This year I have the absolute honor of having two books come out. That, in itself, feels awesome to say, and I don’t want to be ungrateful for the opportunities I’ve been given. But, I will say that somewhere around January 2nd I realized I am perhaps vastly unprepared to have two very different books coming out in the same year.
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Casual is a near future dystopian novel that comes out February 11 from Tenebrous Press
Hold My Heart is a steamy noir cosmic horror novella coming out from Ghost Orchid Press on May 27
When signing contracts, I discussed the release dates with both publishers, making sure it wasn’t an issue that the two books would be coming out in the same year, and everyone was okay with it. However, I don’t think I gave thought to what that would mean for me as an author. Or I did, but I was wildly optimistic. I assumed I would talk up Casual until it released in February and then, in March, I would switch gears to talking about Hold My Heart.
Easy peasy.
(Ha. Ha. Ha.)
First of all, I forgot that I already have a book out. Mazi was an erotic folk horror novella published last year by Ghost Orchid Press, and as my first longform publication, and one in a niche genre, it’s still out there finding its readers. That means any time I talk about my new books, I feel a twinge of guilt that I’m not talking about Mazi. It’s kind of how I remember feeling mom-guilt when I had a toddler and a newborn, and I the newborn was reaching milestones every week and getting all this attention, and the toddler needed some more love and care. And by kind of, I mean a lot like that.
Second, I didn’t take into account that either of my books would be listed on people’s TBR 2025 lists. Let alone both of them. This means that I’m definitely not talking about just one book right now, but both of them. Which might not be such an issue if they weren’t so different. Both books are distinctively me and they both deal with mental health in a strong woman character. But beyond that, they couldn’t be more different. Casual is sci fi dystopian, perhaps the closest I will get to “mainstream” while still being weird. Hold My Heart is the first book where my publisher had to ask “are you okay with this being called extreme horror?” (Spoiler: I am okay with it, but I am also nervous, because I’ve never even dabbled across that line before.) Because of the differences, I realize that there may be some readers who will love one of these books and not care for the other, and so I try to focus my conversations on one at a time. But then I always feel like I am leaving the other one out. And then, in all of this, poor Mazi.
I guess this will be something I will get more comfortable with in time. I have no intention to stop writing, so there will be more books. And, because of the wild ride that is publishing, occasionally there will be two books in one year. Eventually, it will be normal that I have a “back catalogue” (A who-what now!?!). But for now it’s all a bit surreal and a little overwhelming (in a good way).
That being said, I’d love to hear any tips or advice other writers have for managing two releases in a year. I’d love to hear how you make sure each of your books gets some attention while not over-spamming socials or accidently turning a conversation about one book into a promo for the other.