I’m Going Manga!

Last week I hinted that I would have some good news to share soon. And here it is!

I am very happy to announce that I’ve sold the Japanese translation rights to my Amber Quill Press romantic comedy, HEAD OVER HEELS, to Ohzora Publishing in Japan. Ohzora has published a lot of Harlequin novels as manga (Japanese comic) paperbacks, and that’s what they’ll be doing with my book. I also sold the serialization rights and ebook rights. HEAD OVER HEELS will publish in Japanese manga over cell phones as well as in traditional ebook manga format.

Now here’s the interesting part. I didn’t go looking for this opportunity, it came to me. Somehow, Ohzora became interested in my book. I still have no clue how or why. I’ve been dealing with a literary agent in Japan, and I asked her to ask them, but then she went on holidays, so for now I still don’t know. I was going on my merry way enjoying the summer and working on various manuscripts when I received an email forwarded from an Amber Quill staff member—from the scouting division of an NYC literary agency. I’d never heard of the NYC scouting people, nor the Japanese literary agency they were working with, nor had I heard of Ohzora. At first I thought, this can’t be legit. But I did some major networking, including contacting a couple of State-side agents I’ve submitted to in the past. I learned that all parties involved were indeed legit.

What makes the whole thing sweeter is that while Amber Quill operates on a royalty-only model, Ohzora offers advances as well as royalties. So I’m finally getting an advance for HEAD OVER HEELS—years after its initial publication in English. That makes me giggle. It’s a decent advance, too, one that would more than satisfy RWA-PAN if they counted foreign translation advances (I have no clue if they do, and it doesn’t matter, because I’m already a member of PAN thanks to the novellas I’ve published under my pen name). So, while some members of the romance writing community aren’t quite ready to accept ebooks or accept publishing with a royalty-only house like Amber Quill, in this case it’s worked out wonderfully. I have a book I love on the cyber-shelves, and now I’ve sold the Japanese translation rights. I have a wide grin on my face that’s not likely to disappear soon.

More good news! I just learned that HEAD OVER HEELS is now available in Kindle format. Yippee!

By Cindy

I'm irritated because my posts won't publish.

16 comments

  2. How awesome! Cindy, I’m clicking my heels for you!

    You’re reporting this to Publishers Marketplace, right?

  3. Thanks, Avery and Edie.

    Edie, yes, I will report to PM. Will probably wait a week or so.

    Avery, LOL, I think I can call myself an international *something.* Superstar, I’m not so sure. How about an international noob? (dh-speak for noodle-brain, one of my nicknames).

  6. Cindy, I know I’ve said “congrats” on this before, but — wow — is it ever worth repeating! I’ll look forward to hearing further details on this as you learn more about it. Way to go!!!

  10. Hi D.D., yes, it will be very cool to see how my characters look in the manga world. It’ll also be sorta weird, LOL.

  15. Major congrats, Cindy!!! 🙂 My two kiddies love reading manga. My son was very imperssed when I mentioned someone I knew had sold a story in manga format. 🙂 Interestingly, my dd started reading a manga series (Vampire Kisses) and discovered the author had written a couple of teen books with the same characters. Well, she has since bought all six volumes and is awaiting the release of the next manga. 🙂 I hope this sale brings you much success! 🙂

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