Hello my loves!
It’s time to get personal. I’ve been putting off talking about this for years now, because I’m honestly not the kind of person who wants to talk about it. However, after years of moving around the release dates for our books, I really feel the need to be totally honest with you all about a factor that is always in play when it comes our workload and scheduling things. So here goes…
For years now our release schedule has been far more volatile than we’d like- dates are always changing, the order of releases changes, and sometimes sequels get put off for years (yep, I’m referring to Pawn and the Nightmares Trilogy). Most of you know that there are two of us writing together – my best friend from law school and I. That’s important to keep in mind when you consider the major life events that always seem to occur around a release: they’re a combination of two very real lives, not one terribly unlucky, tragic existence. And while those major life events have been a big factor in this – the death of a parent, losing two of our precious dogs, unexpected surgeries and a plethora of other catastrophes – a lot of it has come down to one thing: my health.
Just after law school, while we were studying for the bar exam, I had to have my gall bladder removed. That was a big enough pain in the you-know-what at the time, since the bar exam is no small feat, but it was a tiny blip compared to everything that has happened since. Combined with my abnormal ductal anatomy, removing the gall bladder caused a serious and painful chronic illness that I have dealt with every day in the eight years since it happened. Before you go feeling sorry for me, an amazing thing happened as a result of my getting sick: we started writing, and Sophie Davis was born.
Though the illness has made it so that I am unable to practice law in any traditional firm setting – my life plan before this all happened – it has also given me the opportunity to embark on this journey of being an indie author, to really dedicate my time to something I am so passionate about. As much as it sucks to have this condition, and as much as it has changed my life from what I thought it would be, there is always that silver lining – if I’d never become sick, it is highly unlikely that we ever would’ve started writing down our crazy stories. And it is almost certain that we wouldn’t have ever had the time to dedicate to growing it into this incredible thing we have now. As cliché as it might be to say, we are honestly living our dream. We’d both always wanted to be writers, but are also pragmatic enough to know how tenuous writing careers are, and how difficult it is to be able to support yourself full-time as a writer. And so we both chose the ‘safe’ path for our lives – lots of education to set ourselves up for stable careers where we knew we’d do well for ourselves. But the desire and dream were always there. My getting sick allowed us to take a leap of faith we never would’ve chanced otherwise. And getting sick allowed me to make something out of our books, from the time I spent my days emailing bloggers one-by-one asking for reviews, to joining reader groups to ask you all to take a shot on an unknown author who chose to not take the traditional publishing route, to the incredible day we hit a bestseller list for the first time. Thank goodness we tried, because this is absolutely our passion, and we really love what we do.
Having said all of that, the truth is that the reality of my being sick interferes regularly with our plans for writing and releasing the books. The Cliff’s Notes version is that my condition is cyclical, meaning I go through good times, bad times, and then back around to good ones. Getting to those windows where I have far more good days than bad does come at a cost – two surgeries six months apart, to insert and remove a stent in my pancreatic duct. And sometimes the decision to have this procedure done comes without much forewarning, which of course throws any plans we have right off the tracks. The procedures provide me a window of relief that varies in length, usually around a year or so.
During this window, the days I’m feeling well far exceed those when I’m not; most days I am able to throw myself into the work and the worlds that you and we love so much. On the bad days, when I don’t feel up to doing much of anything, the puppies and my bestie keep me company and help me through the worst of it while I lay on the couch re-watching Entourage and Veronica Mars for the umpteenth time. Since we make our own schedules, the life of an indie author allows for these days off, which is very lucky.
Unfortunately, my condition inevitably worsens again as the cycle continues through the downswing. During these periods, when the bad days outnumber the good ones, my productivity takes a major hit. Naturally, this severely affects our plans for writing and releasing books. Put plainly: It sucks. It sucks for me, feeling like hell most days. It sucks for you, the reader, because things have to be pushed back. And of course it sucks for all of the people don’t get to experience my awesomeness, because I’m not venturing out into the world much.
So why am I telling you all of this now, after four years of dancing around the issue? Because we’ve hit a breaking point: we feel really terrible about our constantly postponed releases and the disappointment that comes with it.
When we started this adventure, it was all about us – just two friends who enjoyed creating elaborate stories together. We wrote because it was something we’d always wanted to do. We wrote because it was fun. We wrote for the two little girls in the pink house who vowed to dream big (yes, this was us, but that’s another story for another time). And even now, it is still about us. We still write because we love it, because there is no greater joy for us than when an idea of our imagining becomes a story on the page, when the characters come to life and the plot comes together like puzzle pieces. But it’s not solely about us any longer. It’s also about you – the readers. The characters, the worlds, the stories, and even the two of us – you have embraced it all in such an unexpected way. You have enthusiastically supported our dream. You, our amazing readers, have shown us such incredible loyalty. In turn, I feel like I owe you honesty.
It has taken a lot for me to come forward about this, because I genuinely don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me. The truth of the matter is that I do not feel sorry for myself. How many people get to spend their days laughing with their best friend, devising harebrained ideas, and exploring the worlds inside their heads? I am still the same silly, ridiculous, dreamer I’ve always been. Now I just see doctors more frequently. Sure, I would’ve enjoyed slamming my hand down on the table while pointing to opposing counsel and yelling “Lawyered!” But not quite as much as I enjoy writing.
