The Shack and self-publishing

[cyn]

No CBA publisher would touch Wm. Paul Young’s The Shack which was too Christian for the general market publishers . . . so Mr. Young struck out on his own and self-published his novel in 2007.

400 000 copies (or 2 million as reported in an Oregon newspaper--I am not sure which amount is more accurate) and one year later, The Shack has hit several milestones:

•26 Weeks on US Today Bestseller List
•10 Weeks #1 on New York Times Bestseller List
•Barnes & Noble Bestseller List
•Amazon Bestseller List
•#1 on ECPA Bestseller list April—July

September 10, 2007: We have just been contacted by our third CBA publisher hoping they could take over The Shack. While we’re flattered that they think so highly of the book now, two of those publishers turned it down when it was presented to them in manuscript form last year.

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Yes, there is some controversy about the novel, but I am more interested in the self-publishing success story.

c

[Caprice]

Isn't it "funny" how they're interested NOW, after all the hard work (marketing) is done. Yet, they had problems with it when it was unknown. Just goes to prove that there's a different standard for anyone who sells a bunches of books.

[cyn]

Isn't it "funny" how they're interested NOW, after all the hard work (marketing) is done.

Yup, sure is . . . but not surprising. It is just like Frank states in his article about the big guys whisking away authors and books once the little guy took all the risk and did the hard work.

I was very pleased to see Paul Young's response. Too late buddy! why would he share his success with a group who wouldn't give him the time of day?

c

[Caprice]

With that much success, it's easy to tell the big guys "too late", but more often, it's just a medium success that the big guys recognize they could cash in on and the poor author usually can't attain the next level without accepting the offer (and the big guys know it). So what is the poor author who is fighting tooth and nail for his limited success to do when someone offers help in a way he could never help himself?

What if two years after Forever Richard is released, Random House offers Sue a HUGE contract to take it over and mass market it like a Steven King book? How could we be fair to both the author and the small publisher in such situations?



P.S. Frank, I didn't mean to imply that FR has any better chance at getting big attention than your books, just that Cyn will of course view Sue's career differently than yours.

[cyn]

What if two years after Forever Richard is released, Random House offers Sue a HUGE contract to take it over and mass market it like a Steven King book? How could we be fair to both the author and the small publisher in such situations?

Ah, good question, and not one I haven't put thought into.

The answer is a contingency plan in the form of contract clauses--ones that benefit both author and publisher.

c

[Frank Creed]

Cyn's reportedly been printing contracts on sheets of C-4 to explode the fickle.


Faith,
f

[cathikin]

I don't know how things started out with The Shack, other than what you said here, but apparently Hachette has it now. My friend in Franklin TN wrote me about it: her husband is a marketing or sales VP in the Christian imprint for Hachette USA, whatever it's called. (I forget). I was wondering if this was the book Cyn was refering to in some other group or board, where you said soemthing about it not being a very good book quality-wise?