Hugh Howey's new novel "Wool" is being described as the "Fifty Shades of Grey" of 2013, as the author is being called the next E.L. James by critics.

E.L. James created history in the book industry last year with her erotic novel "Fifty Shades of Grey". Its sales were phenomenal and even today, anything and everything about the book still continues to make headlines. Now, it seems that there's a new kid in the block, who, according to critics, is the next E.L. James. Hugh Howey's new novel "Wool" is being described as the "Fifty Shades of Grey" of 2013.

One fine day Howey decided he needed some change in his life and so he sat at his laptop and decided to write a book. That's how "Wool" evolved. The eBook has earned him million in two years and the self-publishing writer is being touted as the next big thing of 2013.

However, Howey says "Wool" is nothing like "Fifty Shades of Grey." First released as an eBook before being published as a book, "Fifty Shades Of Grey" has sold more than 5.3 million copies in the U.K., to become the best-selling book in British history. And the same is being predicted for Howey's new novel. Writer and critic AN Wilson describes Wool - set in a harsh world where humans live underground - as "perhaps the biggest commercial hit so far to have started life as a self-published eBook."

Howey, who had previously self-published several novels, released the first Wool story as an eBook in July 2011. Three months later, he noticed that online sales were climbing sharply. "One month I sold 1,000, then 3,000, then 10,000. Then I heard Ridley Scott was reading it," reveals Howey.

By the time Howey was in a position to speak to publishers, he was in a strong enough financial position to insist on keeping the rights to sell his own eBooks - unlike E.L. James, whose deal with Random House involved handing over eBook rights.

"I had already made seven figures on my own without having to wait the six-plus months it takes publishers to pay royalties," explains Howey. "We were holding out for an impossible print-only deal - and then Simon & Schuster came along with just that. I said on a forum a few months ago that if we went directly to the reader, the agents and publishers would come to us. Publishers don't like taking risks. If you can show them it works, they'll be interested."

The movie rights have been sold to Ridley Scott.