Mark Edwards is this week celebrating reaching the milestone of selling one million books.
In a blog post on this site, Mark writes, “When my wife bought me a Kindle for my 40th birthday I had no idea that it would lead to the rebirth of my abandoned writing career. I certainly had no inkling that I would be sitting here, almost exactly five years later, having sold one million books.”
The one million total includes approximately 250,000 books co-written with Louise Voss, and is made up of a mix of traditionally-published books and self-published titles. The biggest individual seller is The Magpies, which has shifted 350,000 copies alone. Follow You Home, published in June 2015, is currently in second place having already sold 175,000 copies.
Mark spent most of his twenties and early thirties trying to ‘make it’ as an author, acquiring an agent but unable to get a deal. In 2011, he and Louise self-published Killing Cupid and Catch Your Death, topping the UK Kindle chart. This led to a deal with HarperCollins and a number of deals around the world, including Germany, South Korea and Brazil.
In 2013, following a difficult period, Mark self-published The Magpies. It was a No.1 bestseller in the UK and led to a deal with Thomas & Mercer. Since then, Because She Loves Me was also a No.1 UK bestseller and Follow You Home recently reached the top three on Amazon in the United States.
The success of these books has, according to Mark, “allowed me to become a full-time author, supporting my family and doing what I’ve always wanted to do: earning a living by spending my time making up stories.”
To celebrate reaching this milestone, Mark is giving away a complete set of signed books to one member of his Readers Club. Full details here.
Read Mark’s full blog post here.
Mark’s next book is The Blissfully Dead, co-written with Louise Voss, which is published worldwide on 29 September.
Sat up last night reading and waiting for the boogie man to jump out of the closet – not sure whether he would come out of mine or on the pages. Even after it was revealed that all the players were of this earth I still had the feeling something other-wordly would get them all. This book outstanding!!!!