decided to self publish her release Static.
Thanks for being here today, Tawny.
Why I Chose to Self-Publish STATIC
By
Tawny Stokes
I have a near mid-list writing career under my alter ego Vivi Anna. I’ve published with Kensington, Avon, and Harlequin, and still write for Harlequin, so why did I choose to self-publish my first YA, Static, and other books? Because I could. Authors have more choices now with their career than they’ve ever had. It’s exciting now to be an author. There are so many different paths you can choose to take to get the final end goal of being published.
But with everything, there are both pros and cons. Here in point form are the pros and cons of self-publishing, for those thinking that this might be the path you want to take.
Pros:
Creative control over everything, including cover, blurb, pricing, release dates
Stellar royalty rate of 70%
Can write what you want when you want
Not constrained by trends, what’s popular, whims of editors and publishing houses
Can change price, blurb, book, cover, at any time
Can work with other authors you like, don’t have to be publishing house specific, or have to shop the concept
Can help up sales on other stuff, like epubbed titles or traditional titles
Can be compliments to other stuff, like epubbed titles or traditional titles
Cons:
Upfront costs for cover, editing, formatting, can be anywhere from $100 to $500
No gatekeeper to tell you if it sucks or not, have to rely on own judgement plus employ honest beta readers
Have to do tons of marketing online
Need a lot of work out there to be effective
Not everything is going to sell well
Beauty of all of this, is that you can do it all, you don’t just have to trad pub, or epub, or selfpub, you can do a little of all of it, depending on your needs. If you are a fast writer and have lots of ideas/work, trying to get an agent/trad deal, at same time can epub, or self-pub, one doesn’t stop you from doing the other. Self-pubbing, epubbing is not frowned upon any more, so have a good sales record in either can help you now.
If you have like 6 books under the bed that didn’t get agents or trad deals, dust them off, send them off to beta readers, and really examine if they are good enough to be published, if you feel they are, then send them to an epublisher, or self-pub them. Start making a career for yourself, quit waiting for the industry to give you a career, because you could be waiting forever.
Genre: Paranormal YA
During the summer before her senior year, 17 year old band groupie, Salem Vale, has been following her favorite punk rockers, Malice, from gig to gig hoping that one night she might get backstage and meet the sinisterly sexy guys. She’s been saving her virginity for the lead singer Thane. One fateful evening she gets her wish. It’s a dream come true.
Except the dream turns to a nightmare when she wakes up in a dumpster, tossed away like yesterday’s trash, with no memory of what happened the night before. She feels strange, different, as if something is trying to get out. Soon she realizes she’s changing…turning into something not quite human.
Now a hunger deep inside claws at her to feed, to siphon energy from those around her. Before she can do just that, Trevor, the band’s roadie shows up and stops her from killing. With his help she learns to control the hunger inside, because he’s just like her. And in return he wants her help to do one little thing…
Help him kill the members of Malice.
"STATIC is an edgy, dark, and delicious read! Tawny Stokes is a tasty new voice in YA fiction." –Michelle Rowen, national bestselling author
Early reviews and praise:
“You’re going to love Static — a deep, dark and sexy ride. This is a creepy and unique addition to the YA paranormal genre that goes a little bit further and gives a little bit more.” – Janet Gurtler, author of I’m Not Her and If I Tell, Sourcebooks Fire.”STATIC is an edgy, dark, and delicious read! Tawny Stokes is a tasty new voice in YA fiction.” –Michelle Rowen, national bestselling author of Demon Princess series
“Static is an edgy, unique, whirlwind paranormal story with great action and amazing storytelling. This one leads you down a path you won’t forget. Don’t miss it!” – Denise A. Agnew award-winning author of Dark, Deadly Love
Tawny Stokes has always been a writer. From an early age, she’d spin tales of serial killers in love, vampires taking over the world, and sometimes about fluffy bunnies turned bunnicidal maniacs. An honour student in high school, with a penchant for math and English, you’d never know it by the foot high blue Mohawk and Doc Martens, which often got her into trouble. No longer a Mohawk wearer, Tawny still enjoys old school punk rock, trance, zombie movies, teen horror films, and fluffy bunnies. She lives in Canada with her fantastical daughter, two cats, and spends most of her time creating new stories for teens.
Tawny also writes adult paranormal/urban fantasy fiction under the name Vivi Anna, and is an aspiring screenwriter.
Good luck with the rest of your tour, Tawny!!!
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