Greetings and happy New Year! 2024 is the return of my monthly newsletter. In January's newsletter I'm going to be re-introducing myself, my work, plugging some new stuff, and talking about some distribution changes. It's a bit lengthy, but definitely informative, so let's get to it! |
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As you already know, I'm DJ Small, writer of queer fiction. I'm a black, queer, transmasculine, genderqueer individual. I'm a U.S. based author, who is an east coast native, however, I don't let that hold me back. I enjoy traveling, and I'm trying to find ways to do it more frequently. I've been a writer since I was 13. It was the medium I decided to use to explore my sexual identity at the time. I mean it's pretty easy to hide, and I hid it well until my massive self-insert story was discovered by cousin when I was 16. It was in this massive 3-ring binder that I hid under the futon while I was staying with her. But that's how writing ensnared me.
For the longest time, I kept my writing to myself, which is why when I'm not publishing, I'm still writing because I enjoy doing it for myself. Then about 2014, I released my first fanfiction for the Lost Girl fandom for the Doccubus pairing. It wasn't the first fanfic I wrote, but the first one I put out publicly. There are several fics for the Buffy fandom that I've started, but have never published.
From there I released a bunch of fanfiction for Doccubus, Swan Queen, and the Buffy/Faith pairing, and I actually still publish them to this day. Fanfic is something I have a passion for because it's where people feel safe to cut their teeth in writing and releasing it, and you can also use fanfic to explore themes that typically wouldn't fly in the regular publishing world.
Through putting out fanfiction, I made some friends and those friends were engaged in conversations about publishing and self-publishing. Self-publishing was something that piqued my interest, and I did some research to see how feasible it was and I found it pretty easy to do. I transformed one of my alternate universe fanfics into an original novel, and it became my first published book in 2016.
Between 2016 to 2019, I published 4 books, and most of them currently lie within the 4 stars range on Amazon. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, life, and an existential crisis I'm still working through, my will to edit prevented me from publishing for the last 3 years. However, there is a silver lining to all this. During my publishing break I was able to write numerous stories and have outlined several projects, so I'm set for a few books.
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Now that I've re-introduced myself, I'm going to talk a bit about my work and published books. As with my life, I refuse to be held back by labels and boundaries, and that is reflected in my work even though a lot of my books fall within the realm of sapphic fiction. I do have a series where my main character's love interest is a binary trans man, and I have plans to continue to lean into gender diversity in future works, and as always, it will be queer as hell.
If you haven't read my books, you need to know that I don't stick with a genre. My first book, Pool Of Lies, is a dark romance. Avery Lawson: The Last Pureblood is a supernatural novel. Murderous Profession falls into the murder/mystery genre and seems to be going deeper into it. And lastly, Reappearance of Summer is a political laced romace. As you can see, there is no genre I shy away from. In fact, I see venturing into different genres as a challenge and trying to expand my chops as a writer. Some people do that with multiple pen names, but I'm just to ambivalent about it all to make a new one.
That's it for me and my writing, so let's get down to business (to defeat the Huns!).
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This year, I'm grabbing the bull by the horns and I'm going to overcome my mental hurdles to publish at least one, if not two, books this year. This isn't a hard feat, but editing is the biggest challenge I have, and the only way I can get through it is just to do it.
The first book I plan to publish this year is the introductory novel for my IFL series, titled Outside The Game. This is a guaranteed release because I just finished the first round of edits, and I'm giving it a second pass through, so I'm closer to getting it finished, which means there is no excuse for me to not have it out this year.
The series is about various people in what's known as the International Football League. The core of the league is made up of women, but there are subsidiary leagues which have men and trans folks in their ranks who all have a story to tell. I know, that's a horrible explanation, but it will make sense in future books. Promise.
What is Outside The Game about? Well, gentle reader, I'm glad you asked because this will be the first time I provide a synopsis for it AND! There will be a cover reveal.
Outside The Game is about rookie quarterback E.J. Aquino, who has lived and breathed football since she stumbled upon an IFL game on TV when she was a kid. Playing in the IFL is all she has wanted to do, and she has spent a lot of time molding herself into the elite athlete the league is looking for, and it pays off for her. She gets drafted to the New Orleans Fleur De Lis, also known as the FDL, and she is beyond ecstatic. It's during her first game as starting quarterback that she sustains a career ending injury. E.J. is devastated by the injury and the loss of her dream career, upending the very core of who she is as a person.
In a fit of anger and depression, E.J. fires her medical team and quits physical therapy, but her new doctor persuades her to continue with physical therapy and sets up a meeting with a physical therapist by the name of Renee Sterns. E.J.'s first meeting with Renee isn't the best, but the physical therapist refuses to give up on her despite E.J. being in a mental space that has her wanting to give up on herself. The story follows E.J. through all her obstacles and how she handles them as she gradually learns that football isn't all she is and that there is more to life outside the game.
