vanity press - Ally Aldridge

Elexis Bell – Gem of Meruna

The Gem of Meruna blurb

Gem of Meruna made you a published author, but you recently released it again, why?

The first time around, I was woefully undereducated about the publishing world. As such, I didn’t know to run (as fast as possible) from any publisher that expects you to pay them. I thought it was normal for the author to cover part of the costs. But…it definitely isn’t. That was just a vanity press.

My novel received no edits. It got no marketing. I was inundated with phone calls from their marketing people trying to sell me promotional packages, all of which were pitiful yet expensive.

Basically, it was a legal scam and my novel suffered for it. Now that I’m self-publishing, I’m making it right.

You now have three self published books, does publishing get easier?

It does, actually. It’s still very time-consuming and certain aspects are tedious, no matter what. But the metadata, copyright, and ISBN process gets easier with practice. Each time through, I have little tricks I picked up the time before.

What was the earliest story you can remember writing about?

In 3rd or 4th grade, my class was assigned a creative writing project wherein we had to write about a horse and a bat. I don’t remember the story I came up with, but I do recall something my teacher said when she called for me to read it. Apparently, I already had a reputation for writing darker stuff, because she said, “Knowing Elexis, the horse and the bat probably both die.” Lol.

What genre is Gem of Meruna and can you name any similar books?

It’s high fantasy romance. As for similar books…I’m really bad at finding comparison books. That was one of the hardest parts of querying when I was pursuing traditional publishing.

Please share a snippet or teaser from Gem of Meruna?

A noise startled Kiluna awake. It was far too close. The sound came again, right at her ear, but this time, she realized what it was.
Father had often snored when he slept, and Grandmother had, as well. But Kiluna hadn’t heard that sound since they died. Joseya’s snore was much softer, quieter, but its proximity made it seem far louder.
That was when Kiluna noticed it. Joseya no longer faced away from her, rather he nestled in close. One arm curled under his head, but the other wrapped around her waist.
Nothing about it felt strange though, just…right. She didn’t want to move, or even breathe too hard, for fear of waking him. The embrace would be retracted if he woke, she knew it as sure as she knew her scars were still there.
So, she laid still. She concentrated on his breath on the back of her neck. She relished the moment, all the while wondering if this would be the only time she lay near another Leey.
Her eyelids fell, blocking out the world as she savored the closeness. She didn’t notice when she drifted back to sleep.
Several moments later, she felt Joseya stir. His sudden movement made her jump. Instantly, he pulled his arm back to himself, muttering apologies as he did so. Kiluna flinched at his words but held in her pain. A single tear escaped her eye, leaving a tiny wet spot on the earth.

Which character from your books is most like you?

Every character gets a little piece of me. Sometimes it’s my favorite color, sometimes it’s more than that. Annabelle from my novella and Chloe from World for the Broken (my upcoming dark post-apocalyptic romance) have a lot of big experiences from my life, but so does Christian (also from World for the Broken).

What project are you currently working on?

I’m currently editing a dark post-apocalyptic romance, a dark high fantasy romance, and a dark supernatural high fantasy romance for release. Hopefully, I’ll be releasing all three this year, but at the very least two of them. I also just started writing another dark high fantasy romance wherein a deposed prince teams up with a druid high priestess to landscape their enemies to death.

Where can we find out more and buy your books?

My website has information and links for all my published works, as well as little tidbits about my WIPs. My blog is chock full of (blunt) writing advice and updates on all my work.
www.elexisbell.com

All my books are available on Amazon, and can be found on my Amazon author page.
www.amazon.com/author/elexis_bell

If you enjoy this, you should check out:

World Indie Warriors

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Book Review: Crown of Conspiracy by Kara S Weaver

Why I have chosen to Self-Publish

To discover more ways to connect, click my link tree:

This post will share my ambition to traditionally publish and why that dream has changed to wanting to be an indie author.

The Traditional Author Dream

For years my dream was to be a published author. From the moment I realised someone wrote the story I was reading, I wanted to be that someone.

Back then, the only way to publish was to look inside a similar book for the contact details of the publisher and send your manuscript to them with a covering letter in the post.

Since then, things have changed. Many publishers won’t accept unsolicited manuscripts so you first need to get a Literary Agent. Most places won’t accept manuscripts by post so you now must send the document by email or using a form on their website. Their websites inform you of everything they want and don’t want. Most places now want:

A polished manuscript
A personalised covering letter (body of email) saying why you choose them
A synopsis (that fits on one page)
Comparative novels
A pitch
A marketing plan
And social media links.

Sounds like a lot! And often you need a good pitch to even get invited to send all that to them in the first place.

That’s not to add that rejection is high.

The Different Publishing Paths

As a result, it is no surprise that people have come up with solutions to this madness. One alternative method is to self publish and another is vanity publishing.

Here is a little info graphic on the basic differences between the different paths for novel publishing (from my interpretation):

Vanity Publishing is not for me. I don’t have the upfront costs and I want more control.

Traditional Publishing is no longer for me. I have a lot of admiration for people that are fortunate enough to get their Literary Agent and publisher. It instantly gives their novel validation that it is good enough to print. And, you know that it will have been processed by a number of industry professionals before going to print. But, I’m bored of querying.

Ready to publish

I have waited long enough and now I realise I don’t need someone else to say yes when I can give myself permission to publish today.

Con Artists

In recent years, the only requests I have had have been from ‘publishers’ I don’t trust. They requested my novel after a pitch event or via Instagram. Their websites were newly created and had no details about authors or books they have worked on/with or even who the agents or editors at the company are. I passed.

Costs

It has taken me years to find the money to pay for an editor myself. I need to pay as you go. I also like the idea that the sales will go to me.

Autonomy

After all the time I have put into it, I want my novel to be the way I want it. I want a say over the formatting and the cover. I want control.

Readership

I don’t want this to be my only novel. It is important that my novel is a quality product. I want to be confident and proud of my book. I want readers to enjoy it and want more. Once I publish, I don’t want to stop.

Self publishing is scary. But, I’m ready. And, I hope you will enjoy following me in my journey to publication.

If you enjoyed this you will like:

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How to Write a Synopsis

Felixstowe Book Festival – The Publishing Industry

Writers beware! Know who you are querying.

Click my link tree to discover more ways to connect.