To get back to my somewhat frustrating foray into the world of publishing I will jump back on the rollercoaster and tell you the rest of my tale. So by November 2010 I had got a lovely agent on board who was really enthusiastic about Witchblood and soon I was told that she was taking my manuscript with her on a trip to New York to visit Harpers NY. She also sent my manuscript to Simon & Schuster NY amongst others. It was all very exciting!
Unfortunately for me it seemed that I had missed the vampire genre boat by a mere six months. One publisher said they liked my writing but weren't taking on anymore YA vampire novels, and even more frustrating another had just signed a similar book and didn't want another! It seemed Helen Corner's (Cornerstones) prediction of publishers not wanting more vampire books was coming true.
My lovely agent however didn't give up quite so fast and had soon sent my manuscript out to all the UK publishers she knew. Again it seemed the feedback was consistent - my writing wasn't the problem, they just weren't signing anymore vampire based YA fiction. The fact that Witchblood IS different, IS British, Is grittier, and come the sequel is going to veer away from vampires to concentrate more on witches wouldn't sway them.
So this summer, on my agents advice I started writing something new...but my heart wasn't in it. I kept seeing self-published supernatural books out there and doing well. A friend told me I should self publish and when I broached it to the agent, even she was behind me. As she said, the publishers are booking 18mths to 2years in advance but YA supernatural fiction IS still selling, and I can get this published and out there in the new year. It's a no-brainer. Witchblood is where my heart is...the sequel is waiting to be written.
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