{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/6888dda8e0a86cc3ab36f742/6aaa9c118a1508074d64cc71?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Breathing Fresh Life into your Backlist with MICHAEL DAVID WILSON","description":"<p>Michael David Wilson had two months to save his debut novel from going out of print. When his publisher decided to discontinue its entire back catalogue, he wasn't about to let his most popular book — and one with a film adaptation in active development — quietly disappear. Instead, he turned the crisis into an event: new cover art, a bonus short story, an exclusive afterword, and a first-ever Kindle Unlimited release.</p><p><br></p><p>Michael David Wilson is the founder of the UK horror website, podcast, and publisher This Is Horror. He's the author of <em>The Girl in the Video</em>, <em>They're Watching</em> (with Bob Pastorella), <em>House of Bad Memories</em>, and <em>Daddy's Boy</em>. His work has appeared in The NoSleep Podcast, Dim Shores, Dark Moon Digest, and Hawk &amp; Cleaver's The Other Stories. Michael lives in Gifu, Japan.</p><p><br></p><p>We get into the full story behind re-releasing <em>The Girl in the Video</em> as a second edition — from commissioning new cover art from Ben Baldwin while deliberately paying homage to the original artist's design, to restructuring the novella into chapters for the first time. We also talk candidly about contract red flags every author should watch for, why he isn't afraid to walk away from a publishing deal over unfair terms, and what \"Gaijin J-Horror\" actually means as an emerging subgenre — horror set in Japan, told specifically from the expat's perspective.</p><p><br></p><p>🎙️ What we get into:</p><p><br></p><ul><li>The full story of how his debut novella went out of print with only two months' notice — and what he did to save it</li><li>Why he restructured the novella into chapters six years after its original release, and the aesthetic reasoning behind it</li><li>How he paid homage to the original cover artist's design while commissioning an entirely new cover from Ben Baldwin</li><li>Why he chose to put <em>The Girl in the Video</em> on Kindle Unlimited for the first time, prioritizing reach over per-unit revenue</li><li>His blunt take on predatory publishing contracts: \"If a publisher asks you for money, walk away — and tell people about it\"</li><li>Why he's willing to walk away from a book deal entirely over unfair contract terms, even after months of negotiation</li><li>What \"Gaijin J-Horror\" means as a genre — horror set in Japan told from an expat's perspective — and why he's uniquely positioned to write it</li><li>The real, still-evolving story behind the film adaptation of <em>The Girl in the Video</em>, including a dropped deal and a new manager</li><li>Why <em>Daddy's Boy</em> became an unexpected outlier in his catalogue, and its sold-out Thunderstorm Books limited edition</li><li>His advice for authors negotiating creative control and contract terms with small and independent presses</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Links &amp; Resources:</p><p><br></p><ul><li>Michael David Wilson https://thisishorror.co.uk</li><li><em>The Girl in the Video</em> (2nd edition) https://www.thisishorror.co.uk/shop/the-girl-in-the-video-by-michael-david-wilson/</li><li>Ben Baldwin https://benbaldwin.co.uk</li><li>Pye Parr https://www.pyeparr.com</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Subscribe to The Writer's Chair</p><p> If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a fellow writer.</p><p> 📺 Watch on YouTube: <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@willcocksauthor\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">https://www.youtube.com/@willcocksauthor</a></p><p> 🎧 Listen on your favourite app: <a href=\"https://pod.link/1829723468\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">https://pod.link/1829723468</a></p><p> 🖥️ Find out more: <a href=\"https://danielwillcocks.com/thewriterschair\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">https://danielwillcocks.com/thewriterschair</a></p><p><br></p><p>📚 About Michael David Wilson</p><p>Michael David Wilson is the founder of the popular UK horror website, podcast, and publisher, This Is Horror. He is the author of <em>The Girl in the Video</em>, <em>They’re Watching </em>(with Bob Pastorella), and <em>House of Bad Memories</em>. His work has appeared in various publications including <em>The NoSleep Podcast</em>, <em>Dim Shores</em>, <em>Dark Moon Digest</em>, and Hawk &amp; Cleaver’s <em>The Other Stories</em>. Michael lives in Gifu, Japan.&nbsp;</p>","author_name":"Daniel Willcocks"}