Self-published author signs six figure deal with Gollancz

Yes, that is real champers I’m drinking!

Well, wouldn’t you?

 

Today Gollancz made their announcement to the trade press about signing a deal with me to buy the worldwide rights to the five books in the Stonewylde Series. Since the story broke, I’ve been inundated with good wishes and congratulations from people on Facebook, Twitter and via my e-mail, which is on the main Stonewylde website. How lovely! 

In fact I signed in June, but for some reason the announcement didn’t happen straight away. I guess now that every self-published author who’s slogged away at it, hoping maybe for a lucky break, will feel inspired and hopeful, because it really can happen. It did happen, and sometimes I find it hard to believe. Anyone who’s self-published a book, novel or non-fiction, will know just what hard work it all is. Not the writing – that’s the easy bit – nor even the printing and publishing. That’s also relatively straight-forward. It’s actually selling your book(s) which is the hardest thing of all. It takes a great deal of effort and stamina, and I imagine many authors give up after a while, or count themselves lucky to have shifted their print-run.

I will write more about this another time because just now I’m so busy. I feel very ashamed that I haven’t blogged for so long. I’ve sent out two newsletters since my last blog which just proves how long it’s been, and I’m sorry to all who follow my blog. But it has been incredibly hectic, and some things just get left by the wayside.

I’ve been negotiating today with one of our main distributors, because Gollancz have agreed to let us contine to sell our existing stock of the three Stonewylde books until they run out. This will be well before they publish Magus of Stonewylde in February 2011, so there’ll be a gap when the books aren’t available at all. I’ve been working with Gollancz on ideas for the new covers and it’s all very exciting indeed! But I need to manage the books we do have left carefully, as there may now be even more interest in buying these original editions. We all have very high hopes for the future of Stonewylde (hence the six figure deal – they certainly don’t do that every day!) and as soon as I’ve finished writing the fifth book, I shall be working on the film treatment and possibly the screenplay. Anyone who’s read Stonewylde will know what I mean when I say the story is very filmic!

Thanks to everyone who’s sent congrats, and good luck to anyone who’s found this blog from the self-publishing tag. Hang on in there – dreams can come true, and if they don’t, you’ll have had a lot of fun trying!

 

The link to the Gollancz announcement in The Bookseller is here: http://www.thebookseller.co.uk/news/124069-gollancz-signs-self-published-author-for-six-figures.html