Inspy Romance

Inspy Romance—Fall in Love With a Good Book

Happy Book Birthday!

by

Today’s the day! If you pre-ordered The Cowboy’s Convenient Marriage, it should have downloaded to your Kindle this morning. Have you started reading it yet?

This is the thirtieth CCR (Christian contemporary romance) released under my name since July, 2014. Five years!

And thirty books! What kind of crazy number is that?!? That’s not counting my series bundles or limited-time box sets with other authors.

This is what (30) represents:

• One (now out-of-print) novella with Barbour (2012)
• Six novels in the Farm Fresh Romance series (2014-2016)
• Five novellas in the Riverbend Romance series (2015)
• One novella and six novels in the Urban Farm Fresh Romance series (2016 >> )
• Three short novels in the Christmas in Montana Romance series (2014-2017)
• One novella and three novels in the Garden Grown Romance series, part of the Arcadia Valley Romance multi-author series (2017 – 2018)
• Four novels in the Montana Ranches Christian Romance series (2018 >> )

Is a book release old hat by now? No, not really. But there is a definite rhythm to it by now!

Every release process is unique. Just like a story (or baby), each published book starts out as a tiny germ of an idea. I discover the characters within the realm of its setting and series and title. The first draft usually comes together over the course of 8-10 weeks, during which time I’ll also go back and massage the earlier chapters. I let it sit for a few days, if I can, before going through one more time and then sending it to beta readers.

But there’s no time to rest. That’s my cue to write the first chapter of the next story in the same series, if there will be one. I like to put that chapter in the back of a new release and on my website, so it needs to be written asap.

I like to give beta readers about two weeks. Their job is mostly to look at the bigger picture of the story arc. Are the characters likeable? Do they stay true to their personalities? Is the story’s plot believable? Were there any parts of the story that didn’t make sense? I’m always happy to hear about typos at this stage, too, but that’s not the main purpose of this round.

While the novel is out for beta, I’m busy starting the next one, often in an alternating series. But if you’re tracking… I’ve already written the first chapter several months back! Besides readying it for the back of the previous book, that’s provided just enough story to simmer on my brain’s back burner while working on the other book, so now I’m ready (usually ready LOL) to jump in and flesh out this story over the next 8-10 weeks.

When the beta read comes back, I’ll take a few days to implement any recommended changes, do another read-through, and send the file to my editor. Then it’s back to the current story until the edits return, when again I’ll take the necessary time to fix the errors, do a final read-through, and format the file for upload. Usually the novel has already been on pre-order for a while.

I’ll generally offer a few review copies to my street team at this point. Sometimes they find more typos with enough time for me to fix the errors before the book releases. Other times they don’t get quite enough lead time to get ahead of my deadline. Oops! My fault, not theirs.

The Cowboy’s Convenient Marriage released directly behind the third book in the same series, one of the few times I haven’t alternated series in the past couple of years. I wrote the novel in March and April. I spent the month of May going through beta reading and editing while I got rolling on Dancing at Daybreak, Urban Farm Fresh Romance 7, expected to release in September. I’d probably be approaching the end of Dancing’s first draft by now, except I just returned home from a two-week vacation, so I’ll be a few weeks more on this one!

If your favorite author isn’t spending a lot of time chatting on social media, it might be because she maintains a schedule like mine — or even tighter — and needs to fit her marketing and covers, plus her personal life, into the remainder of her week!

And now, without further ado, if you haven’t picked up The Cowboy’s Convenient Marriage, what are you waiting for? This novel, along with the remainder of the Montana Ranches Christian Romance series (and three of my other series) is available only on Amazon and in Kindle Unlimited.

Come fall in love in a contemporary marriage-of-convenience… with cowboys.

Valerie Comer (341 Posts)

Valerie Comer is a USA Today bestselling author and a two-time Word Award winner who writes where food meets faith and fiction. She injects experience laced with humor into her green clean romances. Her life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for stories of contemporary inspirational romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie and her family grow much of their own food and are active in the local foods movement as well as their church. She only hopes her creations enjoy their happily-ever-afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters.


Comments

  2. Hi Valerie! Congrats on your new book release and publishing 30 books in five years. What an accomplishment! Thanks for the informative blog on your time line start to finish of your publishing process. Loved seeing your vacation pictures, especially the arial view of the Grand Canyon. A different perspective than on land. Sure topography has changed due to weathering since 1984. Enjoy the warmer weather. Happy writing and editing. Best wishes.

  6. You are amazing! 30 Books, and so many more to come!! Thank you so much for sharing your talent and love for God in such a powerful way. Your books have blessed me in so many ways, and you never cease to amaze me with your new releases!

    Happy Book Birthday!!

  7. Congratulations!! That’s a lot of writing. I was pleasantly surprised to see your new book had arrived. I started it last night after helping my daughter move. We’re back to helping with the smaller items today and to get her a little more unpacked before we head back home tomorrow evening. Thanks for writing ! Enjoying it and looking forward to reading more later today.

  8. Congratulations on your hook birthday! I know that it takes a lot of work to write a book and get it ready for publication but seeing all the steps laid makes it seem all the more amazing to this non-writer that authors are able to write/publish multiple books a year.

  16. Thank you! And thank you for allowing me into a busy couple of days with your daughter. Moving (even when it’s someone else) can be so stressful.

  17. I was excited to see the book show up late last night on my Kindle! I plan to start it today!! I’ve sure enjoyed all the books you’ve been churning out :-)

  18. Thank you! When people around me ask (in polite conversation) if I’m working on “another” book, I simply say, “Always! It’s what Tiggers do best!” Most of them have no idea what they’re asking. LOL.

  25. Hi Valerie, Congratulations on releasing your 30th title! A fabulous milestone to reach in only 5 years! I own all of your books, but you write them faster than I have time to read them, lol. Enjoy celebrating your book birthday! :)

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