Selling my Lizzy Gardner series to Thomas & Mercer (an Amazon imprint) has been a great experience so far… and here’s why:
- It was easy and fun to negotiate my own contract
- Terms and royalties are higher than most publishers
- My first Publishing Agreement was signed by Jeff Bezos and is framed and sitting on my desk
- I hear from my editor on a regular basis (He updates me, keeps me in the loop, and lets me know that he’s excited to read my next book!)
- When I email my editor, I get a response within hours
- I am paid quarterly, but I am provided with monthly royalty statements so that I know exactly how many books I am selling (borrows, too!)
- Discoverability–I get maximum exposure on Amazon (i.e. daily deals, mass emails, etc.)
- My books are offered as paperbacks and audio books (they do the work, leaving me more time to write)
- I hope to hear good news soon about foreign sales
- Amazon treats me like a customer they care about
- I was invited to attend the Book Expo in New York and the Press Conference in Santa Monica. No stuffy people to be found– everyone was friendly and welcoming
- I receive emails from the author team, updating me with publishing news and inviting me to dinners if I happen to be in the area
- These opportunities have allowed me to meet so many wonderful authors, including: Jessica Park, Michele Scott (A.K. Alexander), Andrew Kaufman, Barry Eisler, Hugh Howey, Melinda Leigh, Sheila Redling, Lee Goldberg and so many more!
If you have signed with one of Amazon’s imprints and have something to add to the list, please do. Although I am enjoying working with Amazon, I plan to wait and see how things go before I sign another contract (positive thinking on my part that they would even want me to sign another contract).
On Amazon
I also plan to continue to self-publish my romance novels, mostly because I enjoy the process and the 70% royalties.
The industry continues to change, and although that does not make me anxious, it does make me cautious in the sense that I don’t want to put all of my eggs in one basket. One of the best decisions I made at the beginning of my journey was to push myself to do things I never thought I would do. You only live once. Go for it! I am just as excited today as I was on March 11, 2011, when I released my first book, Return of the Rose!
As always, let me know if you have any questions. Thanks.
The Best of Epublishing Wishes — Theresa Ragan
Loved reading this – thank you! I just signed with Amazon Publishing as well and I’m so looking forward to the experience
Thanks, Steena and Congratulations! You’re going to love it.
Congrats, Steena!
Thanks for the great info! Did they approach you or was it the other way around?
Hi Jamie, I was approached by Alan Turkus (editor with Thomas & Mercer) in February 2012 after Abducted hit the Top 20 Amazon list for the second time. He emailed me and then we set up a time to talk. I was very reluctant in the beginning…
Absolutely super-freaking-fantabulous! Huge congrats to you, Theresa, and Steena!
Thanks, Sibel!
Congratulations, Theresa! I like that you are publishing with Amazon and also self publishing. You truly are experiencing the best of both worlds.
Christy, that’s exactly what I want to do…experience it all and have fun doing it. Thanks for the congrats.
Congratulations, Theresa! Fabuloso! Thanks, too, for the details on your new deal. What a difference from TradPub!
Thanks, Ruth! Over the past two decades, I heard a lot of horror stories from other authors, so working with Amazon has been exciting.
This is just total superfab awesome sauce, Theresa! Wow!
I luuuvvv that Amazon is constantly inviting you to participate in various events and dinners. They do seem to completely get that building an author is an ongoing team effort that doesn’t end once a new book is released.
Congrats, my friend, and thanks bunches for giving us a peek into that new world!
P.S. And congrats to you too, Steena!
Thanks, D.D., for your ongoing support and enthusiasm! They do seem to understand the team effort part…I had a telephone conference with the amazon author team and they talked about working together to promote and market ME and MY BOOKS.
Sounds like a good place to be, and a good publishing company to work with. Maybe other people can take a leaf out of there books. When I had my first children’s book published I wasn’t kept in the loop about anything at all. I had no idea what marketing they were doing.
Hi, Julie. Exactly what you said. I was also shown my book cover many times as they worked on it and even went back to the drawing board once or twice. It’s amazing how hard they work to make everyone happy.
Congrats, Theresa! Great info, very inspiring, and so well deserved!
Thanks, Alicia!
Congrats, Theresa. It does sound like a great place to be. Thank you so much for sharing with us, and please keep us posted as things go. Good luck!
Thanks, Stacy, I will definitely keep everyone posted with how it all turns out.
Congratulations, Theresa! Really appreciate how you’ve shared all your publishing experiences. You’ve been so generous. Love your books!
