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We are thrilled to hear that Gary Hurlstone, who published his book The Sand Mandala on CompletelyNovel, has now got a publishing contract! He used the ratings, reviews and sales he got from CompletelyNovel to demonstrate the market for his book. Applying a healthy dose of entrepreneurial spirit to his writing has proved a great success, and we hope it will inspire other writers to do the same!
Here’s what Gary had to say about it all:
“In March 2009 a friend told me about a website she had just discovered, www.completelynovel.com — a site for aspiring authors and lovers of books.
Immediately I decided to upload my book The Sand Mandala. By mid June, and definitely as a result of their help, I had a publishing contract. Of course I have received my quota of rejection slips—we all do, but CN feels different, the flip side of “we read your work with interest but…” A warm embrace, rather than the cold shower of indifference!
Everyone at CN has been very helpful, the online community encouraging and positive. By May I started to approach agents, armed with viewing figures, chart positions, ratings—tangible evidence that someone other than my best friend and second cousin were reading my work. At last I had something I could show to publishers, something that might just get their attention for a moment: I had a track record and evidence that a market existed for my story. Suddenly I was less of a risk. By the beginning of June two publishers were reading my full manuscript. And then…
New writers need to be encouraged and nurtured. This is what CN has done for me, provided me with an opportunity to publish and print, to gain publicity and to receive reviews from a rapidly growing online community. Think of CN as a second skin in an industry where you need several. The rest, as they say, you have to do yourself!
The publishers, Earnshaw Books gave us their view:
“CompletelyNovel was a great help in helping us decide to publish Gary Hurlstone’s book. It provided us with the rare chance to gauge a real audience’s reaction prior to release, giving us a headstart in the processes of marketing and preparing the book for publication.”
Gary’s experience is also a great example of how the web can break down geographical barriers. Gary is based in China, CompletelyNovel has readers from the United Kingdom, the US and Europe and Earnshaw Books operates from Hong Kong.
Gary’s book will be available on CompletelyNovel for a limited amount of time before it is taken off to be edited by his publisher. You can read it online here.
We wish Gary all the very best of luck with his book – and hope that he will continue to promote it through CompletelyNovel when it is out in its next iteration!
Congratulations goes out to Gary and to the CN team!
I’m sure this is the first of many triumphs to come!
Congrats Gary and all the best of luck. Any way we can help in future let us know!
Just like to say a big ‘thank-you’ to everyone and hope that this is just the first of your many success stories- I am sure there will be more to follow given the quality of the writing to be found on this site. And yes, I will certainly let you know!
Gary
Just like to say a big ‘thank-you’ to everyone and hope that this is just the first of your many success stories- I am sure there will be more to follow given the quality of the writing to be found on this site. And yes, I will certainly let you know!
Gary
