I’m old enough now to put the things I want aside for things I need. It was a hard-earned lesson though. Most of my life I’ve been a bit of a people pleaser. I hate letting people down, but I always fear that’s exactly what I’ll do without meaning to hurt anyone. I’m much better these days because there are some things in life you can’t apologize for. Simply because there are some things we can’t help.
I don’t want to go into too many details, mostly because this isn’t really my story to share. Suffice to say, my spouse had a major, amazing opportunity that was changing the tides of our future in an exciting way. Then, out of nowhere a couple of weeks ago, that opportunity was taken away. So we’ve been re-prioritizing ever since.
Neither of us is giving up by any means. Instead of letting the news keep him down, I’m so proud to say he’s been working just as hard to become better and apply again. But it has also put a major shift on my #writinglife trajectory for 2020.
When I thought things would significantly change soon, I had big plans, as most of you know. I had Blackbriar Cove, my sequel to Silver Hollow finally releasing in May. I also had the sequel to my serialized urban fantasy series, Devil Red coming in September. But let me tell you something about this business that is sad but true if you want to stay in the game. It takes money to make money. Right now, I can maintain the books I already have out there, but I can’t afford to push any more this year. I’m so sorry to everyone who pre-ordered, but I had to take those down today on Amazon. To those who pre-ordered Blackbriar Cove outside Amazon, your pre-order will still be good (yay, Smashwords!)
Like I said before, I hate letting my readers down. I really was excited about sharing and delivering more awesome stories this year. But family comes first, and right now I’m not just a mom, but the main breadwinner. So I’m going to be focusing on that for 2020. Thank y’all so much for all your support and understanding!
What I can promise, is that I will continue writing. I write every day, and if all goes well this next year, I hope to come back full force for y’all in 2021! I will continue to blog here, and share teasers when I can (without too many spoilers 😉 I’ll also continue sharing reviews and fantastic new reads with y’all through Lone Star and Prism Book Tours, so I hope y’all will hang with me and stay tuned!
To those of you going through similar struggles in life, I hope you take heart with me this year. Don’t give up. Don’t stop writing and don’t let life keep you from creating. We can do this together, one day at a time 🙂
Jennifer Silverwood 
Hallo, Hallo Ms Silverwood,
I can relate to *everything!* you’ve stated in this post – though I’ll be directing my reply privately. Just know that whenever the timing is better for you to release your novels, your readers (myself included) will be here cheering you on! Let me share something that might help you through this too – I fell *hard!* for Hannah L. Clark’s Cobbogoth series – but due to life & tides, I received the sequel “The Lemorian Crest” but wasn’t able to read / review it. Then, her life moved in a different direction – she focused on her painting and artwork. I just learnt tonight – five years later, she’s re-focusing on her novels and Cobbogoth is going to start to continue once more!
I’m not saying it takes five years to resolve things in life but sometimes you don’t know why you have to go through obstacles until you’re on the other side of them. You’re adaptive and you’re supportive of your husband – family always comes first – you know this from me, as I have continuously put my family first (as young as 18) and this is my third year as my father’s caregiver whilst Mum is at work. However, the full seven years (come 31st March / 6th August) I’ve been a book blogger has been one adverse series of events which truly changed our lives. (there’s a lot behind my blog)
I’m thrilled to know you’re still writing!!
Ohh dear.. I was going to write more privately… oh well. I just really relate to this post!
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I am so sorry to hear this–but you’re taking a very brave step. I hope you won’t stop creating, because we need your vision! Good luck in the coming year, and I wish your husband well, too.
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Melissa, thank you so much for your encouraging words ❤ I know I mentioned this a bit on Twitter earlier, but I'm so grateful for you and the rest of our little WWF crew! I plan to continue creating and can't wait to help support y'all meanwhile in all your literary adventures 😀 I am constantly learning with and through all our shared experiences and how we've made writing a community effort instead of solitary 🙂 Big virtual hugs!
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Very inspiring and I can relate to some of that. I have considered putting my writing career on hold because like you said, ‘It takes money to make money’. But I am still going. Instead of putting too much on my plate, I am reorganizing my thoughts and setting realistic release dates. I had wanted to do 2-3 books a month, but this is February, and as of now, I haven’t released my sequels to The Divinity of Damien Calla. Life takes it toll too often, especially for me right now. I want to be done with that series, not because I hate it, but because I want it done so I can finish up my The Twin Lands series, and then move on to my new projects. Money is the root of all evil, as they say. We need it and we hate it.
For me writing the books isn’t the hard part. It’s having the time to do it and the stress of not having money to pay bills. If I could be financially secure, I think I could put more time in.
I look forward to whenever you release your new books.
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Hey Jenn, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! I’m so glad you were inspired despite the low mood of the whole post ha. I always try to help others see the good through the bad, as much for y’all’s as my sake. It’s one of the ways we keep going 🙂
That is fantastic that you’re not giving up! It is a shame when we have to push our dates back, but even major publishers do this from time to time. And like you said, life takes its toll. I have been there too with wanting to do more rapid release in a series. If you’re able to write full time (and have no kids lol) it can be very doable once you get in the swing of things. Again, though, time and funds, aka real life tend to come first.
When I first started out, I made lists with trajectories on when I would publish certain books and sequels. I had it mapped out at least ten years with ideas of what I’d write once I was mature and “seasoned” enough. This plan did not come to pass like I thought it would, ha.
Setting realistic goals and not being too hard on ourselves is key, I think. We’ll get there one day at a time.
Good luck with your Damien books! Don’t feel too bad about wanting to finish your series, I’ve been there haha. I think sometimes you just get to that point where you’re ready to move forward but I hope you enjoy finishing up your series. I was surprised how much I learned by finally FINISHING my Wylder Tales series last year 😉 Just goes to show we never stop learning. Every book gives us a different experience, and I hope your transition into the next series goes smoothly!
Happy writing 🙂
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Oh, this is heartbreaking. I can’t imagine having your book baby ready to release into the world and not being able to do it because the publishing world is so brutal. It is true that it takes money to make money. Best wishes to you and your family. You’ll get where you need to be.
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Kristine, thank you so much for your encouragement ❤ It honestly felt a bit like a punch to the gut, but I also have a peace about it. I know it was the right decision, and I'm not alone in this, unfortunately. Times in the publishing world are hard right now, even for the big whigs. I'm just grateful to have such an awesome support system via my real-life and my literary family 🙂
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