Inkitt is a new boutique publishing house. Our first novel launched mid 2016, and since then we’ve published 17 authors, 16 of which have works which became Amazon Best Sellers in their categories. In the months to come we will be publishing a book a week. Here are our success stories:
Just Juliet
‘Just Juliet‘ is a lesbian, YA romance novel, written by Charlotte Reagan who used the launch of the book to come out publicly. Considered by most publishers as ‘risky’ due to its niche genre, it became an instant best seller after winning Inkitt’s Swoon Contest. ‘Just Juliet’ received more than 100 5-star reviews in 9 days.
Successes:
#1 in “Teen & Young Adult Dating & Intimacy eBooks”
#1 in “LGBT”
#1 in “Gay Romance”
#3 in “Teen & Young Adult Literature & Fiction”
#51 out of over 4 million titles on Amazon
Reaper’s Claim
‘Reaper’s Claim‘ was first written on Wattpad and had tremendous success. Simone Elise moved her work to Inkitt and her fans followed, helping her get a publishing deal.
Successes:
#1 Action & Adventure > Women’s Adventure
#1 Erotica > Action & Adventure
#1 Action & Adventure > Romance
#12 out of over 4 million titles on Amazon
Reaper’s Rival
‘Reaper’s Rival’ is the sequel to the best seller Reaper’s Claim. It was originally written on Wattpad as one story but was split into two books for publication. Simone Elise added 40000 words to the second book, writing in new characters and many new twists and turns. The final instalment, Reaper’s Redemption, will be published June 7, 2017.
Successes:
#1 Action & Adventure > Romance
#1 Erotica > Action & Adventure
#1 Erotica > Suspense
#15 out of over 4 million titles on Amazon
Satan’s Son
‘Satan’s Son’ is Simone Elise’s first published book outside of the Reaper’s Claim Trilogy. Unlike the trilogy, this novel is a comedy as Simone wanted to expand her work into new genres.
Successes:
#1 Books > Romance > Paranormal
#1 Kindle Store > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary Fiction > Urban
#2 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Romantic
#26 out of over 4 million titles on Amazon
Alpha Kaden
‘Alpha Kaden’ is the first book in a series by Midika Crane, a student living in a small town in New Zealand, where successfully publishing a book at the age of seventeen is as fiction as what she writes.
Successes:
#1 Books > Romance > Paranormal
#1 Kindle Store > Romance > Paranormal > Werewolves & Shifters
#1 Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Teen & Young Adult > Romance > Paranormal & Fantasy
#17 out of over 4 million titles on Amazon
Ignite
Danielle Rogland began writing Ignite at the age of 17 and finished at age 21. She is now 25 and lives in Seattle, Washington, where she earned her English degree from Seattle Pacific University, and works in marketing and freelance writing while working on her second novel. She grew up near Portland, Oregon, and was always one of those kids who carried around giant books like The Lord of the Rings to read during recess. She can currently be found frequenting comic conventions, pestering her three younger siblings, or hiding out in her home and posting things on social media.
Successes:
#1 Teen & Young Adult > Action & Adventure
#1 Science Fiction & Fantasy ebooks > Post-Apocalyptic
#1 Teen & Young Adult > Science Fiction & Fantasy
#1 Science Fiction & Fantasy > Post-Apocalyptic
#17 out of over 4 million titles on Amazon
Beastly Lights
‘Beastly Lights’ is a new adult romance written by Theresa Jane. The novel started out as fanfiction before developing into something completely unique. Can you guess which popular book series it’s inspired by?
Successes:
#1 Romance > New Adult & College
#1 Women’s Fiction > New Adult & College
#2 Teen & Young Adult
#24 out of over 4 million titles on Amazon
Eric Olafson: Space Pirate
‘Eric Olafson: Space Pirate’ is a fast-paced Space Opera set in 5019. Vanessa Ravencroft has written 30 books in the Galactic Chronicles series and has a wiki page with over 13000 pages of content describing the world she’s created. Eric Olafson: Midshipman is set to be published in Spring 2017.
Successes:
#1 Science Fiction > Space Opera
#1 Science Fiction > Exploration
#1 Military > Space Fleet
#30 out of over 4 million titles on Amazon
More Than A Slave
‘More Than A Slave’ is written by French author Anaelle Gadeyne. When she first started writing at the age of 15, she would put an entire story into Google Translate. More Than A Slave is the first full novel she’s written without using any translation tools.
Successes:
#1 Historical Romance > Regency
#1 Action & Adventure > Women’s Adventure
#1 Romance > Gothic
#49 out of over 4 million titles on Amazon
Spectra
‘Spectra‘ is a paranormal romance with plenty of steam! Ebony Olson is often praised for her ability to write sex scenes. Her 8-year-old daughter has recently started writing as well, but has promised not to read her mom’s books until she’s 17.
Successes:
#1 in Action & Adventure > Women’s Adventure
#1 in Romance > Paranormal > Vampires
#1 in Romance > Paranormal > Angels
#1 in Romance > Gothic
#22 out of over 4 million titles on Amazon
I Was A Bitch
‘I Was A Bitch‘ is a YA Romance novel written by Emily Ruben. Emily is a native French author who writes in English.
Successes:
#1 in Amazon in the “YA Social Issues”
#1 in “Emotions & Feelings”
#71 out of over 4 million titles on Amazon
Aureate Spectacles
‘Aureate Spectacles‘ was originally published under a different name. After receiving little success, Eliott McKay took back the rights and entered the StoryPeak2 contest on Inkitt. She won, got published, and quickly became an Amazon Best Seller.
