Whilst Fantasy-Faction works on its Most Anticipated Fantasy Novels of 2015 list (due up this Friday / Saturday – PROMISE!), we were brought news of yet another of Fantasy-Faction’s favourite authors who has just signed a new book deal. This adds to the exciting news we brought you yesterday that Sam Sykes has announced a collaboration with Pathfinder and Jim Butcher has officially set a release date for his Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Steampunk hybrid.
Well, they do say good things come in threes, right?
Today it is Michael J. Sullivan who has signed a deal with Del Ray Books for 4 books in a series called ‘The First Empire’. Fans of Michael will know that he started his career off by self-publishing his ‘Riyria Revelations’ novels wayyyy back in 2008. This was at a time where self-published authors were still learning the ropes and wasn’t really seen as a way to make a living, but no one told Michael that. His likability, marketing skills and quality novels meant that where as others were just picking up a bit of pocket-money for their books, he was earning a more than respectable income. His books picked up so many sales, so many great reviews and so much attention that Michael was signed by a traditional publisher – genre giants Orbit – a transition that remains a rarity to this day.
Well, just to fully stamp on the belief that self-publishing never leads beyond a couple of sales: Del Ray Books has paid to license Michael’s latest series… wait for it… more than half a million dollars. From what we’ve been told, a number of bids had already come in (we’d presume one of them from Orbit and others from other big name publishers) and rather than risk a bidding war Del Ray threw down $500k to seal the deal. If that wasn’t enough, the audio book rights were picked up by Recorded Books shortly after – adding another undisclosed six-figure amount to the pot. Oh, and rejoice, because Audie Award Nominee Tim Gerard Reynolds will narrate this new series (as he has with his previous ones).
As you can imagine, Michael’s agent was pretty pleased with how things turned out: “Michael is one of those rare authors whose pioneering efforts in publishing pave the way for others. His self-publishing, small-press publishing, and big-five publishing projects have all done exceedingly well, and he is constantly thinking up new ways to connect with his readership in an ever changing publishing landscape.” On that note, we can confirm Michael’s intentions to continue self-publishing novels in-between releases of this latest series.
We know that the first four books of ‘The First Empire’ will be called Rhune, Dherg, Rhist and Phyre. However, Michael revealed to us that there is a fifth book, Fhrey, also planned. In terms of how he feels about the deal: “I was looking for a publisher to take this series to the next level. One who would both respect what I’ve accomplished in the past, and wanted to grow my career into the future. I found that in Tricia Narwani [Editorial Director of Del Ray] and her colleagues,” said Michael.
In terms of what Michael has achieved in the past: more than half a million English language copies of his novels have been sold, they have been translated into 13 foreign languages, appeared on over 100 best-of or most anticipated lists, and he has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice awards for 4 of the last 5 years…
So, if you’ve got a self-published novel out there and aren’t sure whether it’s going to lead anywhere then let this tale inspire you… Although I still believe that traditional publishing should be the first route that 99% of all serious genre novel writers pursue, I do think that if you do it correctly self-publishing can open a lot of doors. Make sure your book is ready to be published – i.e. make sure you have edited it professionally – and approach your marketing and communications as a professional too. Self Publishing means you need to go that extra mile to gain the attention you deserve. Get it right though and it could be your novels picking up the next half a million dollar cheque… Good luck!
Jennie Ivins
Richard Marpole