So, I’m learning how to be an author this week and it’s rough! I had an image of myself sitting on my back patio here on Jekyll Island, under the shade of the incredible live oaks and Spanish moss, typing away while a chickadee family nests in the Ohio State birdhouse by my office window. No, seriously, that’s what it looks like if you have time to sit and work there.
I started writing Book 4 several weeks ago but had to stop myself because Books 1 and 2 were released and Book 3 is almost ready to release. And unfortunately, since they’re my first fiction books, they were not perfect. And I have more work to do.
The good news is that “Escape to Jekyll Island” and “In Bloom on Jekyll” have started selling in local shops (Jekyll Market and Mosaic Museum, for example) and they’re also selling on Amazon and Bookshop.org. The bad news is that I’ve found five typos with the help of my readers, and I need to bump up the font a little bit in the books. And that means the size of the covers will have to be tweaked and I’m going to have to come up with some outrageous thank you gift to send my graphic designer. Because I’m going to be a pain in the butt. We both thought the covers were done. They’re not. And I have about 24 hours to get them fixed so that we can order more and have enough on hand for some book signings that I’ve already committed to.
Yes, I’ve got book signings scheduled! I’m thrilled and terrified. My first one is at the Jekyll Market this Saturday, April 27 from 10:30 am to 1 pm. They’ve got lots of “Escape to Jekyll Island” and “In Bloom on Jekyll” in stock and I hope lots of people come to see me. I also hope that some of the locals who have already read the books will come in to tell me what they thought of them. Great time to buy a copy of Book 2 at your local store and meet the author!
My husband, Bill, keeps reminding me that I am setting my deadlines now. I am booking my own schedule. I can control how much sleep I’m going to get. Yada yada yada. But that reality is in stark contrast to my personality. I’m a get-it-done kinda girl. I thrive on deadlines. And the fact that I don’t have time to finish writing Book 4 until I fix the first two books and publish the third book is making me a little nuts. I’d really like to go hide in our guesthouse out back and write forever. But then I wouldn’t be marketing my books so nobody would be reading them and I’d have to go back to writing what other people pay me to write. Obviously, that’s not an option.
It’s pretty exciting to read a review from somebody you don’t know and find out they want to know what’s going to happen next for Tally and Mitch! I just want to get back to writing. I’m in love with my characters.
So with that, I’m going to finish this blog and get to fixing my books so I can be done with the administration stuff and get back to writing. I have a renewed respect for the team at Skyhorse Publishing who traditionally published my wedding planning book in 2016. I’m starting to understand why authors who go that route make so much less (until they become Grisham or Danielle Steele). There’s a lot of work on the back end that I had no clue about when my first book was released.
The picture on this blog is me and Bill at the Jekyll Ocean Club members’ event last week, standing on the Astor Deck, where lots of the action in my books takes place. I posted some cool videos on my TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@sandy.malone) of the view from the roof deck there if you’d like to check them out. And please follow me on TikTok because I’m totally new at it and need some followers! I’ll follow you back if you comment something about the books!
Until next time, happy reading!
Xoxo,
Sandy