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Monday, November 05, 2012

Shona Husk: It’s all about choice



There is so much choice for authors and readers these days. I think it’s a good thing. I read ebooks and print. I have an ereader, but I don’t like reading books on my iPhone. That said the couple of magazines I subscribe to I read on my iPhone as I don’t mind reading short articles on the small backlit screen. It wasn’t that long ago that I would have received the magazine in the mail and read it over a cup of hot chocolate instead of in pieces while I waited at kids sports or for meetings to start.

This year I had the opportunity to get the rights back to my first novella, An Elemental Tail. It was making me money with the original publisher, but I had nothing else with them, so I spoke to my agent and then requested my rights back. Such a change from when I was so happy to get published for the first time two and a half years ago. In that time the industry has changed so much. Self-publishing has become a viable option for many authors. And while I can’t see me self-publishing new work at the moment, it is something I’m going to try when the rights revert back to me.

The first thing I did was test the water with a couple of short stories that had also been previously published. Soul Song (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/241112) came second in the little gems competition and had been published in the Topaz anthology.

Dar-otter, Pearl otter, can’t find me (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/241089) was published in Wet Ink magazine. I still get asked about that story when I go to specific conventions in Australia so I’m really glad to have the chance to put it out on my own.

Both stories are free. But I still had professional covers done, and I paid for the formatting to be done. Why would I go to that effort and cost? I’m not a cover artist and while the stories are free I wanted them to look profession and eye catching. HelzKat (http://www.helzkatdesigns.com/) designs did both and I’m really happy with them. I could’ve mucked around with the formatting myself but after making a few enquiries I decided that it would be more cost effective for me to just pay someone. I’m glad I did. When I uploaded the files it was super easy.

With the water tested with the free short stories I’m preparing for the re-release of An Elemental Tail in December. It will be 99c and the story is getting a fresh edit and a hot new cover is in the works. I’m just as excited about the re-launch as I was the first time around.

I also have a novella releasing later this month with Ellora’s Cave (http://www.jasminejade.com/p-10496-saved-by-the-trickster.aspx) and the final Shadowlands (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Goblin-Warrior-Shadowlands-ebook/dp/B009NLQO2U/) book out in January so I’ve got a couple of busy months a head.

Do you prefer ebooks to print, print only or a mix of both like me?

Shona Husk lives in Western Australia at the edge of the Indian Ocean. Blessed with a lively imagination she spent most of her childhood making up stories. As an adult she discovered romance novels and hasn’t looked back. Drawing on history and myth, she weaves new worlds and writes heroes who aren’t afraid to get hurt while falling in love.
With stories ranging from sensual to scorching, she is published with Carina Press, Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing and Sourcebooks. You can find out more at www.shonahusk.com 

3 comments:

Pat Cochran said...

I'll state up-front, I prefer print!
I do have a Kindle and a "library" of
ebooks. Honey gave me the Kindle for
Mother's Day. He continues to drag me
in to the electronic world, he gave
me a cell phone for Christmas several
years ago. I'll be curious to see what
will be under the tree this year!!

Pat C.

Mary Preston said...

I think I will always prefer tree books to e-books, but I do read both.

Eli Yanti said...

I'm prefer paperback but sometimes i read ebook too :)