It began with the man they call Scott Sigler. Scott had a dream of becoming a published author and he was well on his way, already with his first book in production. But in 2002, when financial woes were hitting companies after the 9/11 event, Scott's book was pulled from production. Then, in 2005, he resurrected his works by podcasting his novels in the tradition of the old time radio serials of the 1950's. He's a writer of science fiction/horror novels and has gained a "junkie" following of fans since 2005. He wrote such books as Earthcore, Ancestor, Infected, Contagious, Nocturnal and The Rookie. All of them received high praise.
I first found his work by listening to Earthcore, which was so good, I was hooked. He later found some progress when he accepted a contract with a small press called Dragon Moon Publishing. In order to boost sales and gain attention he implemented what all podcasters know to be "The Amazon Rush day."
Put simply, his publisher told him when the book would be released, he let everyone know on the internet (with an ever-growing mountain of fans and downloads) that he was coming out with Ancestor on April 1st, 2007. Everyone bought it the same day and as a result his book was boosted to #7 on the Amazon charts Bestselling list. When he made the switch to Crown publishing, a division of the titan publishing company known as Random House, he did the same amazon rush with his novel Infected. He has since become a New York Times Bestselling author. He still podcasts, his sequel to Infected called Contagious is a hit with readers and listeners alike. Just recently he announced the re-release of Ancestor, his first hit with the readers, with a brand new cover and sure to have some more goodies.
After this monumental idea, other others decided it was their time to shine. Such authors as Seth Harwood, Mur Lafferty, J.c. Hutchins and Phil Rossi have gained readers through this system. That is what it is all about: Readers. If the point of movies is to get asses in seats, then the point of books is to get them in the hands and in front of the eyes of your potential audience. So, it is with great pleasure that I announce my first book in print: The collection of short stories that I've been working on. From today, you, the readers, have about a month until the book is released. I'm just beaming with excitement and am eager to know just how many people will read my work. I hope you enjoy it too.
In the meantime, I'd love to do some guest blogs to anyone who will let me.
Some of my shorts will make an appearance on some future blog posts and I plan to podcast the collection soon. Be sure to tell your friends and spread the word.
September 2nd, 2009 2:00pm. Keep that date in mind.
"The death of an author is obscurity." ~ Liz Dubelman