I know lot of background and vague details, but I don't want to give away too much. Outside The Game is an entertaining story, with a cast of characters who have interesting personalities. It's definitely a story I'm anxious to get out. A release date still needs to be determined, but in the meantime, here is the cover.
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There are few element's missing, such as my name and I might move the title up, but I do like it. It's quite dramatic for a book that honestly isn't that angsty, but then again my opinion is subjective on that angst thing. What do you think?
The second book I hope to release in 2024 is the second book in the Detective Miller series, Grisly Politics. I need to start editing for it, so it won't be released until later in the year. I actually read it when I was off work for a week in November, and while there is a timeline issue and some inconsistencies from the first book, it is an engaging read. I always find myself surprised when I read a story I wrote and the writing is engaging and thoroughly enjoyable. Because even though I've written it, all I can think while I'm writing is that the story is complete and utter garbage. It's a double-edged sword.
There will be more to come on Grisly Politics once I have completed round 2 of editing. In the meantime, I recommend reading the 1st book in the Detective Miller series, Murderous Profession, which you can pick up for free at this link.
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If you've been reading my blog posts, I keep mentioning my risky break-up with Amazon. So, I'm going to take some time to explain the whys and hows of everything. I think I'll delve into the why first. I'm an anti-capitalistic anarchist, and my anarchism leans towards destroying the status quo and capitalism in general. While I know I can't eliminate my in-person interactions from certain big corporate retailers, like Target, Kroger, and the like, I definitely can control my online interactions with big retailers, especially Amazon. I won't list out all my issues with them, but their labor practices and union busting definitely caused my eyebrows to raise.
But to frame this from my perspective as a niche, indie author, they also don't protect writers. I'm sure someone will say differently--probably someone who makes more money through them than I--but from what I've seen and read online, has just soured my relationship with the company. Even more so when I read about the 1-star rating bombs on Goodreads and Amazon itself. Then there are the practices with Kindle Unlimited, refunds on books, and it's just a lot of sketchiness.
As you can tell, I'm over Amazon. Am I shooting myself in the foot by eliminating them as a distributor? Absolutely! They are the world's largest online retailer for e-books. However, they're not the only one and I refuse to be pigeonholed into using them just because they've got a choke hold on eBook distribution. Needless to say, I've learned a lot about what does and doesn't work for me since I started self-publishing in 2016, and unfortunately, Amazon doesn't work for me.
With all that being said, my future releases, with the exception of the books for the Detective Miller and Last Pureblood series, will be released through Smashwords and my Ko-Fi page. The Detective Miller series along with the Last Pureblood one will be offered through Smashwords, Ko-Fi, and Amazon because it'd be really shitty to start the series on Amazon and then not have the subsequent books listed on there, so they get a pass.
One of the things I love about Smashwords is that my books aren't just a one trick pony on there. They distribute to KoBo, Apple Books, Nook, and also libraries. So, for those who are curious about my books, but don't want to commit to them in case you find them to be not your thing, you can borrow them from your local library if they use one of Smashwords' library partners, which I've put beneath this paragraph.
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As you can see, Smashwords has such a wide distribution network, and they don't require exclusivity. Another thing I love about Smashwords, is their coupon system and how they have website wide sales that authors can participate in. Honestly, Smashwords is a site for authors by authors, and it's the type of company and system I want to put all my energy into. They also merged with Draft2Digital a couple of years ago, which is another e-book distribution company, so they're evolving and I hope it's for the best.
The last point I have to make regarding my distribution changes, is direct buys. If you simply want to buy a book from me without having to support Amazon, but Smashwords confuses you, you can go to my Ko-Fi page. All my eBooks are there as and it's the only place you can purchase paperback copies for all my books including my new ones. For my older books you can still purchase paperback copies on Amazon.
Physical books can be purchased signed or unsigned, and I capture sales for paperbacks on a quarterly basis and ship them out at the beginning of the new one. Paperback sales for Q1 2024 started on Janusry 1st, and there is a quantity of 10 available for each book. Another finer detail I'd like to point out is that eBooks are distributed through Bookfunnel, which is a fantastic site and quite easy to use. However, if you have any issues my inbox is always open.
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I covered a lot in this newsletter, and have made it terribly long. My bad. Once I started typing it out, I realized I had a lot to update my readers on and whew! It got away from me. I'm sure I've missed something, but if I have, I'll put in February's newsletter. I'm going to start sending out Smashwords coupons in my newsletters for one of my books. It's all random. From the book to the amount off. Little thought gets put into this.
For January, Reappearance of Summer is 10% off on Smashwords with coupon code: RA48P. It'll be valid until 12A (CST) on 01/24.
Lastly, here are some important links you should bookmark, save, or jot down in your notepad.My website - My Smashwords Page - My Ko-Fi Page - My Mastodon - My Tumblr
With that, I am finished! I'll be back in your inbox next month, and just in time for discount Valentine's day candy at CVS. Score!
Until next time...
-DJ Small
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