After she was dropped by her agent, Alex Aster turned to a books-obsessed corner of TikTok to gauge interest in her YA novel … and now Lightlark is one of the most eagerly anticipated releases of the yearHaving finally published her first novel, Alex Aster was feeling disheartened. The book had tanked during the pandemic and she had been dropped by her literary agent. Then, on 13 March 2021, she decided to take to TikTok, asking her followers if they would: “read a book about a cursed island that only appears once every 100 years to host a game that gives the six rulers of the realm a chance to break their curses.” One of the rulers must die, the short video revealed, “even as love complicates everything” for the heroine, Isla Crown.Aster didn’t expect much, especially when she checked in a few hours later to see that her post had only clocked up about 1,000 views. Maybe the books world was right, she thought. Maybe there wasn’t a market for Lightlark, a young adult story she had been writing and rewriting for years, to no interest from publishers. The next day, however, she woke up to see her video had been viewed more than a million times. A week later, Lightlark had gone to auction and she had a six-figure deal with Amulet Books. Last month, Universal preemptively bought the film rights for, in her words, “more zeros than I’ve seen in my life”. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2022-08-16 13:32:30 UTC ]
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 08/08/2011 - 16:08 Literary agent Andrew Wylie has said publishers need to "stand firm" in the face of digital companies like Amazon and Apple or risk being locked into an insupportable business model that is unable to reward writers. In an... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 29/07/2011 - 11:20 Usborne has bought a debut novel from prolific young adult blogger Lenore Appelhans, which the publisher expects to be massive following the sale of film rights to CBS Film and interest from YA bloggers. Fiction editorial... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 08/04/2011 - 08:25 A history of the Royal British Legion and a six-figure deal for a food allergy cookbook are among five acquisitions signed by Collins ahead of the London Book Fair. Publishing director Iain MacGregor bought world rights in all... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 04/03/2011 - 10:14 Sceptre has signed a six-figure deal for two novels by debut author Jess Richards, including Snake Ropes, set on an island "off the edge of the map". Deputy publisher Jocasta Hamilton made the deal for UK and Commonwealth... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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