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British Fantasy Novel Writer Backs the Web As the Best Place to Release His Book
The British fantasy fiction author of ‘The Shade’ bets on the power of the web to prove that the publishing industry works against writers, writing and readers.
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October 14, 2007 (FPRC) -- Fantasy fiction authors are normally too well grounded in reality to believe they can really get very far without the backing of one of the publishing giants, yet this is exactly what the author of The Shade, a fantasy fiction novel that’s picking up readers and fans, is betting against.
Thomas Hunt has repeatedly refused to give interviews, be photographed or even issue press releases (which makes this one a departure from character). Reclusive and retiring he nonetheless bets on the power of the web to beat the publishing industry which he has publicly condemned as recidivist, entrenched and arcane in its processes.
“By the time you have done the rounds and your book has been rejected a dozen times by editors who really are too worried about the next step in their careers to actually assess a book and work to get it to market the average author has began to lose all faith in himself and interest in his work,” says Thoma Hunt, a published writer who almost gave up on his book despite the many glowing reports he had had from publishing house readers.
“What made me believe again was the fact that a friend read it not knowing it was mine and asked if the author had yet written the next one.”
That single reference made Thomas Hunt decide to publish his book himself paying for its editing and book cover design and publishing it as an eBook and a print-on-demand book through his website: www.fantasynovel.co.uk
“I got some expert help from an SEO website which taught me the basics of what I need to do and I am eager to see how far we go.”
With orders from as far away as Australia and New Zealand the author thinks he might have just hit gold. “Print on demand books are more expensive than paperbacks so I simply reduced my royalty to next to nothing to bring the price down to that of a normal paperback. If it works and becomes a best seller the gamble will have paid off, if it doesn’t I will be no worse off than before.”
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Notes to Editors: The Shade is a book about redemption apparently inspired by an Arthur Hugh Clough poem. It takes place in a parallel universe where there is great peril as some Adversary threatens every known universe, not just the one where the protagonist resides. The author has taken the unusual step of creating blogs for each of the main characters on the book’s website where their past, their thoughts and their actions before the tale appear and help explain some of the book’s background.
The website is at www.fantasynovel.co.uk and the owner can be contacted at sales@fantasynovel.co.uk
Send an email to David Jones of Amerland Enterprises Ltd
+44(0)8708030851
Keywords:
British fantasy author, The Shade, Fantasy novel
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