Well, now that I’ve taken the leap into digital publishing of backlist titles, I had to make a plan. I really like doing these editions, but I need to ensure that I have lots of time to write Dragonfire novels and Dragon Diaries novels.
So, here’s The Plan, just in case you’re curious.
• I intend to re-release one backlist title per month in a digital release. These will be on Amazon for Kindle.
• One obvious choice will be the fourth of my four Claire Cross time travels but it needs to be retyped. I’ve persuaded the elves to have a go at it but am not certain how quickly they’ll get through it. THE LAST HIGHLANDER by Claire Delacroix writing as Claire Cross will slide into the schedule whenever that file is ready to go. (Many thanks again to the elves.)
• Beginning in March, I’ll start with my historical romances, planning on one re-release per month. First up will be the Rogues of Ravensmuir, beginning with THE ROGUE, which might be my favourite of all the books I’ve written. Honest and true. I love that book. Then we’ll continue with the Jewels of Kinfairlie, ending with THE SNOW WHITE BRIDE. That six book series will finish with “The Ballad of Rosamunde”, a novella which is already available digitally.
There’s also a possibility of doing print-on-demand books – actual trade paperbacks – along with the digital releases. What do you think about POD books? They tend to be trade paperbacks and thus will be more expensive than the $2.99 digital download. Would you pay, say, $6.99 for a trade paperback of a re-released title, when you could get a used mass market copy for a couple of bucks?
Let me know your thoughts so I can adjust The Plan accordingly!
Deborah Cooke & Her Books 
For me it’s all about the laziness factor. I’d buy POD if it were easy and convienent, as opposed to hunting down a used mass market pb via an online seller. The price point difference wouldn’t make me stop from buying a $6.99 POD – since that’s what I’d pay for a new mass market anyway.
Plus you get that new book smell with it. For free!
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Good point, Pam.
I still have to learn more about the pricing, but one of the big issues for me in the past has been the high prices of POD trade paperbacks. If I can set the price so that it’s comparable to a mass market book – and it looks like that’s possible – then my sense is that it would work out well.
d
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Great plan Deb and I know you’ve talked about B&N and the Canada thing so until and unless they have Nook friendly re-releases, I’m in the dark.
And oh how I loved all of your historical romances and I’m not really a fan of historical romance because of the usual age of the heroine but I always loved yours, you always managed to make the heroines not too young.
I loved all of the Ravensmuir characters and the Kinfairlie folks too, oh heck I just love your writing it just speaks to me. 🙂
Deb
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Hi Deb –
I think I’m going to take the re-releases of the historicals to digital/Kindle and also to simultaneous POD (print on demand). I still need to find out more, but it’s looking like a very viable option – so you won’t be in the dark!
Thanks for your kind words. I miss writing historical romances – they were such fun.
d
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Although I have a marked fondness for physical books, i am much more likely to purchase a digital download than a POD book.
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Thanks for commenting, Diana. I’m a bit skeptical about the quality of POD books, too, although they’ve probably improved a lot since I last saw one. If I find a program I like, the first test will be to get my hands on one of their books to check out the cover, binding, and general quality.
The issue I’m discovering with POD is that my books are long. That makes the page count high, which kicks the costs up. It doesn’t look as if I’d be able to offer a POD edition for less than $10US, which I think is too much, esp for a re-released title. It would be a trade paperback size, but still.
So, at this point, it looks like Kindle only for these re-releases, although I’m always gathering new data.
d
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