Successes:
#1 in Paranormal & Urban
#1 in New Adult & College
#1 in Teen & Young Adult Paranormal & Urban
#80 out of over 4 million titles on Amazon
Esper Files
‘Esper Files‘ is a Sci-Fi, superhero novel written by Egan Brass. Although he’s published several other novels under a different pen name, this is the first time he has received a best seller ranking on Amazon. The sequel will be released in January 2017.
Successes:
#1 in “Steampunk” on Amazon
Caged
‘Caged‘ is a psychological thriller with supernatural elements written by Indian author Onaiza Kahn. Onaiza serialized her novel throughout Inkitt’s StoryPeak Novel Contest until she eventually won.
Successes:
#1 on Amazon in “Asian American”
Three Fat Singletons
It took over 10 years for JM Bartholomew to complete her novel ‘Three Fat Singletons‘ as she was basing the plot on events in her own dating life.
Successes:
#1 in “Satire”
#1 in “Humor & Satire”
#1 in “World Literature”
#1 in “Humor & Entertainment”
#46 out of over 4 million titles on Amazon
King’s Lament
‘King’s Lament‘ was co-written by two authors who met while sharing stories in an online writing community and became very close friends. They decided to post in Inkitt’s StoryPeak 2 contest to gain a few extra readers, never expecting to win.
Successes:
#1 in “Gay Romance”
Catalyst Moon
‘Catalyst Moon‘ was originally a Star Wars fanfiction until Lauren L. Garcia adapted her text into an original work in order to enter one of the Inkitt competitions. She ended up winning the Dreamlands Contest and became Inkitt’s first published author. Read more on her journey to publication here.
In the year to come, we will be publishing three to four books every month. Will yours be next?
14 Comments
Impressive results. Well done!
http://www.CTMitchellBooks.com
Thanks, C T Mitchell!
I wish to know more details about taking part in the Novel contest please email me the details [email protected]
I have published several books in Amamzon.com
Hi Pon, just go to http://www.inkitt.com and sign up. Thereafter, you can upload your manuscript and publish it on the site, then go to the contests tab and on the left hand side you will see ‘submit your novel’. Or something like that. Good luck
Thanks, Dean 😉
Hey Pon! We would love to see your work submitted. We actually have two contests on right now. The first is the Amour Contest for original, romance, novellas with over 20,000 words. The second is an original novel contest which is open to all genres of fiction. The winner of each contest receives a publishing deal which includes: Inkitt investing $6000 into marketing your novel, professional editing and cover design, and 25% royalties. I’ve sent you an email with more details. You can also contact me at [email protected] with more questions, or send me your manuscript and I can help you get started with the uploading process.
I’ve looked all over your site and still don’t completely understand all the books showing free copies. Is this somehow related to the contest judging?
Well done. I’m a little confused, though; a few of the novels mentioned above are competing in the current contest. Now, I’m all for authors getting recognition and publicity, but isn’t it slightly unfair for those who haven’t been published to be going up against proven bestsellers? Feels to me like I’m going up against an invincible foe here. 🙂
Hey Dean,
Not to worry! Past winning novels are not eligible to win again. Our published authors just like staying busy in the Inkitt community. Can’t wait to see your work submitted 🙂
Ah I see. Well, that changes things. I feel better now:) Thank you for the swift response. I submitted my novel to the contest yesterday. It’s called Tales of Kalash, Part I. My other novel isn’t ready yet, but I’ll be putting it up on Inkitt soon anyway as a WIP. Are there any prizes for runner ups? An honourable mention, perhaps? Lol
The success stories are brilliant and encouraging to read, for a total newbie who’s just uploaded his romcom THE ART OF STAYING UP THERE can you say a little more about the current competition? How is the winner selected? And what are the most effective strategies for publicising and selling your book? Are there any blogs articles up on Inkitt that could point me in the right direction?
Thanks so much! We are very excited for all our authors 🙂
The current novel contest is open to all genres of original fiction. All you need to do is submit your work and you are eligible to win a publishing deal with Inkitt. The winner is selected based on reader engagement levels. For tips on growing your audience and effective strategies to manoeuvre through the publishing world, you can check out our blog (www.inkitt.com/blog), and our YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEsQoqdDNVw_OTCt_Ej14yQ).
It’s so great to have you with us!
I worry a bit, because although I have been told ‘you’re good at what you do’ I don’t believe it. I’ve been writing on Wattpad since I signed up in 2013, that was a little over 4 years ago and still I have not achieved any recognition from those who’ve actually read my work. I don’t want to come across as greedy but the book I’ve published on Inkitt (Declared Dead) is also on Wattpad and won’t go past 2k reads, I know that’s already a lot but others have reached a completely phenomenal amount compared to myself. When I say I have yet to receive recognition, to me thats just comments and votes on my work, yes people are reading it but to me any criticism is good criticism, I just want someone to tell me if I’m doing ok.
Hey Keearna,
Thanks for your note! Getting feedback on work is important for all writers. Sometimes, the best way to get the feedback you need is to ask for it. There is a lot of footwork that goes along with being an author. I would recommend that you check out the Inkitt Groups (www.inkitt.com/groups) and the facebook groups that Inkitt has partnered with (see: on your analytics page) to find and ask readers to read and review your work. There are plenty of friendly readers out there who would be happy to read your work. There was also recently a story swap happening in the Inkitt Review group. Perhaps you would like to participate? Wishing you all the best!