A little bit of BSP … “Maximum Exposure,” the Max Revere prequel, will be out 3 weeks from today. It’s available for pre-order for Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Apple, and probably all the other e-tailer sites.
Maximum Exposure takes Max to Colorado Springs where she investigates the disappearance of a college student on a camping trip six months before. It takes place a full two years before NOTORIOUS, which will be out in hardcover on March 25.
The reason I wanted to write about this now is because I’m fielding a lot of questions from readers, and I thought having a central place to respond was smart, considering others may have the same questions.
Some of my books are only available for ebook, and that has caused some frustration for readers. I understand! Not everyone has or wants an e-reader. Here are the top two questions I get about this.
When is your book going to be out in print?
All my full-length novels are available both digitally and in print in the US and Canada. Some are available in other countries as well.
Some of my digital novellas will be printed in the back of future books, such as “Love is Murder” the Lucy Kincaid prequel was printed in the back of IF I SHOULD DIE and “Reckless” was printed in the back of COLD SNAP. I have not heard whether “Maximum Exposure” will be printed in a future Maxine Revere book; if and when it happens, I will make sure everyone knows!
As of now, my indie books — the ones I’m publishing on my own — will not be available in print. These are all novellas or short novels and it’s not cost effective for me to make them available for print — for you, or me. My indie books are stand-alones or part of a digital only series; they will not affect any of my printed series.
I’m worried that I’m going to miss something important in your series, but I don’t have an e-reader.
I painstakingly make sure that readers who don’t read ebooks will not miss anything important in character development, and I don’t introduce a continuing storyline in an e-book that is picked up in print books. What I try to do is write a full-contained story to give readers a taste of the series between books. “Love is Murder” for example took place a year before the first book in the Lucy Kincaid series. Lucy and her brother Patrick solve a murder while stranded at a ski lodge in California. I want to give readers a good story, but at the same time I don’t want my print readers to think they’re missing something.
When I wrote the novella “Maximum Exposure” I was even more sensitive to this issue. NOTORIOUS is Maxine Revere’s debut — no one “has” to read “Maximum Exposure” to enjoy NOTORIOUS. In fact, I wrote the novella long after I wrote the book. “Maximum Exposure” is a snapshot of Max two years before NOTORIOUS, and shows her in her investigative element and why she decided to star in the cable news show that is part of her life in NOTORIOUS. Basically, it’s a bit of backstory that also solves the cold case of a missing college student.
I love writing novellas. I write one between almost every book I’ve written because the shorter format gives me a way to refresh myself creatively. I can experiment — like in 36 Hours — with completely different characters and setting, or I can revisit old friends — like in Reckless — and see what they’re up to. And the nice thing is that they’re less expensive — most novellas are 15-35K words and sell for 99 cents or $1.99.
I’m curious — do you like shorter, cheaper stories between full-length books? Do you care if they’re only available in ebook?
Allison Brennan is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nearly three dozen romantic thrillers and mysteries, including the Lucy Kincaid series and the Max Revere series. She lives in Northern California with her husband, five children, and assorted pets.
I used to care if they were only in ebook form, because I didn’t have an ereader, but then I figured out I could download those and read them on my PC. Then I got an ereader, so it’s all good. Now I just need to sell a book of my own so I can afford all the neat books, novellas and shorts I want to read. ;o)
Yes you do need to sell! Keep writing! 🙂
Now that my moment of panic caused by thinking Max was releasing early is over…
I really enjoy shorter stories. They are a nice break from full-length novellas. They are usually the perfect length to read over lunch (part of why I like them in print).
Do you think your publisher is going to do special pricing for the Max novella? I know they did that with the initial Lucy which was another draw to the series for me.
Hmm, I don’t know what the plan is for the Max novella. It’s priced at $1.99. It’s 25K words, which I think is fair for a novella. They may print it in a future Max book, but we haven’t discussed that yet. They may allow me to give it away for free on my website at some point, or on their publisher page. I’d actually like that, but it probably won’t be for awhile.
My first Lucy novella, “Love is Murder” was published between two books for 99 cents. I wrote it as a prequel, but it came out later. I wasn’t completely happy that they only charged 99 cents for the 25K words, because the man authors who were writing novellas my publisher charged $1.99 for the stories — and the stories were much shorter. But I didn’t have a say. So I went along with it … then they printed it in the third Lucy book, but neglected to put the information on the cover, so readers didn’t know it was in there until they actually read the book. Argh!
NOTORIOUS is a bit more expensive because it’s a hardcover. The digital price will go down when the mass market version is released. I suspect that if there’s any discount for the novella or the book, it’ll be around this time.
I may be misremembering (like that’s never happened) but I thought one of the Lucy’s was free at one point. I know many publishers are doing prequels as freebies to generate interest.
Allison – have only read ebooks for three years now, so no problem. Also – thank you for being so open and engaging with readers. Very refreshing!
Hi Courtney — You’re welcome! I’m an extrovert with an introvert profession, I love chatting 🙂
The Broadmoor! I honeymooned there ages ago! I’ve also lived in the Springs so can’t wait for the prequel and the new series. I’m a Kindle reader, though I do read paper for some authors/older books on my TBR pile. I’m slowly getting all your titles converted over to digital. 😀
As a reader, I love novellas between books. As an author, I write/release novellas between books. It’s a way to explore other characters and engage readers in between. I can’t remember if I’ve read LOVE IS MURDER or not. Surely I have. I must rectify things if I haven’t. Off to Amazon! 😉
Silver, “Love is Murder” is printed in the back of IF I SHOULD DIE (and in the digital version) so you don’t need to buy it separately! I can also send it to you 🙂 You deserve it for being such a loyal reader (I printed up a bunch of copies for RWA 3 years ago, still have some!)
Awww, you’re so sweet, Allison! I have it and have read it. I’m so far behind on my reviews and keeping tabs of books on Goodreads. I need to take a day to catch up. 😆
I like short stories/novellas between books in a series. It gives me another visit with friends! It used to bother me that books were out only in ebook form, but then I figured out how easy it was to get ahold of ebooks even without an ereader. The kindle app can be downloaded on computer/phone/tablet… Looking forward to getting to know Max in Maximum Exposure and Notorious!
Thanks Erin — I have all the ebook apps on my iPad and my computer, too 🙂
I too like novellas between books in a series. They often add addition background that wouldn’t make it into a full length book, like a prequel. I recently started reading Brad Taylor’s Pike Logan series and he told the story of how one of his operatives got his call sign. It was a fun story that would never had made it into a book.
Even before I got my e-reader I didn’t mind reading a novella using the Nook or Kindle app on my PC.
I love those kind of stories! One of the best novellas I’ve read was Karin Slaughter’s SNATCHED. It was absolutely a nail-biter, and compact in about 20K words. Worth every penny.
I enjoy keeping up with favorite characters in novellas between full-length novels. Right now, I prefer reading on my Kindle, anyway, so digital is fine with me.
I’m hoping my mom likes her Kindle — she has mixed feelings right now, but likes that it’s easier to read in bed 🙂
Personally, for series characters, I enjoy the little novellas in between the novels…mostly because I can get a quick fix of the character while I wait for their next big story! Really looking forward to this new series, Allison!