Self Published Authors To Know About
by Lori Brighton
H.P. Mallory is one of those self-published authors you’ll be hearing a lot about… the kind legends are made of.
A few years back H.P. wrote two books: Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble, a first person paranormal romance, and To Kill A Warlock, a first person urban fantasy. She quickly got an agent, and her agent sent her books to N.Y. editors. Those N.Y. editors rejected the books and soon after, her agent started ignoring her. Having had enough, H.P. fired the agent and those two books she wrote settled onto her computer, hidden away from the world.
Then about six months ago I told H.P. about the new self-publishing world. I hadn’t decided yet if I was going to venture into unknown territories, but H.P. jumped right in. She put together some super cute covers and slapped the books up on Amazon, B&N Pubit! and Smashwords.
Last I heard she had sold over 70,000 copies of her books, although I’m sure that sales number has gone up by now. She landed a big name agent and publishers have taken notice of her books, which tend to always be listed on the bestsellers list. Just a couple weeks ago N.Y. editors were fighting it out for the rights to books 3, 4, and 5 to the Fire Burn series. H.P. just signed a contract with Random House for 6 figures. Why would editors pay that much for a first time author? Because readers love her books, as is shown by her sales numbers and her ratings.
Interested? Here’s the blurb for Fire Burn below:
A self-deprecating witch with the unique ability to reanimate the dead. A dangerously handsome warlock torn between being her boss and her would-be lover. A six hundred year old English vampire with his own agenda; one that includes an appetite for witches. The Underworld in a state of chaos. Let the games begin.
Life isn’t bad for psychic Jolie Wilkins. True, she doesn’t have a love life to speak of, but she has a cute house in the suburbs of Los Angeles, a cat and a quirky best friend.
Enter Rand Balfour, a sinfully attractive warlock who insists she’s a witch and who just might turn her life upside down. Rand hires her to help him solve a mystery regarding the death of his client who also happens to be a ghost. Jolie not only uncovers the cause of the ghost’s demise but, in the process, she brings him back to life!
Word of Jolie’s incredible ability to bring back the dead spreads like wildfire, putting her at the top of the Underworld’s most wanted list. Consequently, she finds herself at the center of a custody battle between a villainous witch, a dangerous but oh-so-sexy vampire, and her warlock boss, Rand.
Here’s the blurb for book two, Toil and Trouble:
The Underworld in civil war. The cause? A witch who can reanimate the dead. A sexy as sin vampire determined to claim her. An infuriatingly handsome warlock torn between duty and love. Who says blonds have more fun? After defending herself against fairy magic, Jolie Wilkins wakes to find her world turned upside down—the creatures of the Underworld on the precipice of war. The Underworld is polarized in a battle of witch against witch, creature against creature, led by the villainous Bella, who would be Queen. While Jolie has one goal in mind, to stake the vampire, Ryder, who nearly killed her, she also must choose between the affections of her warlock employer, Rand, and the mysteriously sexy vampire, Sinjin. And as if that weren’t enough to ruin a girl’s day, everything Jolie knows will be turned inside out when she’s thrust into the shock of a lifetime.
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And here’s the blurb for H.P.’s other series, To Kill A Warlock:
The murder of a dark arts warlock. A shape-shifting, ravenous creature on the loose. A devilishly handsome stranger sent to investigate. Sometimes working law enforcement for the Netherworld is a real bitch.
Dulcie O’Neil is a fairy. And not the type to frolic in gardens. She’s a Regulator—a law-enforcement agent who monitors the creatures of the Netherworld to keep them from wreaking havoc in the mortal world. When a warlock is murdered and Dulcie was the last person to see him alive, she must uncover the truth before she’s either deported back to the Netherworld, or she becomes the next victim.
Enter Knight Vander, a sinfully attractive investigator sent from the Netherworld to work the case with Dulcie. Between battling her attraction to her self-appointed partner, keeping a sadomasochistic demon in check, and fending off the advances of a sexy and powerful vampire, Dulcie’s got her hands full. As the body count increases, Dulcie finds herself battling dark magic, reconnoitering in S&M clubs and suffering the greatest of all betrayals.
