Veronica Bale on Going Hybrid

I’m thrilled to host hybrid author Veronica Bale today! Veronica writes Highland Historical Romance, and her books include the self-published Highland Loyalties Trilogy, The Black Douglases series published by Buroughs Publishing Group, as well as two self-published single titles. In this interview, she provides great insight into her experiences self-publishing and working with a small press, and she describes the symbiotic nature of that arrangement.

How long have you wanted to be a romance writer? When did you decide to write a book?

Officially, I’ve been a romance writer since August of 2012. This was the date my first self-published title, Bride of Dunloch, was released. The reason why I decided to write it is an interesting story. About ten years ago, I decided to fulfill my lifelong ambition to write a book, and made a start on my first (and subsequently abandoned) manuscript.

While shopping around for agents and/or publishers, I decided to try my hand at freelancing short romance stories and novellas on a work-for-hire basis, just to pay the bills and maybe get a foot in the door. There seemed to be a lot of people wanting short stories at that time, but I had no idea where these short stories were being published or why they were wanted.

After some digging, I learned about this thing called self-publishing. After some further digging, I learned that my stories, which had all been published under various nom-de-plumes by the individuals who bought them … were doing startlingly well! Of course, once I learned that, I simply had to write my own romance novel under my own name to see how it would do.

Turns out that my novel did far better than I ever imagined it would.

How has self-publishing compared with publishing with a small press?

I don’t consider self-publishing and signing with a publisher mutually exclusive. For me, it’s not one or the other. Self-publishing is what led me to my publisher, Boroughs Publishing Group. And the contacts I’ve made and exposure I’ve received through Boroughs is helping to elevate my profile, which still includes a number of self-published titles. It’s a symbiotic relationship, I find, and I’m thankful to be a part of both worlds.

Being picked up by Boroughs has been a huge step in my career as an author, but I don’t see it as the end of my self-publishing endeavours. For the foreseeable future, at least, I have every intention of continuing as a hybrid author. My current work-in-progress, The Ghosts of Tullybrae House, will be released independently this winter, at the same time that A Noble Treason, the sequel to my debut novel with Boroughs, A Noble Deception, is undergoing the editing process.

What has surprised you most about the publishing process?

Since joining the Boroughs Publishing family, I’ve been surprised and amazed by the level of support I receive from Boroughs staff and my fellow Boroughs authors. The level of excitement my editor, the lovely Jenni Hendricks, shows at my work is humbling. Michelle Klayman, the president of Boroughs herself, has been right there to answer all of my inane and trivial questions with patience and dedication. The team, the authors … I can’t say enough about them. They’re all fabulous. It really is like a family.

What is the single most important thing an unpublished writer should do to get published?

The single most important thing? Self-publish. I mean that wholeheartedly. Self-publishing taught me so much about the industry and the craft. It prepared me for the next level to which being signed by a publisher brought me in my career. By self-publishing, you learn about marketing, building a platform, interacting with a following, and it gives you the opportunity to make a name for yourself as an author. It’s a trial-by-fire, true enough. But remember: steel wasn’t forged by indulgent friends and family members, and hiding your “iron-in-progress” from the eyes of others. {So true!}

What is the single most important thing a self-published writer should do?

As a self-published author, it is imperative that you recognize that your self-publishing career is just that: a career. Treat it as a career, not a hobby. This is what you do. You are an author. Be professional. Improve your craft. Grow in your career path. You are an entrepreneur.

Forced to wed a landless knight in order to protect her home, Moira MacInnes intends an annulment of her marriage to the arrogant Lachlan Ramsay as soon as possible. Falling in love wasn’t part of the plan.

THE ONLY THING MORE DANGEROUS THAN A LIE IS LOVE.

Scotland 1455 – The Douglas clan is at war with their king. To protect his lands from confiscation, Lord John Douglas, the dying Earl of Kildrummond, must find an heir that doesn’t carry his name.

A landless knight, Lachlan Ramsay expects no more of life than battles, blood, and the occasional warm bosom. But when Lord John makes him his heir, Lachlan has a chance at something he never dreamt of—a home. There’s just one condition: He must marry the earl’s bastard daughter, the fiery, eccentric Moira MacInnes.

Lachlan has no desire for a headstrong, sharp-tongued wife. Moira has no need for an arrogant, too-handsome husband. To save Kildrummond they will marry and seek an annulment immediately upon the earl’s death. But deception is never simple, and passion once inflamed is impossible to ignore. Soon they will no longer be deceiving the earl but themselves.

 

Veronica has been a writer from a very young age.She’s always found the stories in her head a constant source of entertainment, and over the years has endeavoured to put them down on paper (with varying degrees of success.) She has always known that she would be an author at some point, and is still finding it difficult to believe that point has actually come.

Veronica is a “hockey mom” to a wonderful seven-year-old boy, and has a fantastic husband who is incredibly supportive of all her writing efforts. Besides writing she likes to knit (when she can find the time), run (when she can find the energy) and spend time with her family. She loves to read, and is crazy for anything with a gripping love story.