Coming Soon, Caravans Pursued

Caravans Pursued will be published by Flock Publishing. They say it should be out in about six months. Hurrah!

It has been a long journey to publication. I wrote this WWII historical novel in 2018 while attending a yearlong novel writing class, The Novel Writing Project, at the Loft Literary Center. Then, I spent some time editing it. For the past five years, I have submitted it to agents, and small publishers who can be queried without an agent. The big publishing houses only work with agents, not directly with writers. I got a few nibbles, which kept me going. But since I am not a big fan of rejection (who is?) I wasn’t very active about putting it out there.

For a little background on publishing, there are three main paths to publication: traditional, hybrid, and self-publishing. Since 2019 I have tried them all.

A traditional publisher covers publishing costs, and manages all aspects of publishing the book, in exchange for the lion’s share of the royalties. One of my short stories was published that way in the anthology, Dim & Flaring Lamps: A Historical Fiction Anthology of America.

Hybrid publishers ask the author to front the costs of publishing, but they manage the process—hiring editors and cover designers, etc. In return for their investment, authors get a larger share of the royalties in a hybrid deal than in a traditional publishing deal. She Writes Press, a hybrid publisher, published my first historical novel, Caravans in the Dark.

Self-publishing cuts out the middleman. The author covers all publishing costs, manages the process, and retains all the royalties. It sounds like the best deal, but can be expensive, depending on how much you spend for editing and cover design, the two largest expenses, and it is always time-consuming. I self-published three mystery novels: Silent Winter Solstice, Flood of Memories, and Fatal Farming, and a novella, Pine Forest Christmas.

After my self-publishing and hybrid publishing experiences, I am thrilled to have a traditional publishing deal for Caravans Pursued. Let the publisher publish, and I will get back to writing!