have a supportive community of authors who have shared beliefs and goals. Of course, they are in publishing to make money, and good for them because so do I, and the cost of having a book edited well, a decent cover designed and promotions is a shared burden with a hybrid-publisher. With so many small publishers going under or being taken over, and with the big publishers being reluctant to take a chance on a new author, they are doing something different to respond to a very fast-changing environment.
Their Morgan James Kids imprint is fairly new, and they only take 12 titles a year, so I’m incredibly honoured to have made the cut this year. I’m looking forward to the journey – watch this space!
