Buying Zane: Strebor Books founder says her new deal with Simon & Schuster frees her to write more.

Zane, who founded Strebor Books in 1999 as a one-woman, self-publishing enterprise, sold the titles from her publishing company catalogue to Simon & Schuster.

The author of such titles as The Sex Chronicles (2002), Addicted (2001) and Afterburn (2005), Zane says the deal reached in June will free her up for a wide range of projects.

"All I have to do now is acquisitions, so I can go back to my own writing," she explained. "I still decide what is published and who is published."

Zane, whose birth name is a well-guarded secret [See BIBR, September-October 2004, "Zane, Inc."], retains ownership of Strebor, which will become an imprint of Simon & Schuster's Atria Books, the New York publisher said in a statement.

Zane said since 2000 she has written nine books, published 70 books by 37 authors and has 23 titles scheduled for release this year. She said her company has been averaging $10 million to $15 million in annual sales. About one million books have been published. [Simon & Schuster declined to state the sate price of its acquisition.]

Before the acquisition, Simon & Schuster had 50 Strebor titles by more than 30 authors. The publisher began distribution of those books in 2003.

"Zane, as an author and as the publisher of Strebor, has dominated a new publishing category for African American readers," Carolyn Reidy, president of the Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group said in the company statement. "We are delighted to bring Strebor in-house, and look forward to working with her to grow both the Strebor imprint, and our share of this increasingly vibrant market."

Adam Goldberg, vice president, corporate communications for Simon & Schuster, said big publishers are paying more attention to the audience Zane reaches.

"We're always on the lookout for books or companies that cause a stir through non-traditional means," he said in a telephone interview. "We are looking for that self-generated gem."

Publishing success and the self publisher's responsibility to sift through hundreds of submissions, deal with accepted authors, edit and manage production, took a toll on Zane's personal writing, she says.

"I should have five more books out than I do now" she explained. Afterburn came out in January [2005], but it was for release in July 2004. I'm playing serious catch-up. I can now write my three to five books a year.

"This is very beneficial to me and my authors," says Zane. "They have the publicity and marketing. I promised I would always do what's best for my authors."

She noted that the Strebor catalogue was diverse and more varied than the erotic novels synonymous with her pen name. Strebor published mysteries, romantic novels police dramas, science fiction, historical fiction, pulp fiction, urban fiction, gay and lesbian themes and religion-themed books.

Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati, publicist and owner of The Literary in Philadelphia, says this about the Simon & Schuster-Strebor deal: "If it doesn't change the voice of the imprint. I think it opens a wider distribution network."

Zane has plans to widen her business. "I'm moving into the TV, film and plays arena," she says. "This fall I am executive producing two shows on TV One, Zane off the Pages, a book/talk show. For example we will use Mary Monroe's In Sheep's Clothing (Dafina, September 2005) to discuss identity theft."

Her other project is Zane's Single and Solid, a dating show for single parents.

She noted that TV One is in 20 million households. That enterprise is a partnership between Comcast cable and Radio One, owned by black broadcasting mogul Cathy Hughes. At the end of 2004, Hughes's company merged with Tom Joyner's Reach Media to create a Radio/TV/Internet/Satellite conglomerate.