BEE Books: 5 Self Published Books That Made It Big!

There is a myth that surrounds self-publishing: you were not good enough to be published traditionally, therefore you shelled out the money to see your name in print. Nothing can be further from the truth… Take a look at these 5 Self-Published Books that Made it BIG in the market!

1.Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Christopher Paolini’s parents saw his manuscript of the first book, Eragon, of the Inheritance Cycle and decided to self-publish it. Paolini then spent a year travelling around the United States promoting the novel. He would dress up in costumes and talk to people for eight to ten hours a day, and sell his novel. He was slowly getting tired of it, when Carl Hiassen discovered the book, and got it republished by Alfred A. Knof. Eargon went on to be made into a movie…but it wasn’t an adaptation that the fans of the novel particularly liked.

2.The Martian by Andy Weir

Back in 2011 Andy Weir released his science fiction novel, The Martian. He had self-published the novel. The book went on to become a resounding success, and in 2014, Crown Publishing purchased the rights of the book and re-released it. In October 2015, the movie adaptation of the same was released, starring Matt Damon.

3.Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Still Alice was the story of a successful cognitive psychology professor, happily married but begins to suffer from early Alzheimer’s disease, which changes her relationship with everyone in her life. Genova self-published the book with the help of iUniverse. Simon & Schuster acquired the rights for the book and released it in 2009, January. Still Alice was made into a movie starring Julianna Moore.

4. The Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi
Closer home, when Amish Tripathi’s agent couldn’t get any publisher to be interested in The Immortals of Meluha, he decided to self-publish it. They got creative with their promotional campaign, posting a live-action video and offering the first chapter as a free download! The book was such a resounding success, that Amish had to change publishers just to keep up with the demand for his book. He went on to become one of India’s most celebrated authors.

5. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

There has been so much talk about E.L. James’ erotic novel that we know that you must have heard of it. But did you know that originally this was a work of fanfiction, called Master of the Universe, with Edward Cullen and Bella Swan of Twilight. Yes. James deleted all the Twilight references and even this book got made into a movie!

Did You Know?

Emily Bronte paid a publisher 50 pounds to help publish her book. She did not live to see the sensation Wuthering Heights would eventually become.

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BEE Books is an Indian publlishing house headquartered in Kolkata. We have our regional office in Delhi. If you have any queries regarding publishing assistance, please feel free to mail us at: query@beebooks.in