A popular indie author is going a bit traditional.
USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Jasinda Wilder has signed a deal with Berkley Books, a division of Penguin Random House, according to a report in USA Today.
The deal is for a trilogy worth seven figures, according to a press release. Madame X, the first book in the trilogy, will be published as a trade paperback on Nov. 3. The trilogy is described as dark, sexy and romantic.
Her beginnings were interesting, as were chronicled here on Teleread. She and her husband were in a financial crisis and one of their five children was sick. They self-published romance stories to great success that were able to help them out of their tough situation.
USA Today had an exclusive interview with Wilder. She still plans to self-publish, but said she was never anti-traditional even though she is pro-self-publishing.
It will be interesting to see how the self-publishing community responds to Wilder’s latest venture. Wilder said in her interview she expects some backlash.
Will there be negative feedback? Maybe? There will be those that will call me a sell-out. I anticipate that. But again, being pro-indie does not make me anti-trad. I have always been talking with publishers and looking for an opportunity to partner if and when I had the right project, team and contract.
For the last part, short answer … no. My thoughts regarding trad vs. indie have not changed. I have always said to do what makes the most sense for you. If that’s indie, yay, go for it. But be smart, do your research on the industry and the market and best practices. If that’s trad, same applies. I think at this point Jack and I know enough about both the indie side and the trad side to be able to make an intelligent, informed, rational decision, and we believe we’ve done so in inking this deal with Berkley.
Good for her!
I really hope it works out for her. Being an indie author is hard work. You have to do everything (even if you hire out, you still have to find, approve and manage the people you hire)
Since the publisher is throwing that kind of money at her, I suspect that they are going to work equally as hard to make sure the books are a success.