Who Needs a Publisher?
So, you want to be a novelist? Go ahead. John Locke (I don't believe this is his real name) took the bull by the horns and published his own books through Kindle Direct Publishing, and today Amazon.com announced he's the first independently published author to have sold a million e-books.
This past weekend, The New York Times Magazine published an article about Amanda Hocking (I'm pretty sure this is her real name), who recently signed a $2 million book deal with St. Martin's Press on the strength of the sales on her self-published books.
Reading about how St. Martin's went after Hocking to exploit her personal success building a healthy niche audience reminded me a lot of the major record companies' approach to bands back in the early 2000s, when they didn't want to touch groups unless they brought an audience with them. We know how that turned out.
This past weekend, The New York Times Magazine published an article about Amanda Hocking (I'm pretty sure this is her real name), who recently signed a $2 million book deal with St. Martin's Press on the strength of the sales on her self-published books.
Reading about how St. Martin's went after Hocking to exploit her personal success building a healthy niche audience reminded me a lot of the major record companies' approach to bands back in the early 2000s, when they didn't want to touch groups unless they brought an audience with them. We know how that turned out.