New Website for Robert Galbraith Reveals Second Book to be Published Next Year, More

Robert Galbraith, otherwise known as J.K. Rowling, has a new official website, on which is an FAQ with author J.K. Rowling about the new book (“The Cuckoo’s Calling“), her pseudonym, and the “labyrinthine” plans she had to keep her identity quiet.

Was revealing the true identity of Robert Galbraith not simply an elaborate marketing campaign to help boost sales?
If anyone had seen the labyrinthine plans I laid to conceal my identity (or indeed my expression when I realised that the game was up!) they would realise how little I wanted to be discovered. I hoped to keep the secret as long as possible. I’m grateful for all the feedback from publishers and readers, and for some great reviews. Being Robert Galbraith has been all about the work, which is my favourite part of being a writer. This was not a leak or marketing ploy by me, my publisher or agent, both of whom have been completely supportive of my desire to fly under the radar. If sales were what mattered to me most, I would have written under my own name from the start, and with the greatest fanfare.

At the point I was ˜outed’, Robert had sold 8500 English language copies across all formats (hardback, eBook, library and audiobook) and received two offers from television production companies. The situation was becoming increasingly complicated, largely because Robert was doing rather better than we had expected him to, but we all still hoped to keep the secret a little longer. Yet Robert’s success during his first three months as a published writer (discounting sales made after I was found out) actually compares favourably with J.K. Rowling’s success over the equivalent period of her career!

The FAQ also reveals that JKR’s editor, David Shelley, first read the book without knowing it was she who wrote it. When she was outed, the book had sold 8500 copies across all formats (including e-book) and had two offers from TV companies.
Also, the second book is already finished and will be published next year, and that it will continue to be published as Robert Galbraith. She also said there are a precious few copies of The Cuckoo’s Calling signed as “Robert Galbraith,” and any future copies will be authenticated. JKR spent a “whole week” practicing the Robert Galbraith signature “to be sure” of its consistency.

It also seems Robert Galbraith has a Twitter account (while unverified it is followed by people close to JKR and JKR herself): Let’s hope he tweets more often than J.K. Rowling!

You can purchase The Cuckoo’s Calling here: