Hello, I hope everyone is well and enjoying the spring days if you’re in the UK. It does look as if the rain is incoming though! ((No dry canals then?)) Well, there is that, although as we are not cruising much this year it shouldn’t be a problem.
On the boat front we’ve fitted a new solar panel so if we do cruise and live on the cut for a while at least we have power. Currently we are plugged into the mains and there are two other ways we get our power/hot water, which is running the engine and our solar panels. The sun is slowly starting to show its face more but the larger solar panel should help. We were thinking of going out this bank holiday weekend but I don’t think the weather is quite up to it yet.
I know I’m late finishing the chapters for The Sixth Witch ((as if anyone is surprised!)) I have been working on the plot as I needed to work out exactly what’s going to happen before I write anymore chapters. By the time this blog comes out, I should have hopefully added another 9 chapters and be somewhere near finishing. My ultimate deadline is mid-April ((Oh is it now!)) as then the work starts on the Thriller book. ((What Jacko’s biography?)) Ha ha.
I submitted my book to a publisher on 24th Jan and it’s a 3 months wait and see ((They are not interested. You can do one. Stop bothering us. We don’t want you…)) alright, no need to rub it in! But what Brackets said. It will be sad if I don’t hear anything but it is just the start of the adventure for this thriller series and I’m more than happy to self-publish and retain more control over the creative side and publish sooner.
I’ve mentioned before that if I did secure a deal it could be another two years before the book is published. The other things to consider are the costs. Self-publishing can mean an approx. 60% royalty whereas with a publisher it can be anything from 5-7% ((WOW. That’s crazy)) I know, but the publisher has all the costs to publish the book vs self-publishing I will have all the costs which can be around the 1-1.5k. A publisher obviously has a larger reader base and can hopefully generate more sales vs self-publishing trying to reach readers and have a marketing budget.
I’ve been working out my publishing timeline and if all goes to plan I will aim to publish in November 2026, if I decide to go this route but this depends on editing, typesetting, cover design plans. I am going to crowdfund for the costs to publish the book. Something like pledge £20 and receive a signed paperback or £30 and receive a signed hardback. I need to work out my costs and then decide if this is realistic. Let me know your thoughts. How much would you pledge for a paperback or hardback once the book is published? I’m also going to offer an option where you can be added to the ‘Kill List’!
I’ve had so many ideas for the book and promotion as well as editing the story so The Sixth Witch needs to be finished so I can put my full focus onto it. This goes for the Etsy writing worksheets as well. I need to finish these off and upload and promote before the end of April. ((Me thinks you are delusional, Peachy!)) I am actually at home for the whole month which is the first time since October I think i should be able tick everything off the list!
My freelance job is still going well and getting busier with more clients, which means more books I’m helping bring into the world. I love the contrast between a business book, memoir, fashion and everything in between in the non-fiction world. I remember when I first started out in the publishing world ((Fade to black and white)) I was shocked at the costs but now I understand why. You can effectively publish a book for free but if you want a quality book then this costs money.
I feel very lucky that we have finally found our place now with work and boating life balance. I’m not going to lie that seeing the other boats leave their winter moorings for their year of cruising and exploring isn’t making me a little envious but we’ve had an amazing few years and hopefully we will be back out cruising again soon.
The next update will hopefully be centred around the thriller series and everything on my list will have been ticked off ((YOU ARE SUCH A DREAMER!))
I would be interested to know what you think about the potential crowd funder. I also wanted to thank Sandra and Melanie again for sending me coffees to power my writing and my Patreons, Hev and Adele for supporting me. It makes all the difference.
You can Power a chapter here
Catch up with The Sixth Witch here (more chapters coming soon)
have a good month,
Peachy ((& me))
C.L. Peache 