Well, I found out yesterday that Give the Lady a Ride is going out of print. Totally breaks my heart, but it’s a smart business move. Had I been well enough through 2012/2013 to continue pitching and promoting it, the results may have been different.
Once the cyber-distributors like Amazon and Barnes and Noble run out of their supplies, new versions will be unavailable except through me. I think Amazon will still post availability of used copies, though. I checked B&N, and they still have it available for Nook, and the Kindle version will be available through the end of February–so if ya want the electronic version, get it now!
I grew to love all the characters in this book as if I were writing about actual people. Sometimes, I admit, I pull the book down and reread certain parts of it just to reconnect with them. I’ve toyed with the idea of altering my current western romance series to be a continuation of this one just so maybe someday another pubber will pick it up and reprint it. Who knows? It could happen.
Meanwhile, I still haven’t got a release date for The Cat Lady’s Secret, but you can bet I’ll be touting it like crazy once I do.
But Writing in Obedience is available for pre-order–which reminds me, if you haven’t signed up for the giveaway, now’s the time. Drawing winners will be announced Monday! I’m giving away three copies of Terry Burns’s A Writer’s Survival Guide to Getting Published to those who enter the drawing by pre-ordering Writing in Obedience.
Seeing Give the Lady a Ride go out of print so soon is a bit disheartening, but I’ll still be selling it through this site and at my speaking engagements.
And I’ll continue toying with the idea of turning it into a series and seeking another publisher for it.
Several years into it, and this blog still refuses to be categorized. It's eclectic and includes everything from writing posts to snippets from my ordinary life. 
Linda W. Yezak 
Linda, you should see about getting your rights back and publishing it as an ebook. I think a lot of people have done well by doing that.
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I’ve been thinking about that since I found out it’s going out of print. I have two options that capture my imagination, and I haven’t decided between the two yet. It’ll be awhile, but we’ll see what happens.
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Sorry to hear that. How long is it before the rights revert to you and you can market it yourself through Amazon and B&N? A lot of authors market their backlist at The Fussy Librarian with me.
Jeffrey
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I was supposed to get a release in the mail yesterday, but maybe today. I’ll keep you in mind when I decide what I’m going to, Jeffrey. Thanks for leaving a comment!
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I agree with Pamela. I have been successful with two of my early publications. The first ‘Til Death Do Us Part was reissued by White Bird Publications and as soon as I find the time, we will be reissuing Troubled Times.
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It’s definitely a thought, Gay. Thanks for your input!
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A pity. I was lucky enough to get and read and enjoy my own copy. I believe I passed it along to someone else so at least more enjoyment came from the one copy.
Fortunately, the characters live on in our minds and hearts.
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Best compliment I could ever get, Carol! So glad my characters came to life for you!
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😦 I’m sorry to hear that, Linda. I wish you the best of luck in finding a new home for it!
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And that’s the question–where that new home will be. I’ve heard of authors developing their old books into the first of a new series, then selling the series to a traditional publisher, who then reprints the old book. That’s one idea I’m toying with . . .
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Well, one thing authors aren’t short of these days is options! 🙂
(That sentence feels grammatically incorrect….but whatever :P.)
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Giggle! No, so far as I can tell, the sentence is fine. And yes–thank heavens for options!
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Please read Dean Wesley Smith’s “Think Like A Publisher.” It’s free as a .pdf at http://www.DeanWesleySmith.com, also read Jason Matthew’s book, “HowTo Make, Market, and Sell Ebooks All For Free” http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003CJU49I/ before you make any decisions.
Guido Henkel also has a nine part series (for free) on formatting on his website, too.
I just ended a giveaway today on Goodreads for 4 paperback copies of The 15th Star, and 2,006 readers signed up to win a copy. It’s now on hundreds if not thousands of TBR lists. What if they got to my book a year from now, and found it was no longer available?What if those same readers would have been the ones to tell others how much they like my books, and now go on to read others? Not having books available *forever* hurts authors.
The beauty of self publishing is: you are totally in control. The horror of self publishing is: you are totally in control. The benefit is: all the money goes in your pocket minus a flat fee of what you pay others to do.
I have two works being produced as audio books also.
Self publishing may not be for you, but I can guarantee my readers my books will *never* go out of print. This year I broke having 100,000 of my books out there. If I keep writing and publishing at my current pace, and continue to build my reader base, within the next five years I could have over half a million books or more in the hands of readers.
Please think about the money and readers you may be leaving behind by not being in control of your books.
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Believe me, the pros and cons of self-pubbing are always forefront in my mind. My goals have always been different, as have my reasons for being in this business.
Thanks for the reference books. I’ll give them careful consideration before I decide what to do.
You’ve been doing amazingly well in your career–I’m so proud of you and excited for you!!!
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I just don’t get this move. The beauty of POD publishing it costs nothing to leave it up for sale on the Internet, no matter the number of sales.
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Well, it’s a business decision.
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Well, I wasn’t going to comment here, but as it seems I’m the rotten apple in this equation, I will. Time to clear things up.
No, the cost isn’t prohibitive, but it /does/ cost to “leave it up for sale” when one uses Ingram / Lightning Source. There’s an annual fee, and when a small publishing house has several of those with only a handful of sales on each per year, the combined cost /can/ begin to get prohibitive.
Further, and probably more importantly, Port Yonder Press is moving solidly away from typical Christian Fiction, as our website and guidelines outline. So it really is more than “it just didn’t sell enough copies,” It’s bigger than that. All things considered, we needed to move on.
Yes, it’s was a business decision, but one which factored in several criteria.
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And it’s still bittersweet, which is the point of this post. I’d think any time an author’s first book goes out of print by it’s publisher, it’s bittersweet, regardless of the publisher’s reason. Not saying it was a bad decision–whether it’s because the novel didn’t generate enough money or it’s because you don’t want to carry Christian novels anymore, just saying it’s bittersweet.
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Yep, I understand that, but the only reasons that seemed to surface were 1) you were sick so couldn’t sell, so 2) the publisher decided to pull it. It’s more than that – that was my point. More factored in.
And best wishes on the self-publishing! Hope it sells tons for you.
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Bummer! Don’t know much about the publishing business other than it’s TOUGH! Okay, people, be on the lookout for The Cat Lady’s Secret from a wonderful writer!!!
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Thank you, Pat! I’m seriously toying with everyone’s advice to put it out myself, so maybe it’s not gone for good. 😉
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