Never heard of John Locke? Don’t feel bad for this New York Times best seller only really started to sell his books in January 2011! That’s right, he has only been on the scene for just over six months and is already a best seller! Not only that but he is the first ever self-published author to have sold over one million eBooks on Amazon (and only one of eight authors to have sold over one million eBooks on Amazon)!
John Locke is known as an Indie Author, ie someone who writes and publishes their work in a non-traditional way. Gone are the knock-backs from publishing houses, all the middle-men who want their cut of the pie, large publishing budgets and competing for shelf space with the thousands of other known and not so well known authors. Successful Indie authors, like John, are exploiting the power of the internet and social sites like Facebook and Twitter to create a small, but loyal band of followers. And this is all completed with a budget of next to nothing!
But the benefits of Indie Publishing extend beyond the author to the likes of you and I, the readers of such material. Without the need for all the old traditional layers of publishing authors like John are now able to sell their books for next to nothing (most of John’s eleven books cost $0.99 to download to your Kindle), which is great for consumers! And it still rewards the authors with a very healthy income.
How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months
My introduction to John and his work was through his non-fiction book How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months, which costs $4.99 to download to your Kindle. In this book John provides a step-by-step guide to how he blew away his competition and became a New York Times best seller in just 5 months!
Whilst the title of this book sounds a little cheesy it is actually a very well written and practical guide that any would be author can use to market and sell their work. John explains every step that he took to create his website, blog and Twitter profile and then explains how he found, interacted and ultimately sold his books to his new found fans.
I read this book because I am interested in social media and marketing, not because I am an author. I would also recommend this book to anyone who is interested in understanding how to make use of social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook to develop an online business. John understands how to build relationships and fans through the proper use of the internet and he shares his strategy in this book.
Donovan Creed Series
I couldn’t read How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months without then reading one of John’s novels; I was interested to see what a $0.99 eBook from a marketing genius New York Times best selling author was like! I took John’s advice and read his third novel, Saving Rachel.
Saving Rachel is story about how one man is put in a situation where he must choose whether to save the life of his wife or his mistress. But all is not as it seems…
The story twists and turns, bumps along at a good pace and is engaging and humourous. Sure, there are a few holes in the plot but they are not enough to detract from the story line.
John freely admits that he is not a great author. But that is part of his strategy. For he has found a small, but loyal group of people who really enjoy his work. Saving Rachel will either get you hooked on his work or leave you wondering what all the fuss about.
Will I read more of John’s work? Absolutely.
What do I have to lose when his books cost $0.99?!
Author: John Locke
John Locke is a new breed of authors and the Kindle is a new way to read books. Combine the two and you open a new world of reading opportunity and diversity for a fraction of the price you used to pay!
If you are an author wondering how to market and sell your eBook (or an internet marketer who is unsure how to tap into the power of Facebook and Twitter) then How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months is a must read.
If you are an avid consumer of fiction looking for something a little bit different then the Donovan Creed Series is worth a try.
