Why self-publishing in the US
I thought long and hard before deciding to self-publish Single in the City in the US as an eBook. After all, the book was published by Penguin in the UK and many other countries in 2010. Penguin’s team helped make it a best-seller. Surely it’s better to go with a big publisher than to go it alone? If I’m not doing so, does it mean that I’m rejecting the big publishers, as many writers have recently done?
Not really. At least, not all of them. I loved working with Penguin UK. My editor Lydia Newhouse quickly became a friend (still is), listening to my suggestions and making sure the publication went smoothly. The sales team got the book into the major retailers and my PR Helen was superb, getting us widespread publicity.
I’m self-publishing because sometimes publishers have less faith in the books, and the readers, than we, the writers, do.
You see, when Caroline and I sold book rights to Penguin (UK), we held back the US rights. We did this because I wanted a US-based publisher for Single in the City’s American launch. After all the main character, Hannah, is American. There’s a strong theme about seeing London through rather baffled American eyes. Caroline and I thought that surely it was a great fit for the US market.
The US publishers we approached had a different point of view. They were all very nice about it but said that the book isn’t right for the American chick lit market. It’s set in London. Readers won’t identify with it, they concluded.
I disagree. Isn’t it a bit dismissive, and wrong, to suggest that American women can only be interested in books that literally reflect their own lives? If that were true then only mothers of homicidal children would buy We Need To Talk About Kevin, and nobody living outside the 19th Century would bother with Jane Eyre. These books gain wide readership because they deal with universal themes (nature versus nurture, the effects of parenting, family, belonging, love). Single in the City is about taking a chance and establishing a new life. More than 5 million young American women do that every year when they move cities. It’s a fish-out-of-water story. And it’s about finding your feet in life and love. These, too, are universal themes. Those US publishers sold chick lit fans short.
And that’s why I’m self-publishing. I believe it’s the right decision for this book in this market. Like Hannah, I’m taking a leap of faith.
Michele loves to connect with her readers! Find her:
facebook: www.facebook.com/michelegorman3
twitter: @expatdiaries
website: www.michelegorman.co.uk
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/single-in-the-city-michele-gorman/1106848799?ean=2940013291126&itm=1&usri=michele%2bgorman
Thanks so much Samantha, for hosting my guest blog, you’ve got a great website!
Lovely US readers, you may see a link to the paperback on Amazon.com … naughty distributors are selling the UK paperback in the US in violation of my distribution rights – I’ve asked them politely to stop but they won’t. So let’s all just ignore them shall we? 🙂 You can get the US Kindle version here (I even rewrote it for its US launch!):
http://www.amazon.com/Single-in-the-City-ebook/dp/B005Y11DAQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321030345&sr=8-1
I’m very happy to sign Single in the City via http://www.kindlegraph.com, for you or your friends, so just drop me a request.
Chick lit fans, what do you think of my decision to use an illustrated cover instead of a photographic cover? Which kind of cover do you prefer?