Venturing to Other Worlds

Greetings! I hope you are well (and warm, wherever you may live). I realize it’s been a while since I last provided a novel update, but know this… I’m nearly finished with Of the Coldblooded edits. Whoohoo! As soon as I finish the last round of edits, I plan to send my manuscript to my formatter and prepare to release my second novel (hopefully no later than May!).

Now, as many of you know, I opted to tread the Indie Author path, which is why I’m very excited to bring you a few words from my fellow author and friend, Jill Williamson. Science fiction, fairytales, a robot dog and a self-publishing adventure with her son…

The premise for RoboTales came about with the help of my entire family. Science fiction fairytales for boys seemed like a fun idea. Each book in the RoboTales series follows Robo the robot dog as he travels to a different planet. He meets a boy, and they help one another. Book by book, the clues add up toward solving the overall mystery of Robo’s past. This children’s chapter book series is for readers ages 7-13.

As I wrote, Luke became my writing partner, naming characters, creatures, and helping to plot every detail of the stories. Luke even built Robo out of LEGOs. He is very creative.

Luke and I wanted to sell this series to a traditional publisher. But everyone we targeted rejected the idea. In an age where most brick and mortar bookstores are suffering, publishers aren’t as willing to take a risk on a new children’s chapter book series. These types of books cost more due to the artwork, yet they sell for so little.

My son and I weren’t ready to give up yet. We decided to self-publish the books. But, just like those traditional publishers, we knew this project would be costly. That’s why we chose Kickstarter as a way to sell books in advance. In backing our campaign, you are really pre-ordering these books. That way we can use the money to pay the illustrator now, and we’ll send you the books once they release in October 2015.

Kickstarter is an all or nothing program. If we reach our goal by the allotted time period, those who signed up to support us will be asked to pay the amount they pledged. If we fail to gather enough supporters by the end date, no one is charged and we get no money to pay our illustrator.

Click here to visit our Kickstarter page and read more about this project, including our budget and a full list of backer rewards. Please help us spread the word about RoboTales. We can’t wait to get these books into the hands of young readers everywhere!