Author JK Rowling has revealed she had offers from two TV firms to bring the crime novel she wrote under a pseudonym to the screen even before she was "outed".
The Harry Potter creator was exposed last week after publishing a detective tale, The Cuckoo's Calling, under the name of Robert Galbraith earlier this year.
Her unmasking left her angered, particularly when it emerged that her cover was blown by a senior figure at a legal firm which has represented her in the past.
Ms Rowling has now pointed out the book was already gathering interest for adaptations and had sold a respectable number of copies. But she said it was becoming "increasingly complicated" to keep the charade going.
She said: "At the point I was 'outed', Robert had sold 8500 English language copies across all formats (and received two offers from television production companies. The situation was becoming increasingly complicated, largely because Robert was doing 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 (discounting sales made after I was found out) compares favourably with JK Rowling's success over the equivalent period of her career."
She said her exposure was not part of a marketing campaign to boost sales and she had gone to great lengths to continue under the guise. She said: "If anyone had seen the labyrinthine plans I laid to conceal my identity (or 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 and for some great reviews. Being Robert Galbraith has been all about the work, which is my favourite part of being a writer. "
Legal firm Russells offered an unreserved apology last week after it found that one of its partners had been the source of the leak.
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