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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The Chronicles of Kerrigan by W.J. May

My guest today is W.J. May, author of the Chronicles of Kerrigan stories, Rae of Hope and Dark Nebula.

Traditional Publishing vs Indie
by WJ May

This is kinda the age-old talk for the past few years. When I first started looking to publish my writing I swore I would never go self-published, that I would find an agent, a publisher and “let them do all the work.”  I figured I had little marketing ability – to a degree. I own my own business and 90% of what we sell is online. So I do know how to market online. Sorta. My business deals in vintage jewelry. Marketing a book and a Victorian ring have different clientele.  Or do they?

Shoot. I’m already off topic.  My title for this blog deal with traditional publishing versus self publishing and I’m already talking about marketing. Let me set the course back where I should be.

I did start out as I fully intended and luckily got picked up by the amazing Dawn Dowdle from BlueRidge Litary Agency (http://blueridgeagency.com/). I signed my first contract January 2011, just a day after the New Year.

It was exciting and an awesome process of learning how to edit, seeing my cover for the first time, doing more edits, finalizing and then having the book come out in print.  I tried watching sales, but it’s hard to do and quarterly reports only came in, (lol) four times a year.  With self pubbing, you can check anytime you want.

Here I am now self-pubbing a series. It was incredibly frustrating learning how to do everything; from setting up the format, finding someone to do my cover, etc… I got very lucky and have a great writing friend who started writing around the same time as me and went the indie route. She’s had great success and suggested some great formatters, cover designers, etc…  I’d have been lost without her.

I’ve just started January 15th with my first book self published so it’s hard to say traditional or self pubbing is better.  For each pro, I can think of a con and vice versa. I’m on the fence. One thing for sure – the marketing is the same amount of work. Publishers want you to market and get your book out. They want you to tour or consider book signings, blogging, facebooking, twittering, etc… etc…

I bet in six months I’ll have jumped off the fence and picked a side to enjoy the grass on. The interesting question is if it will be on the Indie side or the Publishing side? What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by and reading my babble. Enjoy your day and be good—ish J
WJ May 





Rae of Hope
The Chronicles of Kerrigan
Book One
W.J. May

Genre:  Young Adult – Fantasy  (Paranormal, Romance, Suspense)

ASIN  B00B1NNFR0

Number of pages: 248pgs

Word Count: 81,000

Amazon    BN   Smashwords

Book Description:

How hard do you have to shake the family tree to find the truth about the past?

Fifteen year-old Rae Kerrigan never really knew her family's history. Her mother and father died when she was young and it is only when she accepts a scholarship to the prestigious Guilder Boarding School in England that a mysterious family secret is revealed.

Will the sins of the father be the sins of the daughter?

As Rae struggles with new friends, a new school and a star-struck forbidden love, she must also face the ultimate challenge: receive a tattoo on her sixteenth birthday with specific powers that may bind her to an unspeakable darkness. It's up to Rae to undo the dark evil in her family's past and have a ray of hope for her future.


Dark Nebula
The Chronicles of Kerrigan
Book Two
W.J. May

Genre:  Young Adult – Fantasy  (Paranormal, Romance, Suspense)

Word count: 85,000
Page count: 265 pages


Book Description:

Nothing is as it seems anymore.

Leery from the horrifying incident at the end of her first year at Guilder Boarding School, Rae Kerrigan is determined to learn more about her new tattoo. Her expectations are high, an easy senior year and a happy reunion with Devon, the boy she’s not supposed to date. All hopes of happiness turn into shattered dreams the moment she steps back on campus.

Lies and secrets are everywhere, and a betrayal cuts Rae deeply. Among her conflicts and enemies, it appears as if her father is reaching out from beyond the grave to ruin her life. With no one to trust, Rae doesn’t know where or who to turn to for help.
Has her destiny been written? Or will she become the one thing she hates the most—her father’s prodigy.

Book Trailer - http://youtu.be/Ca24STi_bFM

About the Author:
Wanita May grew up in the fruit belt of Ontario - St.Catharines. Crazy-happy childhood, she always has had a vivid imagination and loads of energy.

The youngest of six -- four older brothers, and a sister -- taught her at a young age to be competitive in all aspects of life.

At sixteen, she began competing in athletics (track and field) and before she turned seventeen, she was representing Canada in high jump. She continued to compete, breaking Canada's JR High Jump record (1.92m - 6' 3 1/2" for those metric-ly challenged). She attented University of Toronto, and Kansas State University - winning CIAU's and becoming All-American 6x - NCAA Indoors Runner Up + more.

But you're not interested in her athletic career - unless of course you're curious to know she stands 1.70m (5'7") and has jumped 20cm over her head on more than one occassion. She's represented Canada at the World Championships, World Jrs., won Francophone Games, and loved every minute of every competition. From the grueling workouts, the crazy weights she lifted on her back, the days she thought her lungs were going to spit out of her mouth for lack of oxygen, the travelling around the world and the opportunity to read - her favourite past time.

Wanita and her husband now run an online business, dealing in antiques and collectables - particularly jewelry and porcelain.

After her father passed away in 2009, from a six-year battle with cancer (which she still believes he won the fight against), she began to write again. A passion she'd loved for years, but realized life was too short to keep putting it off.

She is currently represented by Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency. Wanita is a writer of Young Adult, Fantasy Fiction and where ever else her little muses take her.



Twitter: @wanitajump


Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/812657.W_J_May

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