The New York Times has an interesting article today about a screenwriter who self-published a short story on the Amazon Kindle store. “The Variant” is a spy-thriller that John August first tested out with a small group assembled from his Twitter followers, then slightly revised, formatted for the Kindle, and is now selling for 99 cents.
He’s found modest success with the release, I’m assuming at least in part because he has 6,000 Twitter followers and is a known screenwriter with big-league movie credits to his name. But I’m sure it’s also because the story is entertaining and well-written. (I haven’t read it yet.)
As of Friday, “The Variant” was ranked No. 69 on Amazon’s list of most popular Kindle offerings, right behind “My Sister’s Keeper,” by Jodi Picoult.
“I’ve made about enough to buy four Kindles,” said Mr. August.
I love this idea of accomplished, professional writers self-publishing at will, on a personal schedule independent of the sales cycles of the book industry. The manuscript moves directly from the writer to the reader. While I’m sure it won’t always be the best way to distribute new works, I think it’s fascinating and exciting to see it happening now in isolated instances like this.
Download a sample of “The Variant” to your Kindle or iPhone on the official Amazon page.
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