Regardless, I do feel like it’s important for you guys to know that we’re not just sitting around, twiddling our thumbs while we eat cake and watch Pretty Little Liars (that’s only an hour each week). We care about our readers so incredibly much, and feel blessed to have every one of you. Without this amazingly supportive group, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. We hate letting you down by delaying yet another release. It is honestly still astonishing to us that we actually have so many readers, and we don’t want to lose you guys. The fact that there is even a single person out there who is looking forward to our next book is truly more than we hoped for when we first released Talented. As enthusiastic readers ourselves, we understand how annoying it is when there are huge gaps of time between books in a series, especially when the release dates are continuously being announced and then pushed back. So we do understand how you’re feeling, and we don’t want to lose you out of frustration. Both of us are so grateful for each and every one of our readers. You are making our dream a reality. You have given us an incredible opportunity in general, but particularly for me, personally: a chance for a life and career I’d never thought possible after my diagnosis.
So all of this is a longwinded way of saying two words: I apologize. I’m trying, I promise. Unfortunately, all I can do is promise to work hard on the good days, push myself on the so-so days, apologize to you for the bad days, and try my hardest to set more reasonable goals.
Now that I’ve gotten all of that out of my system, on to our revised release schedule! After a critical review of our practices the last four years, there is one major thing we want to change: the actual release of each of our books. In the past, most have come out with a whimper instead of a bang. The biggest reason for this is that we feel so terrible about moving release dates and making you wait between books in a series, so we literally set the release date for the absolute soonest that we can actually finish the book. We never build in any time to send out advanced review copies or to publicize the release, because we want to get the books into your hands as soon as possible!
However, in order for us to have the best shot possible at a long-term career as writers, and for my bestie to be able to quit her lawyering job in the foreseeable future, we need to change things up a bit. We need to allow a little time for marketing and advertising prior to each release. I know that this will disappoint people in the short-term, when we have this hype window for the first time, but the books will still come out about the same distance apart in the future. And for those of you who don’t want to wait, you can always sign up for either our blog network or review group, both of which will get the books about a month before they come out. The only requirement to receive Advanced Copies is that you *must* review them in a timely manner, preferably before the book actually releases. We really believe that having reviews already up for the books before they come out will do a lot towards helping them succeed. We have a system in place now that we’ll be tweaking, but basically you’ll email our awesome, invaluable assistant a link to your review, and you’ll automatically receive an ARC of the next book when it comes out (if it’s a series you’re signed up for). I’ll link the sign-ups to both of these programs below, if you’re interested in joining!
Just a side note about the release dates below: they are ALL tentative. It is definitely ambitious, and we will be pushing ourselves hard to have each of these out around the dates below, but keep in mind that one of my surgeries will be coming up in about a month, so we may have to change things around. I always try my hardest to stay with it and work as much as I can, but there’s also the possibility that I may go through a couple weeks when I can’t work at all. Regardless, I will say this – we’re going to do better on keeping you updated! So here’s what we’re looking at now: a very busy, prolific fall with lots of payoff for you guys…
The Syndicate (TimeWaves #1)- November 10, 2015
Inescapable (Talented Saga #6)- December 29, 2015
Vacant Voices (Blind Barriers Trilogy #3)- Jan/Feb 2016
Which reminds me, if you’re wondering why on earth we’d be starting another series when we have three we need to be releasing books for, I don’t blame you at all. It seems crazy to me, too! But it’s an idea I’ve been marinating on for two years now, and it’s our hope for this to be our biggest series yet. And what does one do with a series they’re super excited about and completely believe in? Take it to BEA, of course! We very seriously considered attempting to go the traditional publishing route with this one, so we dropped everything to get a solid chunk of it done for the country’s biggest book conference. After weighing our options, talking to some key people with houses at BEA, discussing it with our traditionally published friends and very seriously considering the timeliness of the subject, it all brought us to one major decision: let’s self-publish the hell out of this thing. We are hoping to really amp up the marketing and exposure for it, which again goes back to building in some lead time for the release, to get reviews, get people talking about it, and do everything possible to give it the best chance for success. Although I know many of you will be frustrated, since it meant pushing back both Inescapable and Vacant Voices, I sincerely hope you’ll understand why we’ve made the decisions we have, and that you’ll give the series a try. We’ll be unveiling a new website in the coming weeks with Sneak Peeks, Character Bios, and special Behind-the-Scenes glimpses at the world and story we’ve come up with. I honestly think you’ll love it. And I really hope you do!
Okay, so I’ve shared my personal story, passed along the new release schedule, told you about the Syndicate, and hopefully given you more insight into us, how we’re doing things, and why we’re doing them the way we are. What’s left?
Only to thank you. Thank you for your support. Thank you for your enthusiasm. Thank you for helping us to succeed. And thank you for sticking with us.
We love you guys so much that I am embarrassed to admit that, as a writer, I don’t actually have the words to convey the depth or breadth of my feelings. Thanks for sharing this journey with us; it’s been an amazing ride, and I’m so excited for what the future will bring.
Much love,
The Sophies
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