How an Agent Works with a Self-Published Author

By Jason Boog 

Author Victorine Lieske has sold 100,000 copies of her self-published eBook, Not What She Seems. Despite this milestone, she is now working with Movable Type Literary Group agent Rachel Vogel to sell her work to a traditional publisher.

We caught up with Movable Type principal Jason Allen Ashlock to find out what a traditional book deal could offer a self-published author.

Ashlock explained: “Ebooks, despite their incredible rate of growth, aren’t the preferred medium for a majority of readers, so having a print deal with wide distribution is important … And having a publisher relaunching the book in print and electronic form a few months from now gives the property another opportunity to succeed in a big way.”

He concluded by addressing the question of pricing: “Once a negotiation with a traditional publisher is entered into, we have to decide: how long do we keep the ebook available? Once the book is relaunched through the publisher, what’s the price on that ebook? It can’t be $0.99, obviously. But we do have to keep the price low.”