As usual, I had a scan through the NYT bestsellers list (print and eBooks) looking for self-published successes on the level of Chan and Hocking, but found only two, today. One was Darcie Chan's Mill River Recluse, which I am pleased to see still doing so well. The other was a new name to me.
Barbara Freethy
A writer who has published with Simon & Schuster (she is still on their website) and other major houses, she has taken her backlist titles after reversion of rights, and published them herself, with dramatic success.
Unlike most independently published authors, who kick off sales by asking just $0.99, Freethy priced her books between $2.99 and $5.99. Nonetheless, they sold extremely well, to the tune of 1,000,000 in just one year.
Over the past twelve months, eight of Freethy's seventeen self-published titles have hit the New York Times and/or USA Today Bestseller List.
In a word, she made gold in books that had been taking up space in her closet. Having a following already would have helped a lot, but still it is amazing.
According to Theresa Horner, VP Content B&N Digital Products, "Barbara Freethy's self-publishing success proves that digitizing books can boost readership and breathe new life into older titles. Her backlist titles through PubIt!, Barnes & Noble's fast and free digital self-publishing platform, have consistently landed her at the top of the BN.com eBook list. We're thrilled for Barbara and we look forward to helping her sell the next million!"
She is traditionally published, too, currently being with Pocket. However, Freethy is planning to self-publish e-book originals in the future. "I am excited about the opportunity to not only make all of my books available again, but also to publish new works more frequently, allowing me to better respond to the demands of my readers."
Freethy's books are sold through online retailers Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Apple, Sony and Kobo. They are also distributed through Smashwords and Overdrive to libraries and other online retailers.
You can read about her on her WEBSITE
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