Indie Author is First to Sell 1 Million eBooks!

Image of "John Locke"For the first time in history, an independent author has sold 1 million eBooks, Amazon announced on Monday. And here’s the kicker -- those million books sold IN FIVE MONTHS.

John Locke has become the eighth author to sell over 1 million Kindle books, becoming the newest member of the “Kindle Million Club,” and the first independently published author to receive this distinction,” said Amazon officials in a press release. “As of yesterday, John Locke has sold 1,010,370 Kindle books.”

Locke is in the company of literary giants -- the other members of the “Kindle Million Club are Stieg Larsson, James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Charlaine Harris, Lee Child, Suzanne Collins and Michael Connelly.

“Kindle Direct Publishing has provided an opportunity for independent authors to compete on a level playing field with the giants of the book selling industry,” said John Locke, without a touch of understatement.

So who is John Locke?

He lives in Louisville, Kentucky and he has written nine novels with titles including:
-- New York Times bestselling eBook, "Saving Rachel."
-- "Vegas Moon”
-- "Wish List”
-- "A Girl Like You”
-- "Follow the Stone”
-- and "Don't Poke the Bear!"

Clearly the man is savvy because guess what his latest book is? Not fiction! His newest title: "How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months" -- a how-to marketing guide for self-published authors. And yes, I’m going to buy it. -Caleb

Newest "billion-dollar author"

A couple months ago, I wrote here about the bestselling-ebook author of all time, Amanda Hocking, who sold $2 million worth of ebooks in one year. A couple of weeks later, she signed a deal with an agent and a traditional publisher, which I also blogged about.


This weekend, Amanda will be featured in a great article now being previewed in the New York Times. For the first time, we get some real details about here life, and pictures of her -- and we get to hear about her big plans to become, in short order, the world's next billion-dollar author. The New York Times believes she can do it, and so do I. Here is a quip from them:

"Her character-driven books, which feature trolls, hobgoblins and fairy-tale elements and keep the pages turning, have generated an excitement not felt in the industry since Stephenie Meyer or perhaps even J. K. Rowling."


Not bad for an author who, before she self-published her own ebooks, could not get an agent, let alone a publisher. I really find tremendous glee in Amanda's story, because it teaches all of us that AGENTS CAN BE WRONG when they reject us -- after all, all the big authors have been rejected, including J.K. Rowling. (The NYTimes once reported that some of the agents and editors who turned down Rowling before she was famous were fired once she hit the big time. Can you imagine being the editor who TURNED DOWN HARRY POTTER?)


Anywho -- Go Amanda Hocking! She is an inspiration to all of us.  You can read the full NYTimes article here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/magazine/amanda-hocking-storyseller.html?_r=1&ref=global-home