Five bestselling Canadian authors you’ve (probably) never heard of

The Writer’s Union of Canada recently voted in favour of allowing self-published authors to join their organization.

The entry requirements they set for self-published authors are different from their traditionally published counterparts, though. They may have opened the door a crack but they didn’t make it easy to squeeze in.

According to the union’s website, inclusion as a member for self-published authors requires that three criteria be met. “Self-published books presented by authors applying to join the Union must contain an International Standard Book Number (ISBN), must demonstrate commercial intent, and must be peer reviewed before being forwarded to the membership committee of the Union for approval based on existing criteria”.

On the thread of comments and questions below the announcement on their site an author asked for some clarification. She wanted to know what constituted a “peer review”. In another forum it was asked how they’re planning on measuring commercial intent. The union that represents Canadian writers couldn’t answer the questions. They said they were still sorting out the details.

That thunderous noise you just heard from the self-publishing community wasn’t applause but was in fact a loud chortle as indie authors aggressively exclaimed they were bringing more to the table than the organization was. Canadian self-published author Maia Sepp said it best when she noted there was no discussion of what the union were planning on doing for self-published authors. Sepp was right.

I have no idea whether any of the following authors are members of the union or are planning on becoming members. Chances are you haven’t read about these authors in mainstream periodicals. And at a time when traditionally published Canadian authors are struggling to sell books, these authors have found a way to connect with readers, thousands and thousands of readers.

Jodi McIsaac lives in Calgary. McIsaac’s had a varied career. She’s been a speed-skater, marketing executive, and speechwriter. At some point she decided she wanted to write novels. So, in the early hours of the mornings she wrote a book, and then last summer she self-published it. McIsaac found a lot of readers and sold a lot of books. She sold so many eBooks that Amazon signed her to one of their publishing houses. Today, her book is an Amazon bestseller and if the writer’s union decides to check out Through the Door, they’ll see that her readers have posted 790 and given her a 4.4 (out of five) average rating. Most books on Amazon’s site have less than 50 reviews.

Claude Bouchard lives in Montreal. Bouchard self-published his book Vigilante and again, readers loved his work. Vigilante is a staple on Amazon’s bestseller lists, and thousands of readers have downloaded it.

Vancouver-born Edmonton-based author Cheryl Kaye Tardif sold 60,000 copies of her novel, Children of the Fog. In fact, she did so well that she wrote a book telling others how she did it. How I Made Over $42,000 in 1 Month Selling My Kindle eBooks also went on to find thousands of readers. Tardif is now represented by an agent and has several other books available, some of which are also considered Amazon bestsellers.

There are more examples. Steena Holmes, also from Alberta, is doing what authors all over the world dream of doing. She has multiple books selling very well. Currently two of them are in the top 400 of Amazon’s overall bestseller ranking. Typically that means hundreds of copies are being downloaded every day. Yes, every single day.

Kaylea Cross lives in Vancouver, and writes romantic suspense novels. Cross’s books are constant top sellers on Amazon. Her newest release, Synged, is a top ten bestseller and her other novels are all ranked high on Amazon’s charts.

There are fewer restrictions and barriers between readers and authors now, and there are some exceptionally talented Canadian authors quietly telling stories and producing quality books. The old rules and thresholds are quickly becoming irrelevant, outdated, and perhaps even unimportant.

Historically, to be a bona fide bestseller in Canada you need to sell 5,000 print books. The authors listed above have sold tens of thousands of e-books, and continue to do so, every day.

They’re part of the quiet little revolution that’s happening and you may not have heard of them, but don’t worry; chances are the Writer’s Union of Canada hasn’t heard of them either.