Sunday, June 16, 2013

Vincent Zandri, Inc.





It's Father's Day and I'm experiencing one of those moments that seem to only occur on a Sunday when you have a few spare moments to reflect not only on the past week, but on the month and even years that have so quickly passed.





I'm just entering into the tail end of one of those great sales waves, where I go from selling anywhere from thirty to one-hundred books a day to three or four-hundred per day. Last May was the best single sales month I've experienced as an author in two years, and I have both my fans to thank and the powerful marketing efforts put forth by my major hybrid publisher, Thomas and Mercer of Amazon Publishing (also Amazon UK Publishing), along with my indie publisher, StoneHouse/StoneGate Ink. Thanks to both I enjoyed a tremendous response to Murder by Moonlight, The Concrete Pearl, The Innocent, and Moonlight Falls. What's interesting to note is that, one of these novels is thirteen years old (The Innnocent). Another is four years old (Moonlight Falls). One of them has entered into its second edition with a second publisher (The Concrete Pearl) and another is brand new (Murder by Moonlight).




I"m still working off a "very nice" advance at Thomas & Mercer but after 8 solid months of working with them, I can see how effective partnering up with them for 7 books has been.

In a few weeks I'll be leaving for ITW "Thrillerfest" in Manhattan. In the old days, I used to attend conferences to attract publishers and to cozy up to editors. Nowadays, I attend them to reach out to my fans and also to have a laugh or two with other writers. In this new world of publishing, I no longer think of myself as belonging to any one publisher. I think of myself as Vincent Zandri, Inc. I don't just have one publisher or publishing method. I'm exploring many publishing methods and opportunities.


My next experiment will be to partner up with my agent Chip MacGregor on a new series of international thrillers beginning with the novel, CHASE (You might recall I went to Egypt some months ago to research this book. I also just returned from Peru where I was researching what will become the second in the series). Chip has created several imprints for his authors. His crew edits, formats, creates cover art, and promotes the books it publishes. This is not to say Chip is a publisher. He's not. He's an agent who is providing an opportunity for authors to partner up in a book producing venture. If the books he puts out sell well and a major pub wants to buy one or two out, the imprint/author contract can be broken at any moment. It's a win/win for everyone.

Like I said, it's Father's day and I write for a living, so this blog should end while I head out to spend some much needed time with the fam damily. After all, they put up with my writing life day in and day out, and I know that sometimes it can be hard living with a writer who isn't always home for them, even when he is home. But I love them dearly.
 
To Purchase MURDER BY MOONLIGHT for Dad go to:


   
     

3 comments:

  1. "I know that sometimes it can be hard living with a writer who isn't always home for them, even when he is home."

    might need to have this cross-stitched and framed or something, she writes as her family is cleared out of the house so that she can get some writing done ...

    wishing you a happy father's day and congrats as always on your hard-earned success

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