Sasha White brought up an interesting question about e-publishing on her blog. She asked why so many EC authors have landed NY book deals in the past year and a half.
Personally, I don’t think there’s any one specific answer to this question. I believe many factors played into these various deals.
Some of the deals have been based on sales records at EC, while others came from word of mouth. One or two sales came from the fact that an editor actually bought EC books and liked the authors. She then contacted the authors directly and offered them a deal. One, me, came from the fact that I finaled in a contest.
Can the fact that EC built a strong name for themselves and developed a decent following contribute to these book deals? I’m sure it didn’t hurt. Are EC authors the only epubbed authors getting book deals out of NY? Absolutely not. That same contest that I won (Lori Foster/Kensington Brava Contest) brought Jen Wardrip a book deal and she happens to write for eXtasy publishing.
I guess what I’m trying to say, in a very long-winded sort of way, is that I don’t think there is any ONE particular way to get published in NY. EC wasn’t RWA recognized when I started writing for them nor did they release paperback versions of their books. You never know what direction a company is going to move in. The only thing an author can do is write the best book possible at the time and research the various publishers before submitting their work. The rest is up to luck and faery dust.
October 21st, 2004
Oh, pretty please! Let some of that fairy dust land on me! At least a little bit, so that my EC submission hits the right notes with their editors… Fingers crossed it’s being read right now! Who knows what it might eventually lead to!!!
by Wendywoo October 21st, 2004 at 10:46 amHey Jordan! I decided that although EC is probably the most well known epublisher..I’m not waiting for their response before subbing to another one. LOL Sylvia’s 19 week wait on her vampire story has convinced me simultaneous submissions is the way to go…and conversation has reinforced my belief that it’s more the writer, and the stories, that can get your career further ahead than just who the publisher is.
by Sasha October 21st, 2004 at 11:05 amWendy, Fingers crossed on your submission. Hopefully the faeries will be kind to you.
by Jordan October 21st, 2004 at 2:10 pmSasha, I don’t blame you a bit for trying your hand at another publisher. Here’s hoping the best fit comes through. :o)
by Jordan October 21st, 2004 at 2:11 pmGood luck Wendy and Sasha! I think Jordan’s right. There’s more than one way to skin a cat
by cece October 23rd, 2004 at 5:35 pm(please don’t tell my cats i said that)