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  • I'm a writer, journalist, and the editor of The Gambit, the alt-weekly newspaper in New Orleans.

    Journalism: My work has appeared in The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Globe & Mail (Canada), The Times- Picayune (New Orleans), The Oregonian, and Willamette Week, as well as in magazines including Details, Vogue, Publishers Weekly, and Portland Monthly.

    Publishing: Tight Shot, my first novel, was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America. Its sequel, Hot Shot, was roundly ignored by everyone, but was a far better book. I'm also a member of the National Book Critics Circle.

    Stage: I was a member of the Groundlings and Circle Repertory West in Los Angeles, and am a playwright (see "Stage" in the right-hand rail).

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« The Portland Tribune: what the hell? | Main | Desperate times in the newspaper & magazine industries »

June 24, 2008

Another self-published book becomes a bestseller

I'm a sucker for stories about people who self-publish their books and somehow, against all odds, manage to find success. In today's New York Times, Motoko Rich writes about William P. Young, a former hotel night clerk who self-published his novel The Shack, and found it move from Christian bookstores to, well...

Just over a year after it was originally published as a paperback, The Shack had its debut at No. 1 on the New York Times trade paperback fiction best-seller list on June 8 and has stayed there ever since. It is No. 1 on Borders Group’s trade paperback fiction list, and at Barnes & Noble it has been No. 1 on the trade paperback list since the end of May, outselling even Mr. Tolle’s spiritual guide “A New Earth,” selected by Ms. Winfrey’s book club in January.

Its publisher, Windblown Media, a company that was formed expressly to publish The Shack in May of last year, estimates that the book has sold more than one million copies.

The article says that Young filed for bankruptcy and lost his house at auction a few years back, and that "with proceeds from book sales, he has been able to pay several bills."

11:54 PM in Books, Fiction, Publishing |

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Comments

Matt Bors

one million! That's great. I'd say that puts you squarely in the category of people who are "able to pay several bills."

Posted by: Matt Bors | June 25, 2008 at 01:45 PM

The comments to this entry are closed.

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