'Tis The Season for a New Adventure

Delilah Marvelle

As a writer who has been in the business for well over fifteen years (that includes my struggles to get published), I have learned that the only way to grow in my career is to look beyond the path I’m on.  I’ve learned this the hard way when I was dropped barely two books into my career by my publisher at the time.  I had to pick myself up and find a new publishing house (which I thankfully did). 

At the time when I was dropped by my publisher, for reasons that didn’t have to do with sales but rather the closing of a line, there was no self-publishing to turn to.  If I couldn’t publish with New York, there would be no book on the shelf. 

My oh my, how things have changed!   After receiving a less than favorable offer from my publisher in New York, I decided it was time to step back and recognize that I had other options.  And in doing so, I have discovered the joy of leaving New York.  Not only am I now working for myself at a fair wage (by self-publishing), but I’m also working for a smaller publisher who is showing the big five just how it’s done: Entangled Publishing.  I’m thrilled to say that my first Christmas anthology with Entangled launched their new Historical Scandalous line.  It’s exciting to know that I’m part of a new adventure.

After writing for years for the big publishers of New York, I realized, I wanted more freedom, more transparency and enough money to make my business viable.  None of which I was getting.  While I learned a lot of incredible skills from the big publishers, I learned something even more relevant from Entangled.  The idea of team work and keeping everything transparent.  Being able to know every step of the process as it’s happening and having a say in important things like the cover itself (which I never had), is a breath of fresh air.  And I’m breathing in deep, lol. 

There were a lot of things outside of my control with the big five New York Publishers.  Not knowing where my books were selling and just getting numbers was mind boggling.  Yet as an author I was expected to accept it.  Not knowing what my cover is going to look like and having no say in what it will look like was as equally boggling.  Yet as an author, I was expected to accept it.  Many times, I felt left out of the process of my own book.  There were times I had no say at all about even my writing. 

But it’s a new chapter in my career and I’m enjoying every moment of it.  I hope both writers and readers alike realize that this is very exciting time for the publishing industry.  Writers have more freedom to write and get paid fairly for it and readers have the ability to read the books that the publishing houses refused to publish for years (like Westerns!).  It is OUR time as writers and readers and I’m so excited to be part of it.  I hope you are too!    

You can check out Delilah's website Here 
You can purchase "All I Want For Christmas Is A Duke" Here