Hello, dear friends.
Side note: I think people forget that there are living, breathing, feeling people behind these screens and books. Some comments on my releases left me feeling extremely discouraged and disheartened, to say the least. It was a large factor in my decision to take a break and really think about the stories I share with others and whether or not that is something that I should continue doing.
I've since gotten to a better mental state, and the personal issues that prevented me from writing have mostly been resolved. On the other side of all the family, financial, and life drama, I see the direction that is calling me. And I'm ecstatic to share it with you. But first, a confession.
When I started publishing stories as Elizra Down, I did so with reckless abandon. My goal was to publish as many stories as I could as fast as I could. I was in such a desperate spot for money, and the only things I had to my name were a Canva account, Google Docs, a laptop, and a head full of stories that I thought were good enough to make a dollar. Consequently, my earlier works were quickly written and sent into the world with little thought for editing, formatting, etc. If I'm being completely honest, I was shocked by how quickly they received attention. I never thought that my first month of publishing would bring in over 100 readers. And what followed was a fever dream of rapidly publishing longer, more intricate books and praying that the attention remained positive and consistent.
Consequently, I burned out and did everything I could to stay on trend and tell stories that would earn a buck. It just wasn't sustainable. And the comments that stood out the most were the ones criticizing the length, the lack of editing, and the stories themselves. I wondered if I was just wasting everyone's money in a desperate attempt to scrape together my life and save myself from debt and poverty wages. I felt guilty. I wasn't as polished or professional as others writing in my chosen genre. And I was deep in a space that just didn't seem to fit the stories I wanted to tell.
I took the last few months to reassess. To fight those demons telling me that my stories weren't good enough, that I wasn't good enough. To discover the kinds of stories I wanted to tell and get into a rhythm that fit something much more sustainable than what I was doing before. And so now, here I am.
I'm excited to greet you at the start of a new era for my works. No longer a mad dash to simply produce, the titles to come are, I hope, something that can be enjoyed by all levels of casual romance readers. Still strongly in the arena of paranormal romance, I will be shifting out of the uncomfortable realm of BDSM. While they were incredibly fun to create, I no longer feel a strong connection to the subject matter and its expectations. Not only that, but I've been wanting to explore different creatures of the night and spin tales about princes of darkness, fallen angels, and dark lords. I hope you'll enjoy this shift in my stories!
The published books will be middle of the road, in terms of length. Longer than the short novelettes that started my author career, but shorter than the novels that defined the last few months before my hiatus. They will usually be novella length and anywhere between 12 and 24 chapters long. I'll also be publishing on a slower schedule to ensure there is enough time for thorough editing. That's right! I'm in a better place financially to enlist an editing team to help me polish these stories up before they land in your hands! It's my intention to give you the best story I can, and show that I value your time, money and attention as a reader. Because I do.
Lastly, I'll slowly be transitioning the older stories that have gone dry from my profile. Many of the "Friends to Lovers" novelettes will be vanishing in a few weeks and I'll transfer them into a format that will be accessible later on. I'm still deciding what's best for me to do at this point. So that is TBA. Stay tuned for more on that.
I am so excited to be starting this new chapter. And I'm even more excited that you're reading this. I hope you'll join me in this new era and continue to support my growth and journey as an author. And remember:
Comments
Post a Comment