News & Reviews

WORD: Barry Eisler to self-publish novel 'The Detachment' in June, pulls out of St. Martin's deal

In a surprise turnaround that sent shock waves through the book publishing industry, best-selling author Barry Eisler has pulled out of a reported $500,000 deal with St. Martin's Press imprint Minotaur Books and in June will self-publish "The Detachment," the first of two novels he was to write for Minotaur.

Eisler announced the news to author Joe Konrath, saying, "I think I can do better in the long term on my own."

Asked why he pulled out of the St. Martin's deal, Eisler cited the Internet's growing potential for authors to reach book fans and a higher royalty rate from publishing The Detachment as an e-book on his own, which he said was 17.5% with St. Martin's vs 70% self-pubbing.

He also cited concerns about the delay betweeen completion and publication of his novel

"The book is nearly done, but it wouldn’t have been made available until Spring of 2012. I can publish it myself a year earlier," he told Konrath. "That’s a whole year of actual sales I would have had to give up."

Eisler, whose two-book deal came at an auction by Writers House agent Dan Conaway, didn't say if the move meant he was no longer with the agency.

Eisler is a former covert CIA operative turned international thriller writer who created the John Rain Series of novels. His most recent work is a short story "The Left Coast" set in the NorCal town of Arcata that's available at Amazon and other online retailers.

For more information about Eisler's books check out his website.

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