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How Darcie Chan Became a Best Selling Author
This is a great article that was in the Wall Street Journal and just proves that self publishing can launch a career. Take special note of how Darcie Chan levered her sales with targeted advertising. Alexander Alter of the WSJ says:
This summer, Darcie Chan’s debut novel became an unexpected hit. It has sold more than 400,000 copies and landed on the best-seller lists alongside brand-name authors like Michael Connelly, James Patterson and Kathryn Stockett.
It’s been a success by any measure, save one. Ms. Chan still hasn’t found a publisher.
Five years ago, Ms. Chan’s novel, “The Mill River Recluse,” which tells the story of a wealthy Vermont widow who bestows her fortune on town residents who barely knew her, would have languished in a drawer. A dozen publishers and more than 100 literary agents rejected it.
“Nobody was willing to take a chance,” says Ms. Chan, a 37-year-old lawyer who drafts environmental legislation for the U.S. Senate. “It was too much of a publishing risk.”
Read the full article here.
