I might have surprised a lot of people this week by choosing to release one of my manuscripts as a serial on Kindle Vella. The Sea Rose is my baby; it is the world to which I’ve escaped for almost six years. It’s seen many characters, lost them, been rewritten, given up on, and given a second point of view.
Many things have changed since I first showed the story to my writing friends; what has remained? The characters. Rose and Peter have kept their names, Meredith has remained a complicated woman, and there are still Mermaids in 1800s England.
Why did I do it? you might be asking. Isn’t it better to find an agent so that the whole book will be finished at once? Or even to self-publish the novel and market it as one package?
I’m completely hooked! A unique and addictive tale from a promising new writer. Watch this one- it’s going to be big!
Review, Miriam Jenner
When self-publishing became an option, many writers swore that they would never take that route. I once had a friend whose parents gave her a Barnes and Noble Nook eReader for Christmas–but she sold it back to them (rather ungracious in my opinion). Many of these people have changed heart. Some self-published books do better than the traditionally published!
Why don’t I self-publish a complete story and plan book signings? The answer to this is more personal. I always loved how Charles Dickens released his novels, chapter by chapter, in the weekly paper. It was an idea I toyed with but didn’t think would be an option to me. Kindle Vella gives me a way.
Vella is a gamble; I know that many people will stop reading after their free chapters run out. However, there is a chance that I will make something if I advertise and put in all of my effort.
Not one to miss! Full of emotion and beauty! The author has a way with words, looking forward to more.
Review by Rachel Lynn
I chose Kindle Vella because I have at least ten manuscripts on my laptop wasting away. I also chose it because I want to free my novel from the cycle of perfectionism. Writing, rewriting, editing—writing, rewriting, editing—it is a neverending cycle. The well-meaning advice of friends always came to a point where, rather than moving forward, I felt the urge to rewrite it again.
Seeing the rate at which time has crawled by (I’m 28 now—what?) I decided to put my foot down. The only way to break this cycle was doing the thing I was most scared of.
It’s time to release the story I love into the world. I choose to do it in the way I’ve always wanted to, a serialized fashion. Want to learn more about The Sea Rose?
Lord Peter West could not marry Lady Bannister. Her eyes bore into him like daggers; her voice filled him with dread. Knowing this, his resolve thinned as the day neared to announce their union.
He could not have imagined as he fled the engagement party that he would find himself stranded in the district of the Half-Merpeople. No one had told him that those with ocean-blood lived such wretched lives.
Most of all, he could not have dreamed that the once-vanished Lady Rose Finch walked these streets–beautiful, strong, and very much alive.
Mariella Hunt 
I think it sounds like a great idea — I had no idea Kindle Vella existed so I love finding out about it. Also … many congratulations on The Sea Rose!