What are Five Good Reasons to Publish a Christmas Novella? (Besides Trying to Sell Books?)

Edie here. I hope you'll celebrate with our own Beth Vogt as she gets ready to release her Christmas novella: Unpacking Christmas! I asked her to share her thoughts on releasing a novella and specifically one at Christmas. I know you'll be blessed & encouraged by her insight!

by Beth K. Vogt @BethVogt

My book, Unpacking Christmas: A Thatcher Sisters Christmas Novella, is up for preorder on Amazon. So many writer friends are celebrating with me, telling me they hope I have great sales. 

I say, “Thank you,” and then tell them I don’t care about the sales. Honestly, yes, that’s what I’ve said.

And now, I’ll explain my response.

Of course, I hope Unpacking Christmas sells well. What author doesn’t want good sales numbers for their book? But, despite all the marketing we do and all the marketing our publishers do, we can’t control numbers.

However, there are other concrete goals I can celebrate because I wrote an published this novella. I want to ensure these achievements don’t get lost in the focus on sales. 

This year, I wanted to:

1. Be creative again in 2021 after going through a dry period in 2020. Anybody else experience a loss of inspiration during the onslaught of COVID? Writing Unpacking Christmas was the project that helped me jumpstart my creativity this past year.
2. Write a Christmas novella. Readers love Christmas novellas. They’re fa-la-la-la-fun. Lighthearted. But they’re also hope-filled and easily wrapped around a romance. Unpacking Christmas is my first Christmas novella—and I already have an idea for another one. 
3. Revisit my Thatcher Sister Series. Readers asked if I was going to write any more books in this series since the release of book 3, The Best We’ve Been, in May 2020. I’d said no, but a Christmas novella seemed like a perfect opportunity to drop in on my characters.
4. Be a hybrid author. I can now say I’m both traditionally and self-published. I don’t know if I’ll do this again, but I took copious notes on the process … and kept a couple of friends on speed-dial.
5. Support other authors. As I promote Unpacking Christmas, I’m also celebrating other author-friends who’ve released Christmas novellas or novels this year. And I can shout out friends like Rachel Hauck and Lindsay Harrel whose self-publishing savvy helped me time and time again when I bombarded them with “what do I do know?” questions.

What about you? What writing goals—besides producing good sales numbers—have you achieved this year?

TWEETABLE

What are Five Good Reasons to Publish a Christmas Novella? (Besides Trying to Sell Books?) from @BethVogt on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Unpacking Christmas: 

A Thatcher Sisters Christmas Novella

Beth K. Vogt

This Christmas, Johanna, Jillian, and Payton will realize the true magic of Christmas isn’t found in gifts or decorations, but in the love of family.

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” Having authored nine contemporary romance novels and novellas, The Best We’ve Been, the final book in Beth’s Thatcher Sisters Series with Tyndale House Publishers, releasers May 2020. Other books in the women’s fiction series include Things I Never Told You, which won the 2019 AWSA Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year, and Moments We Forget. Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, a 2016 ACFW Carol Award winner, and a 2015 RITA® finalist. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. Visit Beth at bethvogt.com.