There have only been a few print-only deals, and all of them from authors with a huge number of sales. The first was Bella Andre in October 2012 (just a year ago) when Harlequin paid her seven figures. In December 2012 Hugh Howey got one from Simon & Schuster. Then in January 2013 Colleen Hoover (another huge-selling romance author) got a print-only deal from Atria (imprint of Simon & Schuster). The only other print-only deals I know about were done by Brandon Sanderson who kept the ebook rights to two novellas: The Emperor’s Souland Legion.
The problem is that each of these authors are New York Times bestsellers. They either have sold in excess of one million books, or have exceeded 500,000 + a major film option (Hugh Howey). I’m NOT in their league. So the chance of me getting a print-only deal weren’t good.
My wife has a saying, “You never know until you try.” She knew about Laurie McLean and her new agency Foreword Literary because she represents Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine, two excellent writers who we’ve become friends with over the years. Laurie’s background is in public relations and she started Foreword with an interesting mission. The following is from her website: “We blend the tried-and-true methods of traditional publishing with the brash new opportunities engendered by digital publishing, emerging technologies, and an evolving author-agent relationship.” It sounded like exactly what we were looking for.
Robin talked to Laurie about managing the print-only, movie and foreign language rights. While two of those rights are still being worked, Laurie did land a print-only deal. Tachyon Publications, who is the same publisher who did Brandon’s print-only deal for The Emperor’s Soulwill be doing a print-only deal for Hollow World. This is great because readers who love print have problems getting access to self-published titles. They are generally not in bookstores and libraries, but because Tachyon is a traditional publisher with an extensive distribution network, these hurdles will be easily jumped. They sold tens of thousands copies of Brandon’s novella, and while my name is not as big as Sanderson’s, Robin and I are going to do everything in our power to show Tachyon, and publishing in general, that more print-only deals need to be signed…and not just with the mega-sellers.
So there you have it, a little about how the book came to be. Some may find this boring, but a lot of aspiring authors should find the changes in the industry worth learning about. I do hope you enjoyed Hollow World. While it was originally written as a standalone novel I have thought about many more stories that could be told about Ellis and Pax and the world in which they live. As I said, writing Hollow Worldwas a gamble and I’d like to be a bit smarter about any future projects in this world. So if you liked it, and want more, please drop me a line at Michael.Sullivan.DC@gmail.com or better yet, take a few minutes to answer this poll. If enough people indicate they want more, I’d like nothing better than to oblige.
— Michael J. Sullivan
July 2013
Acknowledgements
Hollow World, more than any other book that I’ve written to date, is the product of many people. And to each of them I’m eternally grateful. This list is bound to be extensive, but bear with me because if you liked Hollow World, then you have these people to thank for it.
First there is Nila White, who ended up planting the seed of Hollow Worldwhen she asked me to create a short story for her anthology The EndVisions of Apocalypse. Nila did a tremendous job pulling together anchor authors and judging entries by new authors as a way of showcasing new talent. This isn’t a money-making project for her, and the anthology is often free or sometimes a measly $0.99. There are great stories in there including a fabulous one by Hugh Howey. Please give it a try.
I had an incredible group of beta readers for Hollow Worldincluding: Alexander Grevy, Algernon, Audrey Wilkinson, Bobby McDaniel, Cait M. Hakala, Caroline Reiss, Clay Ashby, Elizabeth Berndl, Gary Kempson, Greg, Heather A. McBride, Jeffrey Carr, Jeffery Miller, Libby Heily, Marc Grenier, Marcelle McCallum, Nathaniel and Sarah Kidd, Piero, Sebastian O’Sullivan, Shane Enochs, Shawn Haggard, Sheri Gestring, Simon, Stephanie Van Pelt, William Watson, and a few people who asked to remain anonymous. While I can’t call out each and every one of their contributions, they are sure to see aspects in the final book that are the direct result of their feedback. I wish every author had such conscientious and astute beta group. All of you are welcome to be my beta readers anytime.
I’d like to specifically call out Jeff Miller whose enthusiasm helped convince me of Hollow World’svalue. Jeff is a fine writer in his own right (if you like well-written mystery/thrillers then check out his Bubble Gum Thief, the first in his Dagny Gray series). Jeff provided some exceptional ideas each of which improved the book.
I’d like to thank Marc Simonetti who produced some amazing artwork depicting Hollow World. Not only did it provide me incredible inspiration, but it was the glue to which all my pre-promotion for the book centered around. People saw his incredible artwork and just knew this was a project of the highest quality. His artwork also used for posters and bookmarks giving an incredible perk to those who contributed to the Kickstarter. I’ve seen framed and mounted copies of the posters from many readers and I’m honored that my idea, and Marc’s talent, is adorning their walls. Or those that don’t know Marc did the covers of my French editions of The Riyria Revelations and has created covers for many other fantasy authors such as Patrick Rothfuss (also French editions of The Name of the Windand The Wise Man’s Fear) and George R. R. Martin (Mexican edition of Game of Thrones).
One of the advantages of traditional publishing is structural (sometimes known as content editing). This is an important job done by highly skilled professionals. Structural editors concern themselves with things such as pacing, plot holes, and character development. They are the “reader’s advocate,” who know from years of experience what works and what doesn’t. When I thought I would be self-publishing, I didn’t want to skip this important step. Luckily for me, Betsy Mitchell, who was the editor-in-chief at Del Rey for more than a decade, is now offering her services directly. Betsy has over thirty years experience editing science fiction and fantasy and has worked on more than 150 books from authors such as Michael Chabon, Terry Brooks, and many New York Times bestselling authors. Betsy confirmed what I suspected, that Hollow Worldwas already a good book…then she made it better.
Due to the generous contributions of the people in Kickstarter, I was able to afford not just one, but two exceptional copy editors. Both routinely work for the big-five publishers, including Macmillan, Tor, St. Martin’s Press, Del Rey, Putnam, and Ballantine Books. One has two masters degrees (one in English and Writing and the other in Creative Writing and English ) and has been nominated for the Nebula, World Fantasy, and Tiptree awards. The other has edited Naomi Novik’s Victory of Eagles, a number of the books in the Star Wars franchise, and two New York Times bestsellers for Steve Berry. The two of them saved me from innumerable embarrassments. If Betsy took a good book and made it great, then these two editors made me look smarter and more polished than I am.
Then there was the editing that Tachyon Publications contributed. Jacob Weisman was extremely helpful with feedback, especially in the early portions of the novel, which made the work more focused and faster paced. Another pass by their copy editing staff put another coat of polish that gave it that extra shine.