Newsletter platform plucks novel from Hachette
Literary stars Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club author, and Salman Rushdie, author of Midnight’s Children, have signed up with newsletter platform Substack to publish serialized novels and other content.
The Palahniuk deal is particularly interesting as it looks like the author was publishing the book with Hachette which has agreed to hand it back as long as he gives them another book.
Palahniuk has had more than 20 books published, including the massive best-seller Fight Club, which was made into a smash-hit film. He will be publishing free and paid editions of his Substack, covering short fiction and essays as well as his new novel Greener Pastures, which will be serialized in 52 weekly newsletters in the paid edition. The paid edition costs $6 a month.
The author is keen to use Substack to publish his short stories after having problems with placing them as the traditional marketplace has shrank.
Palahniuk was offered an advance from Substack for the book that was comparable with the up-front cash offered by Hachette. He is using the advance to fund a writing community project in Portland, Oregon.
Chuck Palahniuk’s newsletter, Plot Spoiler, can be found here at Substack.
Booker Prize winner Salman Rushdie will be publishing a serialized novella on Substack in 49 issues of a newsletter.
There will be free and paid editions, featuring short stories and writing about books and films. The paid edition is $6 a month.
The novella, The Seventh Wave, is about a film director and an actor which is written in the style of New Wave cinema.
Rushdie has signed up to Substack for a 12-month deal and he’s interested in opening up a dialogue with readers.
Salman Rushdie’s newsletter, Salman’s Sea of Stories, can be found here at Substack.