Veteran Author Jumps Ship to Cutting-Edge Publisher

Feb. 13, 2014 - PRLog -- Will North is an international, award-winning author who jokingly calls himself "the most successful author you've never heard of."  Why? Because for many years he made his living as a “ghostwriter” for people like Bill Clinton, Al Gore, several famous mountaineers, a team of dinosaur hunters, and others.

Then, one day, fiction arrived on North's doorstep like a gate-crasher.  He wrote his first novel, The Long Walk Home, in only ninety days.  "It just exploded from me," he recalls.  To his surprise, he enjoyed fiction as much, if not more, than his nonfiction writing career. But would it pay the bills? After Will's first two novels of love and second chances (The Long Walk Home and Water, Stone, Heart) were sold for major advances to an imprint of Random House, the future looked promising. But unexpectedly, Random House quickly shuttered the imprint and both novels ended up in publishing limbo - orphaned.  North eventually had his rights reverted back, allowing him to seek new options for his work.

Since then, much has changed in the publishing world. The more Mr. North explored his options, the more convinced he became that he should look for something different, something cutting edge. Will searched for a publisher that was focused on the future of publishing, not the past.  He found Booktrope, a Seattle-based publishing start-up.

Instead of fighting the rapid changes in the publishing and digital book world, Booktrope has embraced them. Booktrope uses strategies like free book giveaways and blog tours to target their readers and help spread the word about their titles, rather than more traditional methods. Most importantly, their Team Publishing concept offers authors the support they need to succeed, but also allows them more creative control…and much higher royalties. All this appealed to North, so with the introduction of editor-in-chief of Author magazine, Bill Kenower, North reached out to the Booktrope staff.

“It was clear to me that the world of books was changing rapidly, and if I wanted to be able to continue to do what I love, I needed a champion on my side. What could be better than a company which is ready to innovate the entire process?”

Most importantly, Will North fans are thrilled to have access once again to his first two novels, as well as a third, newly released novel Seasons' End.  His fourth novel, the first in a new murder mystery series,  is slated for release in late spring. Fan response has been wildly enthusiastic, and early promotional efforts have proven fruitful.

Says Booktrope CEO Ken Shear, “That an author of this caliber and reputation has chosen to work with us is exceptional. We intend to continue to earn his confidence while earning income for all concerned. This is only the beginning of many great things to come.”

 ** All books listed are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks**