My two cents

Today was to be the release of my fifth book, but – and as is the case sometimes – the release has been delayed. I wish I could tell you how long the delay is for, or give you a date, but sadly I can’t. This wasn’t a planned delay, or rather; the delay wasn’t even confirmed with me. If the book appears on the publishers site today, or perhaps tomorrow, it will be news to me; I’d be happy about it, but completely unprepared.

By now many of you will have heard about the recent events in regards to Noble Romance Publishing. There really isn’t much I can add to the information that has been given by many of my fellow Noble authors, and I wouldn’t be able to state such suck-worthy news in the way they have.

What I think I can say, and perhaps these authors will agree with me; it’s been a long two weeks. It has been tiring and somewhat frustrating, and stressful. I personally feel like a duck bobbing on the water, not really knowing what to do at the moment. Each of us has to make choices for what’s right for us and our work; I have decided to sit tight for the time being. Will this decision bite me in the ass? It might do, and even though I personally feel that everything that has happened could have been dealt with more smoothly and professionally, I want to give the new management a chance.

This isn’t a bitchy post. I want to point that out right now. What’s done is done, and now it is the case of making some decisions, and moving forward. This is me just throwing in my two cents, and apologising to all my readers for the silence these past couple of weeks. Cranberry Blood came out and I had my two weeks blog tour, and then I got a job and this news hit all at once. So, I kinda mentally crashed, but I’m pulling myself out of it.

So, I just want you all to know that I’m still alive and getting on with things. :-D

Now, back to my two cents . . .

It isn’t easy being in charge. I was a supervisor for 8 months. It was a position I didn’t want, but due to higher management and company problems, someone had to step up and take the reins. I loved my workmates, and was great friends with the assistant manager who had basically been dumped on because our area manager kept firing every manager she got in for us.

So, I agreed to run the shop twice a week. It wasn’t difficult, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that once my foot and been placed in the door I was now being sent to run other shops. It was my fault if it rained and the customers didn’t come in. It was my fault if there were wasted products etc. I was untrained for the position and doing head management a favour by keeping one of their stores a float, but that didn’t matter, because everything was suddenly my fault.

That was my last 8 months at that company. I had wanted to leave – due to the way people were treated within this company – months before I stepped up to run the shop, but I didn’t want to leave my assistant manager and colleagues in a mess. Despite the job, and the problem; I liked my team. So I hung on. I waited until they got another manager in, because there was no way I could just leave and expect my staff – my workmates – to pick up all the pieces and struggle. I’m not an egotist, but they would have. I practically rolled out of bed, into work, and then in to bed again. (I worked ten hour shifts a lot of the time, and was the only one doing so.) I may not have been a proper manager; may not have wanted that position, but I couldn’t do that to people I respected.

What am I getting at here?

It’s tough running a business. I respect anyone who can do it and do it well, and sometimes you may reach breaking point; sometimes for your sanity and health you may have to leave, but at the very least try and get someone in first so you’re not leaving your staff with no one.

There is nothing wrong with looking out for yourself, but you don't crap on the people who are working their butts off, and therefore keeping you in work; in business. If you work alongside people; if you have staff who trust and respect you, and who help you out; do right by them. The very least you can do for them is give a little communication and honesty. Both go a long way - especially to the people you have worked with for years - and at the very least it is what those people deserve. 

Now, I genuinely and honestly wish every single person who is/was linked to Noble the best of luck with everything they do. It just would have been nice if this change-over had gone a little smoother for us all, but we will get through it. Each and every one of you talented people has to do what is right for you, and I really hope everything goes fantastically for you.

I am only a year and two months old in this industry; I’m still new. I’m still trying to make a name for myself. I can’t afford to make hurried decisions at this point in time, so for now, as I said above, I am sitting tight. I wish to see what the new management do for Noble, and hopefully they can put this company back on its feet, but only time will tell. I have met many wonderful authors through this company, and I have had fantastic reviews for my titles, and readers who have told me they have enjoyed my work; those reasons alone, for me, our worth my time and work with Noble. For me, at this point in time, staying put is the right thing to do.

These last two weeks have indeed been long. At the same time as all this I have been working in my new job, and having a good think about what my next steps are. What projects I need to give my attention to until I know what is going on with my published titles. I have also recently finished making myself a website – finally - which I am hoping to have up and running by the end of the week. :-D

So I am taking baby steps at the moment, while I wait to hear what’s going on, and while I get into the swing of handling a job and a career.

I am a firm believer that all things happen for a reason, so I choose to stay positive. What else can one do?