Digital Book Wizard John Locke’s Simon & Schuster Deal

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CBS Corp.’s Simon & Schuster will distribute in paperback format eight of Mr. Locke’s thrillers, which feature a former CIA assassin named Donovan Creed. Mr. Locke, through his John Locke Books imprint, will publish the books and Simon & Schuster will handle sales and distribution, including returns.

Mr. Locke, a Louisville businessman who put out his first book in 2009, was the first self-published writer to sell 1 million digital books on Amazon.com Inc. Still, he decided to enter the paperback field to capture readers who haven’t yet embraced digital books.

“These are people who wouldn’t have the opportunity to find me otherwise,” said Mr. Locke.

The author noted that the agreement covers titles that he has previously written, and won’t cannibalize his digital sales.

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“The e-book world has created an opportunity in self-publishing that simply didn’t exist 18 months ago,” said Arthur Klebanoff, chief executive of New York-based RosettaBooks LLC, a digital publisher house. “But one of the things not easily understood is that for every John Locke, there are probably 5,000 authors trying and falling short. This level of success is like hitting the lottery.”

Jane Dystel, Mr. Locke’s New York literary agent, said that she was approached by Simon & Schuster and that the two then came to terms on a distribution deal, which will begin in February 2012.

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