Austin, Minn., author Amanda Hocking, who has sold more than a million copies of her vampire-troll paranormal romances via e-books and print-on-demand, has signed a four-book deal with St. Martin's Press in New York, reportedly for $2 million.
Hocking, 26, turned to e-books last spring after traditional publishers turned her down. Her books took off quickly, selling 900,000 copies since April. In a blog post earlier this week, she explained why she was now looking again at traditional publishing: Time.
"I'm a writer. I want to be a writer," she wrote on Amanda Hocking's Blog.
"I do not want to spend 40 hours a week handling emails, formatting covers, finding editors, etc. Right now, being me is a full time corporation. ... I am spending so much time on things that are not writing."
The New York Times reported this morning that Hocking's deal is worth $2 million. A spokesman for St. Martin's confirmed a deal later in the day.
Read our full story, and a profile of Hocking, in tomorrow's Star Tribune.
