When B and I reunited to collaborate on writing books, we thought long and hard on the direction we wanted to take Brit Darby. In the end, we agreed to go the independent publishing route. One of our main reasons was that it was difficult for both of us to write the one-size-fits-all historical romances required by traditional publishers, including our old houses. Writing within a formula was stifling, and the truth was we wanted to write much, much more and take our novels to a new level. Bigger, yes. Bolder, definitely.
One of the things we’ve realized along the way is that Brit Darby is not a traditional historical romance author, but perhaps more accurately classified as historical fiction. Our books have complex plots with real historical characters and detailed history blended in. We include many secondary characters, some of whom evolve into monumental and beloved people in their brief visits upon the pages. Our stories are layered with adventure and violence, great love and vile obsessions, and yes, sexual content that ranges from tender lovemaking to passionate encounters.
We don’t hold back. We may surprise you, even shock you. Heck, we’ve shocked ourselves upon occasion. That is part of the thrill, both from the reading side and the writing corner.
Shaking free of formula writing means we do not add or take away content, depending on what we think might sell. It’s about writing the story we envision, telling the tale that begs to be told. Characters come and go and act according to their whims, not ours. It’s as much an adventure for us as it is for readers — we may not know what will happen next. It’s a journey, an exploration as our characters behave in unexpected ways. It just happens, words flow onto the page, one after another, until we reach the end.
We think that’s a glorious thing.
~D
Fela,
I loved Emerald Prince and saw it as historical romance. The best historical romance includes real history. Virginia Henley and other greats did this well. Even my own books feature real historic figures as characters and real history. But I laud your independent path, all the same. I’m curious…you went with Amazon Digital Services–have you been pleased with that?
Hi Regan,
It’s so nice to hear from you! I believe when B and I wrote Emerald Prince, we thought of it as a historical romance as well. And, yes, the historical romances we read and loved always included real history, and that is especially true of B’s writing. She’s the one I look to as mentor for digging deep to find those great little tidbits in history.
In answer to your question about our decision to go with Kindle Direct Publishing, yes, we are pleased and we haven’t regretted our decision at any point in our journey. Yet, that is said with a caveat; it’s been a long and difficult learning curve for us and the path has been slow, especially as a do-it-yourself operation and considering we both work full time. In other words, we certainly aren’t an overnight success story by any means but our sales are progressively growing as we experiment with other options within Amazon’s platform, such as KDP Select. Bottom line, it is our hope that the tortoise will win this race.
~Fela
a.k.a. D
Thanks, Fela. I’d love to hear more about your Amazon journey as I’m thinking of going Indie on a medieval I am writing. Getting my own editor, copyeditor, formatter, etc. seems daunting. I’m hoping Amazon would be helpful with all that.
Yes, going Indie can be a daunting process. Since B and I have tackled all the different aspects of publishing ourselves, we are happy to share any insights we may have learned along the way.
If you have questions, just email us. If we don’t know the answer, perhaps we can point you in the right direction.
Will do; and thanks, Fela.