H.P.’s path to publication is certainly an interesting one and definitely worth knowing about for it is changing the publishing world. Fire Burn is only 99 cents right now, so the perfect time to give her series a try. (Click covers to purchase)
Today, comment to win Jo Beverley’s AN UNLIKELY COUNTESS.
Lori Brighton is a New York and self-published author. Her second book, Wild Desire releases March 1, 2011 (today!!!) from Kensington Publishing. She has self-published A Night of Secrets (a historical paranormal), The Ghost Hunter (a contemporary paranormal) and a YA titled The Mind Readers. You can visit Lori on her website at: www.LoriBrighton.com.
Ohh! This was something awesome to read. Without a doubt. I always keep wondering how all of you authors write such wonderful books! Lori Brighton’s books. I should definitely search them out. I always loved a paranormal story :D!
I just love Jo Beverly’s books and, would love to be able to add this book to my collection.
That is a great story, but it makes me wonder why if she was doing so well on her own she decided to go with a NY publisher at all? I understand the lure of the NY publisher, but why share the pie with an agent and a publisher when you don’t have to?
I wonder if more and more new authors are going to choose this route…it will be interesting to see how this all develops. With the agency pricing models I can see ebook readers (the people, not the devices!) being very supportive of self-publishing, especially when trying a new to them author since the books are usually cheaper, e.g. that $ .99 price point on FIRE BURN makes it very tempting to just buy and try — if you don’t like it, no great loss versus plopping down $7.99 or more for offerings from some of the other publishers!
It’s always interesting learning how the books we love get made. And it’s always nice to find new authors but thank goodness for those authors that are autobuys too.
What a great story. I always like to read about people who succeeded when it didn’t look like they would.
I think people like H.P. Mallory are going to change the face of publishing by going indie like this. I wish them much luck on their ventures!
Wow that is an amazing story. I bet her first agent feels silly now.
H.P. Mallory’s books sound great. I just love the cartoon covers.
Good on her for taking charge of her own publishing!
I love her story! I think it’s so great that she put herself out there and is now a huge success!
Good question Jenyfer. The truth is, even though she made a ton of money self publishing, you never know how long your sales are going to last. Whereas the advance you get from N.Y. is pretty much a done deal. When she decided to send to N.Y. she told me their offer would have to be worth it. Let me tell you, the deal she got was def. worth it. I would have snatched it up in a second, no thought needed. Plus, in her deal she gets to keep the rights to book 1 and 2 which are already self published. So overall, def. a great deal. Personally, as of right now, I believe its best to have a foot in both doors. But who knows, I might change my mind.
Babs, I was totally thinking that today! The whole agency pricing is, imo, just going to make readers start buying more self pubished authors. Not only is self publishing great for new writers, but I swear every week I hear of another N.Y. author who is thinking of self pubishing.
I do have to say though, its not all rainbows and kittens. Sometimes your book won’t sell like you want it to. My YA has gotten great reviews, but it’s just not selling like my Ghost Hunter. I have no idea why. So you neve know what will happen.
One more thing about N.Y. publishing and why (for now at least) I think you should have a foot in both doors…. by going with N.Y. you’re going to reach people who wouldn’t normally read your Ebooks. You know for sure it’s going to thousands of people. Those people who don’t normally read Ebooks are going to pick up H.P.’s book 3, and if they love it, even if they don’t normally read Ebooks, chances are they’ll go get book 1 and 2 which only benefits her.
I’d love to read this Jo Beverley book. Also, I’m so glad that self publishing is an available option to some of you.
wow…I’m always amazed when I hear stories about self published authors do so well on their own
The USA Today had a good article on self-publishing recently. They made it sound as if paranormals were the big draw with e-readers.
Kim,
Oh really?! That’s so funny because from the very beginning I told people I thought paranormals were what sold the best, not because I could prove it, but just because that’s what I always heard of doing well. So that’s super interesting to know.
