In this guest post on Gillian Polack’s blog, Sophie Masson talks about her busy year, and in particular the publication of BLACK WINGS by the ’boutique enterprise’ ACHUKAbooks.
It is a big, epic story of the French Revolution, and though several publishers said they liked it very much, they all said it was ‘too uncommercial’–they were afraid at least to take a risk. But Michael Thorn, publisher at Achuka Books, saw the potential in it—loved it—and published it. It’s just so wonderful to see it out there, getting readers and great reviews—not only has it finally got to readers all over the world and not just here, but just the fact of its being out there increases its chances of its finding print publication in the long run. This is where digital really comes into its own, and Achuka Books, which publishes books by both well-known and less well-known authors, is exactly the kind of boutique enterprise which we’re seeing a lot more of, and which are greatly enriching the modern publishing landscape.