Unpublished author turns down 6 figure advance to self publish.
Jan 16th 2014, 12:24 am
#1
Lost in BE Cyberspace
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Joined: Jun 2011
Location: Los Angeles
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Unpublished author turns down 6 figure advance to self publish.
http://brennaaubrey.net/2013/12/08/i...-self-publish/
I wonder if this is true, or very clever marketing to create buzz because, you know, the webz and all.
I wonder if this is true, or very clever marketing to create buzz because, you know, the webz and all.
Jan 16th 2014, 3:05 am
#2
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 2013
Location: Newark, DE
Posts: 192
Re: Unpublished author turns down 6 figure advance to self publish.
I wonder how long he is visiting planet earth for?
Jan 16th 2014, 10:29 am
#3
Joined: Dec 2001
Location: Dixie, ex UK
Posts: 52,448
Re: Unpublished author turns down 6 figure advance to self publish.
Just one word springs to mind: ego. 
Jan 16th 2014, 12:06 pm
#4
Crazy Cat Lady
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 65,493
Re: Unpublished author turns down 6 figure advance to self publish.
Presumably already very wealthy. 
Jan 16th 2014, 12:36 pm
#6
Hoppity hop...
Joined: Apr 2013
Location: Bedford, TX
Posts: 1,348
Re: Unpublished author turns down 6 figure advance to self publish.
The book's currently #773 on Amazon though, with over 100 positive reviews (verified purchases) so, while almost certainly not approaching 6 figures, people ARE buying it...
Jan 19th 2014, 4:48 pm
#8
Lost in BE Cyberspace
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Re: Unpublished author turns down 6 figure advance to self publish.
Still, incredible thing to do...I've been reading that the big publishers are now locking writers into such strict non-compete contracts that it can prevent them making a living by marketing their own books elsewhere, so from that point of view, taking the long term view, perhaps it's a wise thing.
Last edited by Hotscot; Jan 19th 2014 at 5:46 pm.
Dec 15th 2014, 12:51 pm
#9
Joined: Dec 2001
Location: Dixie, ex UK
Posts: 52,448
Re: Unpublished author turns down 6 figure advance to self publish.
Still, incredible thing to do...I've been reading that the big publishers are now locking writers into such strict non-compete contracts that it can prevent them making a living by marketing their own books elsewhere, so from that point of view, taking the long term view, perhaps it's a wise thing.
Dec 15th 2014, 1:30 pm
#10
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Re: Unpublished author turns down 6 figure advance to self publish.
My literary poison of choice is SF, and there have been some very good indeed self-published authors appearing in the genre of late. Hugh Howey in particular stands out. He did sign a deal with a dead tree publisher after having made his name through self-published e-books, but he made a point of retaining the e-book rights in full to his existing and future work.
Dec 15th 2014, 1:47 pm
#11
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Re: Unpublished author turns down 6 figure advance to self publish.
Still, incredible thing to do...I've been reading that the big publishers are now locking writers into such strict non-compete contracts that it can prevent them making a living by marketing their own books elsewhere, so from that point of view, taking the long term view, perhaps it's a wise thing.
He was allotted a number of books and given a set time limit to sell them after which they had to be destroyed.
He now self publishes but did become well known through starting out with a big publisher.
Dec 17th 2014, 7:41 pm
#12
Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Milwaukie, Oregon
Posts: 9,966
Re: Unpublished author turns down 6 figure advance to self publish.
He wrote that article a year ago. I see he ducked the recent question in the comments asking how well he had done.
Dec 18th 2014, 7:20 pm
#13
Horrid Yank
Joined: Dec 2014
Location: Tierra del Encanto
Posts: 712
Re: Unpublished author turns down 6 figure advance to self publish.
I haven't read the article, but guessing the author has a catalog of published works and a following, a mailing list, etc. that ensure a decent amount of sales going forward. He probably sells fewer books, but retains a far larger cut of the proceeds publishing himself.
