Jackie Collins has become the latest mainstream author to announce a move into self-publishing. Having sold more than 400m copies of her 28 novels, Collins has now completely rewritten one of her biggest hits – 1979′s The Bitch – and has announced that she will be releasing the book herself for just $2.99. She says she will continue to self-publish some of her works if the experiment is a success.
Although Jackie Collins isn’t leaving her deal with US publisher Macmillan, she is clearly in the mood to try something new. And she has a strong level of name recognition that means she will not face the usual struggles that new ebook authors have to deal with. Ultimately, as Robert McCrum notes, her ebook experiment could drive more readers to sample her traditionally published novels.
The experiment seems to be confined, for now, to the US. In the UK, the updated version of The Bitch is published with her regular publisher Simon & Schuster. But she says that she has a book of short stories lined up, which traditional publishers think don’t usually sell too well, and the self-publishing route might be the best way for her to get those out to the public.
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