Self-published novelist Tracey Garvis Graves landed a two-book deal with Penguin Group’s Plume imprint, and she said the deal is for “seven figures, a good seven figures.” Fourteen literary agents rejected the book before the author decided to self-publish her debut romance, On the Island.
Since she self-published in March, Graves has sold 340,000 copies of the book and broke into the New York Times bestseller list. Literary agent Jane Dystel negotiated the deal with executive editor Jill Schwartzman.
Here’s more about the book: “It centers on Anna Emerson, a thirty-year-old English teacher who accepts a summer job on a tropical island. There, she’ll be tutoring sixteen-year-old T.J., who is behind on his schoolwork because of cancer treatments. But as they fly over the Maldives, their plane crashes into shark infested waters. They manage to get to shore, but find themselves stranded on an uninhabited island with nothing but the clothes they are wearing. As weeks become months, the castaways encounter many obstacles including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the looming possibility that T.J.’s cancer could return. But as their bond grows stronger with each passing birthday, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.”
Penguin re-issued the eBook version of On the Island last week and will release the paperback version of On the Island on July 10th. USA Today reports that this deal also includes the publication of Graves’ second novel, Covet. The women’s fiction title will be available in December 2013.