Partnering with Amazon

by L.J. Sellers, author or provocative mysteries & thrillers

I've been sitting on this news for two weeks, and I'm ready to explode. Amazon just offered me an 11-book contract! They bought my entire backlist of nine novels, plus the next two I’ll write. They're planning foreign translations, audio books, digital editions etc. It's so amazing, it's still not real to me. I was quite happy being a mid-list successful indie author, but this will definitely take my career to the next level. It’s exciting to realize my work will be translated into foreign languages and reach readers I never thought possible.

The only disappointing thing for my readers is that my next Jackson book, which I had planned to release in early July, won’t be published until the end of the year. Amazon wants time to produce new versions of all six of the Jackson novels and release them at the same time the seventh story comes out. It’ll be a grand debut! They also bought the first book in a new series I plan to start after I finish this Jackson story, and they acquired it on the strength of a one-paragraph description. Which gives me more confidence that the new series is a solid idea.

Even though this sounds like a sudden and unexpected offer, in reality, I submitted two of my standalone thrillers to Amazon last November. I didn't hear much except to get an occasional email from the editor apologizing for the delay and promising that he still planned to read my work. Then last week he emailed to say he was turning me over to a new editor. Four days later, the new guy called to say he’d read several of my novels and loved them. He also asked a bunch of questions about the Jackson series. That was when it occurred to me that they might be looking at all my work and not just the two standalones.

Considering the near misses I’ve had in my writing career, I shouldn’t have let myself think it was possible. But this was Amazon—not the Big 6—and Amazon had already changed my life twice. So why not believe it could happen a third time? The next day my editor—and new best friend☺—took my "project" to an editorial board meeting and it was approved. He called me afterward and made a wonderful offer. I was sitting in my car after dropping off my son, and I managed to stay calm and professional during the conversation. When I hung up, I had to fight the urge to cry. My greatest feeling now is one of relief—like the pressure is off me for the first time in years. I’m no longer alone in this endeavor, scrambling and writing as fast as I can to stay on top of the competition. I now have a supportive partner.

I expect some writers to criticize my decision to give up my indie status. Others will accuse me of making a pact with the devil. But I left my small publisher two years ago because I knew I could go farther and make more money if I were self-published. Now I’m making a similar decision. Amazon will take my career to a level I couldn’t reach on my own.