‘the epublishing sensation of 2012’ — The Guardian
I first met Rachel Abbott on GoodReads.com in early February, 2012. She had received a lot of sales in the UK, but not so many in the US. I wanted to know why, because my UK sales were very poor; in fact, I think I even eclipsed her US sales — albeit briefly ;) — at one point. She kindly shared with me some ideas for promoting my book, and also pointed out to me that I hadn't put my own book on my own page at GoodReads (in fact I hadn't even set up an author account!). You live and learn!
Well, that was 3 months ago. Today Rachel Abbott — with one book (digital format only) to her name — has sold about 100,000 copies of her thriller, Only the Innocent, which is, as of writing, the fourth highest-selling Kindle book this year.
Originally from the north of England, she now lives in rural Italy, where, no doubt, she finds the quiet and inspiration to write. Recently, however, she left her restored country house and travelled all the way to England to attend the London Book Fair. Whilst there, the Guardian newspaper, reporting on the event, found out about Rachel and referred to her as "the epublishing sensation of 2012".
Her novel has hit the #1 spot in Thrillers, Suspense, British Detective stories, and, most importantly, in the Amazon paid rankings!
So, why has it done so well? Part of the reason has been Rachel's organized and "high-risk" marketing plan. She has focused on getting good reviews. However, the book itself is the chief reason for her success. She has, quite simply, written well a book that people want to read, and one that is in a popular genre; thrillers, suspense, crime, psychological dramas, have a high frequency among the Amazon Top 100 best sellers.
The more-than-one-hundred-and-fifty five-star reviews attest how well received the book has been. Just read some of these excerpts from the novel's reviews …
“Rachel Abbott has written an amazing debut novel with lots of twists and turns, adding layer upon layer that will leave you guessing right up to the end. Her characters are well-drawn and very complex, and she sets the scenes perfectly … A great story, executed with style. Bravo, Ms. Abbott!.”
“Abbott weaves together a detailed plot with well-developed characters to create suspense, tension - and empathy where you least expect it.”
“Written beautifully, maintaining the pace with short, punchy chapters; so satisfying - and so unsettling.”
“This writer held my attention with her plot so well, that I came back from a live concert half way through to finish off the last quarter of the book.”
Like many indie authors, Rachel originally had no luck finding an agent (she has one now, of course!), and decided to go it alone. I bet she's glad she did. New she looks forward to seeing her novels on the front desk of book stores.
Rachel's book is listed in our British Indie Fiction store under Thrillers/Mystery. You can subscribe to her blog at rachelabbottwriter.wordpress.com or follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Rachel__Abbott. Her official website is www.rachel-abbott.com.
Read more about this story, in Rachel's own words, on her blog.
