In a recent interview, novelist Barry Eisler said he turned down a $500,000 book deal and decided to self-publish his work. At the same time, self-published success story Amanda Hocking is chasing a traditional book deal–reportedly receiving bids that top $1 million.

Eisler’s revelation came in a 13,000-word interview with novelist Joe Konrath. Eisler last published with Ballantine Books, but his self-publishing experiment began with “The Lost Coast,” a $2.99 short story.

Here’s an excerpt from the interview: “My wife and daughter and I were sitting around the dinner table, talking about what kind of contract I would do next, and with what publisher. And my then eleven-year-old daughter said, ‘Daddy, why don’t you just self-publish?’ … But I realized from that one innocent comment from my daughter that the new generation was looking at self-publishing differently. And that the question–’Should I self-publish?’–was going to be asked by more and more authors going forward.” (Via Sarah Weinman)