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I get this question a lot, especially at Pure Spec last month when I had my vendor's table. It's a good question and I'm always happy to talk about my decision to go with a new medium for my work.

Harvest Moon is an awkward length at 11,000 words. Most print fiction magazines do not take long pieces like this. Neither do the majority of print anthologies. It's way too short for print publishers to purchase; most romance novels are around 70K, mysteries around 90K, fantasy around 110k.  So, the few places that would take the length were either non-paying or would have paid less than $25 for it.

I have nothing against non-paying or low-paying places, especially when they take reprints. I've sold reprints for $4 and was happy to do so for the exposure. However, I felt Harvest Moon had the "something" that would make it appeal to a lot of people. I wanted to give it the best chance as possible. And, frankly, I am trying to make a living off my writing. I want to be paid as often as possible.

Epublishing allows for pretty much any length because it's not hindered by the printing aspect of it. That means short stories and novellas can find new markets that before were closed to them. Novellas are my favourite length to both write and read, but they have been near death for a while, due to the inability to print them in a cost-effective manner. Enter epublishing, where novellas can make a comeback.

The pay for Harvest Moon will be stretched over three years � the length of my contract. With MuseItUp, I make 40% royalties off the publisher's bookstore price (i.e $2.50 per sale nets me $1.00), and 40% off the net price from third party (if a place like amazon or kobo sells Harvest Moon at $2.50, the publisher gets paid about $1.50, so I get paid 0.60). That can add up rather quickly, especially when you consider that it's over a 3 year period.

Now, there are some bad sides to epublishing. First, I chose to go with a new publisher which I do not regret. In fact, I firmly believe that I have made the best decision for the book. However, let's be honest. New publisher means no established reader base. That means, you have to help create one.

Which means, bad side number two. Marketing. When you sell to a magazine or an anthology, you are generally paid a flat fee and that's the end of it. You got your money, so you don't need to market the piece. However, when you epublish, you are on your own. You have to generate your own traffic to your piece, or else it doesn't sell. So, there is a lot of work involved. You have to earn every penny of your royalty cheque.

I actually think this marketing requirement is a good thing. If you are planning to sell novels eventually, but choose to write and sell a few novellas in the meantime, you can cut your teeth on the marketing process. You can start building a fan base. You can figure out what works and doesn't for you in terms of marketing. These are all good things in my mind.

Then, there are those that are not comfortable or familiar with epublishing. There are people who say "I'm waiting for the paper book to come out." Or, those who don't "like to read on a computer screen" or who "have no interest in ebooks." There are those who think all epublished books are self-published, which they avoid like a plague. There are those who think epublished books aren't edited and reviewed by editors the way that print books are (complete falsehood, at least in my case). All of these things are difficult to overcome and make marketing and selling unique challenges.

I've been very fortune in that Harvest Moon has been doing very well with . I am very pleased with how it has been selling (don't worry � I will keep my promise of sharing my first royalty statement with everyone…but that doesn't come until March).

Epublishing isn't right for every piece out there. For me, however, my research said that it was the best choice for this particular story. And, two months into having it on the market, I believe that it was the best choice now more than ever.

If you have questions about the process, please feel free to ask! I'll try my best to answer.