There are so many ePublishers out there. Elloras Cave, Amber Quill, Liquid Silver, NCP, Loose Id. Yet, I only see the authors from EC getting book deals with paperback publishers. I could be wrong. I hope I’m wrong. :crazy:
I’m thinking about giving ePublishing a try, to build a large readership, get my name out there in the publishing and book buying world. And to get some experience with full novels.:satisfied: But I also would like it to be a stepping stone to bigger things. Does anyone here know of authors from any of the other ePublishers that are moving on to bigger things?
And if not, do you think this is because EC has a higher standard of quality for their authors, (or that that’s what publishers think since it’s the only RWA recognised ePublisher?) or that they just have a bigger name themselves? I do know that I’ve read other eBooks that are of great quality, but I’ve yet to hear about one of those authors ‘breaking out’ (although my fingers are corssed for you, Ellen with the Brava final!)
Let’s see. I was going to mention C.J. Barry, but Cece beat me to it:-). Another one is Linnea Sinclair, who just signed with Bantam Spectra, I think– can’t remember who her ebooks are published with, but it’s definitely not EC. Also, there’s Alyssa somebody or other… I’m blanking on her pen name right now, but I think she writes erotica for eXtasy books, and just signed a NY contract. And Jess Michaels just went from a smaller press (not an epub–Red Sage) to Avon. That’s all that spring to mind right now, although there are likely others. But I know several authors with e-pubs other than EC who have very good agents, so I expect to hear of more New York sales shortly!
The author for eXtasy books who’s sold to NY is Alayne Warren.
And I forgot to mention… thanks for the good wishes, Sasha!
This is very encouraging! Thanks Ladies!!
:)Even though the idea of e-publishing is a good one I still like to have a hard copy, something one can read in the bath or bed. Not such a great idea taking the laptop in the bath!
Actually Linnea has written for EC. 🙂 But you’re right about Alayne Warren/Jen Nicholas. She’s my book mate for the upcoming Bravas. There are a lot of authors making the leap. I think the NY publishers are paying more attention to epub authors now, because they’re realizing that there are some good writers scattered amongst the epubs.
For a while, Berkley was specifically targeting EC authors (Angela Knight, MaryJanice Davidson, Jaid Black) or so it seemed. With the exception of Jaid, the other two had already sold to Red Sage prior to coming to EC. That’s why EC changed their contracts a year ago. I think that’s calmed a bit. Diane Whiteside, another EC author, has a three-book deal with Brava. Her first book is the Irish Devil. Rosemary Laurey, another EC and LSD? author , has a three-book deal with Brava. Chey McCray is the latest EC author to land a big book deal. She just signed a three-book deal with St. Martin’s.
There was a time I would’ve said it mattered that you write for EC when trying to jump from epub to NY, but not anymore. I think all that counts now is that you have a decent following with whoever you’re publishing through.
I started writing for EC to get practice at writing longer books. When the EC authors started being approached by the bigger publishers, I realized it was imperative to write the best stories possible because you never know who’s going to read them. I think that’s the most important thing to remember. Sorry for rambling on so long.:blush:
One final thought from the peanut gallery. The RWA recognition came after the authors were approached by NY pubs. The only reason EC achieved that was because of proven sales. There’s a lot of controversy over whether or not other e-pubs also proved sales. To be honest, I don’t know what the truth is. As far as I’m concerned, the more the merrier. EC gained popularity based on their books and the fact that at least for a while, they were the highest paying e-publisher out there. By that I mean, their authors made the most money. I don’t know if that’s the case anymore.
Thanks, Jordan, that’s very informative. My experience suggests that EC is STILL the best-selling e-pub out there. I understand RWA recently changed their guidelines so that POD paperbacks are no longer considered "trade paperback" but "other," which means a small press has to sell 5000 of the things. Unlikely to happen for most e-pubs, I suspect. So I don’t think any of them besides EC are going to receive RWA recognition any time soon. I’m not trying to start an argument about whether this is a good thing or a bad; I just think it’s a useful thing to know!
Oh Ellen, I didn’t mean to give you the impression I was upset about anything or trying to create controversy. Honestly. I want everyone to succeed. 🙂 I agree it’s all useful information.
I didn’t know that about RWA. 🙁 Although I must say, I’m not surprised. I’ve heard rumblings.
I did just hear that Christine Warren, the author who writes the Fantasy Fixed books for EC, just received a three-book deal from St. Martin’s. I’m particularly happy about this news because I love her books.
Wow! Great info here you guys!
While I would love to sell to EC, because I also believe they’re the top selling ePublisher, I made the decision not to wait to hear from them on my partial submission, and also subbed it to LSB.
I really like the way they state in their guidelines that they are willing to work WITH an author. And since I, like you Jordan, want experience with writing full novels. It’s a HUGE incentive for me. I’m sure it’s true of EC as well, (that the editors help you learn and grow) but to be honest, I’m impatient, and I hope/believe that no matter where I land that I can build a decent readership.
I’d like to believe that success has more to do with a person’s ability as a writer and storyteller, than where they pub.
Good luck with your EC submission, Sasha! Wish me luck with mine! I would love to be an EC author, not only because of their growing profile and reputation, but also because for me it would be a baby step into US romance publishing.
Good Luck, Wendy!!!
It’s been a while..have you heard anything more yet?
stumbled across CJ Barry today–her first book was w/NCP. The other four were pubbed by DOrchester. 🙂
Wasn’t Mia Zachary’s first book an e-book?
I’ve never read an EC book so I can’t tell you if it’s a quality issue or not.
Jennifer Skully, aka Jasmine Haynes, aka J.B. Skully went from LSB to Berkley and HQN!