TO PUBLISH OR . . . ?

My dilemma as the calendar turns to August tomorrow. Decisions have to be made.

Backdrop: my new novel, ‘The Last Chapter’ is ready to go to formatting and then to my publisher. The editing of the manuscript has been completed to my satisfaction . . . not necessarily to perfection. Whatever, I must decide whether or not to have the story published or wait until next year when ‘things’ have settled down. The Corona virus has changed all our lives and many of our plans for the remainder of the year — and possibly, longer.

Under ‘normal’ circumstances, I would have the new book ready for marketing sometime in mid-October which would leave me the month of November for the November craft sales here in Hibbing and other locations on the Iron Range.

I have not learned of event cancellations yet so the pessimist in me is of the mind that they will be cancelled. If not, attendance will likely be considerably less than normal. My bottom line is simple, my company’s budget will not afford me the opportunity to publish ‘The Last Chapter’ and a new story 2021.

The obvious question might seem to be; why is the marketing period so confined? My answer is simple, I spend much of the winter in Florida. And that reality is another part of the dilemma. I’m beginning to realize that my personal budget may require me to sell my place in Florida. (Or, sell my place in Hibbing). I have no bookstore outlets in the area and I’ve taken my books off of Amazon as well. Locally, I have two Hibbing outlets: the Sunrise Deli and Sullivan’s R&T Confections on Howard Street.

Further, I have asked my website manager to suspend the site until further notice. I love the site you are on if you are reading this post, but . . . the budget constraints. The site has not been effective in terms of readership or sales. So this message may be my last for a while.

Finally, the new book will be the last of the Father Mickey adventures. I like the story and how it ends. Writing it was a new experience for me as I wrote in the first person for the first time. So I had the experience of being Mickey while writing over these past several months. Until next time if there is one, nothing is set in stone; thus the question mark in the title of my post.

Feel free to comment.

Pat