I do think though, that historicals are starting to take off too. Let’s face it, pretty soon most books will be sold as Ebooks. I do love my print books, but its probably true that Ebooks are going to take over.
I’m glad authors are self-publishing. I’m getting to read authors who don’t have NY contracts. I have just gotten into e books, but will still buy print books.
It’s an impressive story ! I am admiring of self-published authors … I am glad to know that people who deserve success finally find a publisher thanks to self publishing which require courage and self-confidence !
I actually came across H.P Mallory’s work a few months ago. I think it’s great she was able to do so well self-publishing. I think it takes guts to be able to do something like that.
Sounds like an interesting series and the covers are cute.
Very interesting article on self-publishing. I have read a couple of books by self-published authors and I enjoyed them.
It seems as if most self-published books are e-books. Is that right?
I had a friend self-publish a memoir in TP format. It cost $25 or so and it was a good and interesting book. I have no idea how many were sold.
If self-published books cost what my friend’s book cost, I don’t think I’d be buying many. Now that I bought a Nook, e-books would be more appealing because they would be cheaper.
Please enter my name in your contest. Thanks. Good luck to all.
What a great post. I have found a lot of great authors that way. Love H.P. Mallery’s book covers. Jo Beverly has a beautiful cover too.
Hi Elaine! Yes, most are now Ebooks. As an ebook, you can price the book low (which means more sales) and if your book is over 2.99 you get 70% of the sale, which is much more than N.Y. gives or any self published print publisher. Self published Ebooks just sell much better than self published print books and make the author more money.
Interesting article. I love Jo Beverley’s books!
Wow the self publishing route seems to have worked out REALLY well for her! Kudos to her for playing the odds! And I love those covers! Very unique and eye-catching. I love a paranormal with a bit of humor in it!
And I think you are very wise to keep your foot in both doors, Lori. There is a definite plus to having money in the bank from an advance if you plan on making writing your full-time job. Good for her!
I think that this is such a great idea to publicize self-published authors!
Self publishing is rather intriguing. Iadmire her for going that route. best of luck. the books look great!
You know I think a lot will go to self publishing and I have bought a few books like this for 99 and they are great. I think it gives the author more choices to make as which way they want to go. I also love Jo Beverley’s books so please enter me.
WOW, what a story! I’m happy to hear authors like H.P. Mallory are finding success in self-publishing!
Hi Lori!
Your new book WILD DESIRE looks so good! I love books with exotic locations! I just recenty bought a copy of WILD HEART and I’m looking forward to reading it soon!
I really enjoyed reading your blog post. H.P. Mallory is a new author to me and her books look like fun mysteries. I love stories about witches and warlocks and fairies!
It’s great that authors can have the opportunity to self-publish their books if they want. It is a good way to stay in circulation with the reading public and for fans to get a chance to read their books and to acquire new fans.
It may be more work to do the publicity for self-published books, but the benefits seem to be worth it. Authors can respond more rapidly to market trends. In some cases, they can retain more of their voice. A good editor, of course, is worth a lot to the quality of the book. That has been obvious in some of the ebooks I’ve read. The books were good, but lacked the polish a good editor would have given them making them better. The biggest disadvantage is not everyone has an ereader. I am still trying to decide which one I might get. I do not like reading on my computer.
H. P. Mallory’s books sound good. I am glad she got the contract. Since she has been able to establish herself and her reputation, this will expand her market nicely. A foot in both worlds is a good thing.
A friend pointed me to her books recently. Great to see self-pub. really pay off for her,
Since I read mainly ebooks, I’ve read quite a few of the self-pubbed authors. It’s good to see them making such a splash and shaking up the publishing world. I have both of HP’s books. I think in her case it was those covers that really attracted people and made them want to give her a chance. She’s a very smart marketer.
One thing that really makes it good for customers who buy self-published books its the price. They definately cost less, so you can buy more! The cover of these are so cute!
Wow, 70,000 copies is a lot. How interseting to hear her story. I’m gonna have to check out her books now.
