Scott Sigler Scores a Touchdown with ‘The Rookie’
Mister James | Apr 26, 2009 | Comments 1
Something truly amazing happened in the world of online fiction yesterday and you can bet that when something this big happens, one name is attached to it: Scott Sigler!
To coincide with the NFL draft, Scott Sigler released his novel, The Rookie, as a limited edition print run of 3000 numbered copies. Independent of any major publishing house. The catch? You could only buy it online from www.scottsigler.com. Complete with an embossed hardcover and 8 plates inside showing each teams logo, aliens and uniforms, this one of a kind beauty sells for $34.95 but if you use one of the special coupon codes you can save three bucks. Not a bad deal. It’s a story that combines the intense gridiron action of “Any Given Sunday” with the space opera style of “Star Wars” and the criminal underworld of “The Godfather.”.
Sigler has been one of the forerunners when it comes to online fiction, first releasing his novels as free podcasts which eventually landed him a deal with Crown Publishing. Over the years he has built a loyal fan following of ‘Junkies’ and his latest hardcover release, Contagious, debuted on the New York Times Bestseller list. He’s an inspiration to me and a force to be reckoned with in the publishing industry. Case in point: The Rookie.
In just 24 hours, The Rookie sold 806 copies with no help from a major publisher and no media coverage of the sorts. Just good old fashioned word of mouth that spread throughout social networking sites on the web. It was truly an amazing thing to watch as the numbers kept going up and up. At this rate all 3000 copies should be gone by weeks end.
Is this the future of publishing? I don’t know. As someone who is following in the footsteps of Sigler and others like him, I like to think so. Regardless, he made history yesterday once again and that’s all that matters.
Congratulations Scott! I got my copy and wish you nothing but success with this one. When one author succeeds, we all win!
Filed Under: Blog
Yesterday was an awesome thing to be a part of, even on such a small scale, and I am really excited for Scott. It’s incredible that in just 24 hours he sold nearly 1/3 of his inventory. One of the things that gets me is that even with a traditional publishing deal these days, you are still responsible for so much of your own promotion. Things like what Sigler did this weekend are good news for those who want to drive a lot of traffic and support toward their endeavors through internet mediums like twitter.