Why I Published My Series Out of Order
The one thing all newer authors learn pretty quickly is that there is no blueprint, no “how to” guide, to publishing.
I’m a new-ish author. Even though I’ve published three books in the past year, I remain a novice in many ways and how I handled my first series certainly attests to that fact.
My debut novel, published in April 2013, was not the first manuscript I wrote; it wasn’t even the first book I sold. The first title I sold was Tempting Bella, the third book in the series. My fabulous agent went to bat for me right away, asking my editor to publish the second book in the series, Seducing Charlotte, first.
Why not the publish the first book in the series first? After all, that would make the most sense as reviewers have certainly pointed out.
One friendly blogger, who had given the first two books nice reviews, wrote this about Compromising Willa:
“Overall, not a bad read once I got past my confusion at the beginning.”
Another reviewer, who gave all three books excellent reviews, wrote:
“For some reason ‘the men in suits’ that bought these stories, decided they should be published out-of-order. Don’t ask!”
I wish I could blame the ‘men in suits’, but the responsibility lies with an insecure author in elastic-waist pants. Yes, that would be me.
Compromising Willa, the first book in the series, was also the first book I ever wrote. It had finaled in contests for unpublished writers but had never won. By contrast, Seducing Charlotte and Tempting Bella racked up a number of contest wins and I thought they were “higher concept” and would sell better. In my mind, Willa was relegated to less-favored child status even though I loved the story and the characters.
Because of this, I never sent Willa to my agent and my editor wasn’t even aware Willa existed until she asked, “Do you have any other books in this series?”
“Um, yes,” I said and promptly emailed the manuscript. My publisher bought it, along with the unfinished fourth book in the series, demonstrating more confidence in me and my writing than I had.
I am sorry if this created confusion for my readers and, in some cases, diminished their reading enjoyment. Thank you for your patience. The good news is that the next book in the series, Engaging the Earl, is being released in the proper chronological order!
