Trying Something New...

As many of you know, My Bombay books came out in 2007, published by a traditional New York publisher. They did okay and I did four total.

In 2011, I got the rights back to these books and self-published them to much better success. Enough for me to quit the day job.  Still, after two years, sales started to fade a bit and I started getting frustrated with making covers, massaging categories, etc.

The Bombays have just entered into life - hybrid publishing. Gemma Halliday started up a boutique publishing company. She takes care of cover design, copy and major editing, formatting, pricing, category management, etc. And I think I was her first author.

Gemma repackaged the series and re-launched them in June, and gave them a whole new life. She's a wizard - I don't know how she does it but she found new readers!  And then we launched SNUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON: & Other Bombay Bedtime Stories in July and it did very well.

With Gemma handling everything, my writing output has tripled. I have another Bombay collection coming out in fall and am hoping to have a new novel by the end of the year. I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders!

Yes, she's getting a percentage - but it's far more competitive than any of the BIG 5. AND, Gemma understands the system. She totally gets how the algorithms work at BN and Amazon. AND she got me a pre-order button for Amazon.

What I find so interesting about this is that Gemma started out a NY trad pubbed author. She went into self-publishing, and she learned more in one year than NY has learned in 30. I'm impressed by that, and I think there's something to be learned here.

For now, I'm thrilled to be part of Gemma's stable of authors. I don't have to write proposals and she doesn't worry that something won't be 'marketable' enough. She has faith in her authors or she wouldn't have signed us.

And that may be the biggest lesson NY could ever learn. I wonder if they will...

Leslie Langtry