Hello, everyone!
I don’t often use my blog, but I know there will be a lot of questions after the Legacy pre-order was canceled. The first thing I have to say about that is: I’m sorry. The second is: Yes, I will still publish Legacy. If you want a bit of the longer story, read on.
So. This is the first time I’ve missed a deadline like this, and while I suppose I don’t have to explain, I feel like I should. If you’ve been part of my Facebook group, you know I’ve been struggling with burnout for a while. I’m not a naturally fast writer, so I’ve always pushed myself to keep up with the writers who publish rapidly. In 2022, I pushed too hard.
That year, I was working on a pen name serial for Kindle Vella under the name Willow McCain. It absolutely had to go out weekly. That was after the first of the year, when I wrote Maelstrom, I believe my largest book to date, in a little over two months. I also had The Mage’s Curse to write and to promote for The Realm of Darkness anthology. By the time the anthology had run its course and I’d published The Mage’s Curse in early 2023, I was spent. In complete burnout.
Then 2023 decided to throw me dental surgeries and a bad bout of pneumonia, alongside issues for my children (which I’m obviously not going to talk about for their privacies’ sake). It was all I could do to finish the serial under my pen name, and that was only once a week. In short, it was a miserable and dark year.
This year seemed better, and in many ways, it has been. Aside from lingering family issues, life has leveled out. I set up a pre-order to get myself moving again, because pre-orders always motivate me. Always. I hate disappointing people, so I usually work to the bone trying to meet them. Friends, I just couldn’t. And for that, I am deeply sorry.
Not only was my burnout not as much improved as I thought, but I had another dental surgery last month. (Please let this not become a Spring tradition. lol) I’ve been so stressed and very much dreading the push I was going to need to hit the deadline. I wrote to Amazon to move the pre-order to May 18th, even though I had no clue how I was going to make that.
The deadline was supposed to be extended. Instead, Amazon’s system canceled it.
I feel like I should be mortified and upset, but instead, I’m just…relieved. Now, I can take more time giving this story life without hurting myself in the process. Even though I hate disappointing you, I can’t help but be happy about that. Ara’s and Caolte’s story is complex and beautiful, and the more I’ve tried to push it, the more it’s slipped through my fingers. I think it’s going to be so much better now that I can let it bloom.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to set up another pre-order, since Amazon punishes Indie authors far more than traditional publishers for deadline issues, or if I’ll lose my pre-order privileges for a year. The cancelation was their mistake, so hopefully, I won’t lose the ability. If I set up another one, the release date will be far in the future, and then I’ll move it closer once the book is done.
But one thing is certain: Legacy (The Return of the Elves, Book 10) is in progress, and I will still publish it. I hope you won’t give up on my while I put my writing life back together.
With Much Love,
Bethany