Ahhh, thanks, Bev. It’s been fun watching your books do so well!
Theresa- I loved the bullet points of what you’ve experienced as a part of the Amazon team at Thomas & Mercer. I would love to know the best way to submit to Thomas & Mercer. Any suggestions or helpful hints that you would like to share would be very much appreciated. Huge Congratulations again!
Hi Lois, and thanks! I wish I did have a helpful hint or two about submissions, but since they approached me, I only know that you can go to the Thomas & Mercer sight for more info. That’s where they provide an email address for authors to contact them.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000664921
Please share your thoughts or questions with us at thomasmercer-pr@amazon.com.
For proposal submissions or inquiries, please contact tm-submissions@amazon.com.
Thanks- I have my mystery novel LIQUID LIES submitted:)
Wow, Lois, good job. You’re on top of it. Good luck!
Hi Theresa,
Congrats on the contract with Thomas & Mercer this summer! I hope you won’t mind a few ‘how did it work’ question from an emerging writer…. Did they buy the rights to books you had E-pubbed on your own previously or to new books that hadn’t been previously published? I took a quick look on Amazon and see that Dead Weight (as others in the series) have both e-book and paperback available – did your publisher put them all out at once, or print copy first then e-book later?
FYI – I saw your name just yesterday on an article that came up under ‘Self-Publishing Success Stories – Authors That Have Sold more than 200,000 Books’. You go girl!!!! Blaze that trail!!!!
Hi, Sheri, thanks for the great comment and questions.
T&M bought the rights to both Abducted AND Dead Weight (both books had already been released/published by me). They also bought Book 3 of the Lizzy Gardner series, a book I just finished writing. yay! (s/b released beginning of 2013) So, Amazon owns the rights to all three of the books in my Lizzy Gardner series and they will have first dibs at Book 4 in the series, but will have rights only if we both agree to terms at that time.
The print, audio and e-book versions were all published by T&M at the same time on July 17, 2012.
Thanks for the inside scoop on this fantastic opportunity you landed! It gives me a lot of encouragement. It’s also really interesting how this went down for you. Congrats again!
Congratulations!! Wishing you all the best!
Thank you, Sharon!
How exciting! I love the continuing evolution in this industry. Question for you as I’m just stepping into this world. Do you market exclusively through Amazon (for your non-T&M titles) or do you also publish through B&N, Kobo, etc…? And what are the major advantages/disadvantages to your strategy?
Hi Michelle, for my titles that I own, I publish through Smashwords, B&N, and Kobo. The first time I had success with a book at B&N was this year with Having My Baby, a contemporary romance. I first published HMB in April, 2012, on KDP Select (90 day exclusive). When the 90 days were up, I published HMB on B&N, Smashwords and Kobo and HMB soared to #48 on B&N. For the first time since starting out, I made over $15,000 in one month at B&N…so, the moral of my story is that I do not have a strategy. I really do take it one day at a time. I read stories about what other authors are doing, but I am going solely by instincts and what feels right for me and my books. When I first released HMB thruogh KDP Select, I had no idea what I was going to do when my 90 day exclusive was up. I have not put a book FREE since March of this year. I’m going to wait and see what happens as I release new books. The only strategy I use is to stay positive, help others, put myself out there (speaking engagements, etc.), try new things, and never say never!
Great information, Theresa. Thank you for your thorough answer. It’s such a blessing to have so many great indie authors willing to share their experiences!
Thanks for sharing everything you do with us, Theresa! I think it’s wonderful you’re always trying new things and keeping us in the loop. Congrats on your success and may you have much more!
Thanks, Rhonda!
Congrats, Theresa!
Thanks, David!
Thanks for sharing your experience, Theresa. I’m so happy to hear that it’s going well.
As you said, this is an industry where it pays to be flexible and keep and open mind.
Hi Dana, Yes, flexible and open-minded makes the journey so much easier. Thanks for commenting!
Now that’s a checklist to warm an author’s heart.
Congrats to you. I’ve heard nothing but good things about T&M.
Thanks, Toni.
Congratulations to Theresa and the others who signed with T&M!
Theresa,
I’m glad you’re happy and writing. I didn’t know you’d published HMB. (Or I don’t remember knowing.) So I’ll go right to Amazon and buy it. (If I didn’t already!)
Thanks, Bettye!
Hi Debra…thanks for the nice comment. Knowing you, you probably already bought HMB! You’re awesome!
Great info! Thank you for sharing
xx, Lauren