Publishing Delays, Flexibility, and the Reality of Creative Work

I had originally planned to share my new Kingsmill Courtships novella, A Distant Moon Ago, with you all on June 1 as part of the upcoming Once & Nevermore, a Camelot Anthology. But publishing, as it turns out, had other plans.

I recently found out that the anthology’s release date has been pushed back to late summer or early fall instead. And while I’d love to say I handled that news with complete calm and perfect professionalism… well. Let’s just say there was definitely a moment of staring blankly into space while my carefully arranged plans quietly unraveled in the background. Still, this is one of those moments that reminds me how much publishing—whether traditional, indie, or collaborative—is really an exercise in flexibility.

Publishing Is Made of Moving Parts

From the outside, release dates can seem very fixed. A book is announced. A date is set. Readers mark calendars. Authors schedule promotions and excitement and countdown posts. But behind every release are dozens of moving parts:

• Editing timelines
• Formatting
• Cover design
• Distribution issues
• Coordination between multiple contributors
• Real life emergencies and scheduling conflicts

And anthologies especially involve many people trying to move in the same direction at once. Sometimes things take longer than expected. Not because anyone failed. Not because the project isn’t important. Just because creative work—and the humans making it—rarely move in perfectly straight lines. A series of real life emergencies also had a huge part to play, and I totally understand the need to delay the release.

The Emotional Side of Delays

I think one of the hardest things about delays is that writers often begin emotionally living inside a release date long before readers ever see the book. You picture launch day. You imagine people finally reading the story. You build momentum toward a moment that suddenly… shifts. And that shift can feel strange, even when it’s understandable. There’s disappointment in it, certainly. But there’s also a kind of recalibration that happens. You take a breath, adjust the timeline, and keep moving forward. Because publishing is not just about writing books. It’s about patience.

Flexibility Matters for Readers Too

One of the things I appreciate most about readers is how understanding so many of you are when delays happen. Books don’t appear out of thin air. They’re built slowly, carefully, and often under circumstances readers never fully see. As eager as we all are to hold a finished book in our hands, good stories are still worth waiting for. Sometimes waiting a little longer means:

• Better editing
• Stronger production quality
• Less stress on creators
• A better final experience overall

Creativity Rarely Follows a Perfect Schedule

I think we sometimes treat delays as failures because we’re used to thinking of deadlines as immovable. But creative industries aren’t assembly lines. Stories are made by people. Tired people. Hopeful people. Overworked people. Passionate people trying their best to make something meaningful. And sometimes that means timelines shift. That doesn’t erase the work. It doesn’t diminish the excitement. It just changes when the story arrives.

So What Happens Now?

Once & Nevermore, a Camelot Anthology is still coming. It’s simply arriving later than expected, sometime in late summer or early fall instead of June 1. And honestly? I’d rather see a project delayed and done well than rushed out before it’s ready. In the meantime, I’ll keep writing, posting here, and sharing updates when I have them. The excitement hasn’t disappeared. It’s just been asked to wait a little longer.

If there’s one thing publishing teaches writers over and over again, it’s that flexibility is not failure. Sometimes the timeline changes. Sometimes plans move. Sometimes the story takes the scenic route before it reaches readers. But delayed doesn’t mean abandoned. And postponed doesn’t mean unimportant. It just means we keep going—patiently, imperfectly, and together. And when the anthology finally does release, I think it’ll mean that much more.

Meanwhile there is an awesome website where you can learn more about all of the authors and their stories, including mine! The Once & Nevermore website also has a place to whisper a secret incantation. To see if I have a secret portal, type in the word Kingsmill and a door will open with a surprise!

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