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Good Reading : March 2016
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People pow People pow People p er ower ow People power GOODREADINGMAGAZINE.COM.AU GOOD READING MARCH 2016 18 Captive Prince as a published book series. But a genre-defying LGBT fantasy ser ies with a seemingly niche audience was hardly a project that publishers were rushing to snap up, especially as it had already been distributed on the internet for free. Not wanting to disappoint the fans who were petitioning for a book version of the story, Catherine decided to self-publish. Within 24 hours she had topped the bestseller lists on Amazon, hitting the number one spot in the gay and lesbian category. The juggernaut of retweeting, reblogging and internet chatter began chugging away, catching the attention of even more readers. Following this blaze of success, a New York agent tracked Catherine down and they signed a deal. They sold the manuscript to Penguin Books USA, one of the world’s biggest publishers. Cather ine attributes her eventual mainstream success to the supportive, free space of the internet. ‘If it weren’t for that really rich, vibrant space online that’s allowed smaller works to be propagated and new artistic communities to form, I don’t think that book could have been published. I also think it’s the fact that the online space has existed completely unrecognised by commercial publishing until very recently, which makes it very exciting artistically because it’s allowed a kind of creative play that occurs when you think no-one is looking.’ The impatiently awaited conclusion to the ‘Captive Prince’ trilogy, Kings Rising, is out this month. While Cather ine was able to use the impetus of online enthusiasm to propel herself into publication, many other wr iters without this surge of support are struggling to break into the commercial arena. It’s a huge risk for a publisher to take on a new author. That’s why publishers tend to stick with genres and styles that have sold well in the past. But with the advent of e-books, establishing new authors who are taking sharp departures from traditional tropes is becoming more feasible, explains Joel Naoum, head of Pan Macmillan’s newly established digital imprint, Momentum. ‘We’re a digital-first imprint. We pick up an author and release their book in digital [e-book format] in the first instance, and if they succeed, we might put them into print on demand. More recently we’ve been launching some titles into traditional print as well, which get sent into bookstores.’ When e-books first became available, they were almost exclusively just digitised versions of pre-existing, popular books. But now, through imprints like Momentum and self-publishing services, writers can publish their work online and establish a name for themselves for a fraction of the cost. The e-books are much cheaper, which also encourages readers to try new authors, Joel says. ‘You pay $30 for a book in Australia, so people want to know that what they’re buying is something that they’ll like. With digital it’s a lot less money, so you’re more inclined to experiment with something new. With genre fiction in particular, the readers are voracious and curious and aggressive, and they’re really well organised online. There are amazing communities out there who will read and share new books in the genres that they enjoy – romance in particular, and sci-fi, fantasy, crime and thrillers.’ Joel says that their biggest success so far has been Flesh by Queensland author Kylie Scott. It’s the story of a ménage à trois that takes place in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Scott has now signed an international print deal. C S Pacat E–BOOKS
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