A top best-seller on self-publishing Lulu.com for the past two years, Jeremy Robinson’s The Didymus Contingency is a now finalist in Media Predict’s Project Publish contest with Touchstone Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc. We checked in with Jeremy for a quick e-mail interview. See his market page and tell us what you think.

MP: Tell us the story of what you’ve gone through to try to get your book into print.

In 2002 I wrote the novel, which was a big change for me as I had written screenplays for years prior. A few months after finishing the first draft I contacted James Rollins, who at the time only had three novels out (Subterranean, Excavation and Deep Fathom). Long story short, he read and loved the novel and provided a blurb. Then…I did nothing with it for three years (while I wrote two more novels and two more screenplays).

I kept in contact with Rollins over the years and he’s read several of my novels to date, and when we spoke about The Didymus Contingency again, we agreed that while it was original and a fun read, the mix of religious and mainstream thriller genres would be a hard sell at the time. So I decided to self-publish the book, having never sent it to an agent or publisher, and prove the book’s worth before bothering to spend a massive amount of time, energy and money only to end of in the frigid land of the submission slush pile.

The book debuted [on self-publishing site Lulu.com] in 2005, and after a slow start, during which I realized I needed to learn a lot about marketing, sales began to pick and have done so since. Sales were close to 6,000 last time I tallied them and may well be beyond that now. My goal for the book has been to sell 10,000 copies (the number of sales agents and publishers look for in self-published books to gauge their worth) and I’m well on my way to reaching that goal. But what has been most interesting about my experience with self-publishing the book is that recognition for it came long before reaching my goal. Just two months after publishing the book I was contacted by my agent, and signed with him a week later. I’ve also been contacted by more than 30 publishers, foreign and domestic, which has resulted in four foreign translation deals and put me in the crosshairs of several U.S. publishers that have taken an active interest in my newest novels. I can’t elaborate on that yet, but I’m expecting news soon.

MP: Didymus is a true juggernaut on Lulu – the No. 1 fiction book for two years running. Did you ever think that would happen when you first decided to publish there?

I honestly had no idea how well the book would catch on. Before publishing the book I heard from a large amount of nay-sayers, who insisted the book would flop (as most POD books do) which was extremely discouraging, but persistent marketing and then a true fan following have made the difference and kept the book selling at a fantastic rate as word-of-mouth spreads.

MP: Another finalist, Hollywood Car Wash, is also a print-on-demand success. Are publishers and agents hesitant to work with books first published at like Lulu or iUniverse? What’s the response been like?

I’ve read several times that agents and publishers are wary of print-on-demand books, but this has not been the case with me. […] I think if POD authors put together a quality book (story, writing, editing, cover, interior design) and market it well, people will notice. Most of the publishers contacting me don’t know my sales figures. They’re simply judging the book for itself and taking interest.

MP: Didymus obviously has a really great hook: time travel meets Christ’s resurrection. With such an instantly engaging premise, have you received interest from film companies?

Indeed, I have. Actually, the first incarnation of The Didymus Contingency was as a screenplay. It was optioned and went into development at an independent studio in 2001, but alas, the money for what would be a fairly big budget film, failed to be raised. This near-film experience was what convinced me to write Didymus as a novel as well. I also receive e-mails from fans all the time, hoping that the book would be made into a movie.

MP: What do you think needs to happen to improve the book business? Are the best books making it before audiences?

The book business needs to update the way they market books. True, large publishers sell gobs more books than I do, but two things are facts: 1. People are reading less and less, so as a whole, books are either not gaining new readers or are losing previous readers. Maybe both. 2. The book industry is not targeting new readers where they hang out—online. I would be interested to know how much a large publisher spends on marketing for every 6,000 books they sell. Because I haven’t spent a dime for my 6000. All my marketing is done, for free, online. All it takes is time. […] And the internet is cheap. If I can sell 6,000 books on my own, only online and without spending a dime, I’m fairly certain that a publisher, with a budget, would do even better. Though I have noticed that publishers are seeking out more web-savvy authors like Scott Sigler, the original pod-cast novelist…and myself…which is a step in the right direction.

MP: Are you surprised to be on Media Predict? We doubt six months ago you were planning to be a heavy-weight on “a fantasy-money prediction market for media content.” What made you decide to get on board?

You’re right, I would never have guessed that I would be taking part in a contest like this, but I did see the merit in it right away. Media Predict represents what I’m all about—innovation. Doing things differently. Finding new angles, new ideas. As I try to come up with original concepts for all my novels and strive to use the internet in new ways to market books, the idea of taking part in something so…novel (forgive the pun) immediately appealed to me. And it has been a great experience.

Simon & Schuster’s involvement is also commendable. It shows an interest in finding new proving grounds for authors and in experimenting with the internet, which I’ve already mentioned is essential for the future of the publishing industry. If Mentos can increase its sales 15% because of goofy “Mentos and Diet Coke” viral videos—the publishing world should be able to as well. Innovation creates the future and I think Media Predict is on to something…and I’m happy to be a part of it.