And you’re right, those covers are cute!
Self-publishing really is a great opportunity for new authors as well as those whose contracts are discontinued. And it’s great for us readers, too. Recently, more and more authors I like seem to “lose” their contracts which leads to my not being able to finish a series. The last one I read about was Sara Lindsey. 🙁 Personally, I just can’t stand not being able to read all books in a series just because publishers decide sales numbers aren’t high enough. I hope that more of those authors decide to self-publish their works and I’m also looking forward to being able to enjoy many more new voices. I even got myself a credit card since I can’t purchase those self-published ebooks without one… Paper books, I’ll miss you!
Thanks so much for your comments! I love reading them. Self publishing does take a little bit more promoting, but the good thing is it doesn’t really cost. My promoting has just been contacting bloggers. With my first NY book, Wild Heart, I took out 3 ads, small ads, because everyone told me I had to. That ate up my entire advance. So it is a little more work promoting self published books, but it cost less! NY really doesn’t do much at all for the majority of their authors, promotion wise so we generally have to spend our own money.
Ebooks really are taking over so start saving your money for an Ereader! But you’re right, because self published books are generally cheaper than NY, I think that’s only going to benefit Self published.
You’re right, some self published books are very poorly edited. I jokingly said that there would have to be a page missing from a book for me to notice anything and even then, I’d probably just shrug it off. But grammatical problems drive some people crazy and that can be a problem with self published books. On the other hand, NY books many times have just as many errors. A friend said she just read a NY book by a very well known author from a very well known publisher and she couldn’t believe how many errors there were, not only grammatical but name changes and just wrong info. So it does happen everywhere, but people tend to focus on it more in self published books. So be warned if you are thinking about self publishing.
And it is true that NY seems to be buying fewer books these days. In most instances they have their reasons (the author didn’t sell as many copies as they had needed her to). But so few people are being recontracted that you start to wonder who the heck they’re going to have out in the future. Will they start republishing backlists? Start getting new authors? Give their old authors more money? I have no idea. But seriously, they’re going to have to do something. They’re not recontracting and more and more NY authors are moving toward self pubishing.
I congratulate H. P. Mallory and her perseverance to get her books out there! So, nobody wanted her books because ‘they wouldn’t sell’ or ‘the public doesn’t want this type of story’…well guess again big NY Publishing House. The public knows more than you think about what they will and will not buy/read! But, I guess like everything else in this world today, it’s all up to economics…there doesn’t seem to be any second chances at the big NY houses, not like it was back in the day.
That’s exactly what I thought, Karen… Just because one book doesn’t sell quite as well as is expected doesn’t mean the following books won’t sell well, either. There are ups and downs everywhere and I always give authors second and even third chances. I respect all those authors who prove their former publishers wrong by becoming successful self-publishers. And I wish everyone one of them the best of luck!
Great info, something for an aspiring romance writer to mull over~
You’re very right, NY is not giving authors very long to establish themselves. Not at all. It is frustrating for the author, especially for most authors who have to spend their own money to promote.
And you’re also right in that it should be up to the public what sells. Self publishing allows the reader to pick, instead of NY shoving books down our throats. For probably 5 years now I kept hearing that you can’t write a vampire book. Vampires don’t sell, people are sick of them and the market is saturated. Editors didn’t want to see or touch them. Then Amanda Hocking self published her vampire series and the woman is probably the most well paid self published author out there. Why? Because obviously the public still wants vampires and they weren’t getting them from NY!
I personally prefer hand books over ebooks, but it seems like ebooks is the up and coming thing. Guess I’ll have to buy an ereader. I think the authors who have the drive to get out there and get ebooks published are fantastic. I know it takes a lot of work and courage. Good luck to all of you! It’s a great way to get establiished.
Love the ethereal quality of this cover & of course Jo Beverly is a great writer.
Those bods do sound good. I’ll have to check them out. 🙂
I think it’s great that people can self publish now. So many authors don’t get discovered who do deserve the chance and that is a great way of letting the people who would love their book to have a chance to read it.