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Publisher-rejected author makes millions in ebook sales

by Adie
85 replies
Unknown, living paycheck to paycheck in Austin, Minnesota, rejected by publishers all over New York, Amanda Hocking decided to self-publish on ebook platforms only. She sold 100,000 of her works in December, and over 10 months she's had more than 900,000 in sales. She's 26 and is now making enough money to quit her day job and become a full time writer, in fact she's a millionaire. She's going to be featured in 'Elle' Magazine's April issue, all without what everyone thought was essential to make it as a writer: a big New York publishing house. Watch the local news story below:


Source: Self-Published Author Amanda Hocking Makes Millions From eBook Sales

Update:
I searched Amazon and it looks like she got a pretty good reviews. Listed lots of books under her name:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...ocking&x=0&y=0
#author #ebook #made #millions #publisherrejected #sales
  • Profile picture of the author Yadira Barbosa
    She is a great example about how the world it's changing, and anybody can be successful no matter what say the "traditional" publishing companies.

    Average people have so many options than before, the secret it's to take action.
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  • Profile picture of the author Adie
    I agree, the number of options is increasing to people who don't recognize limitations. With her as a writer writing books, I believe a number of people are also making money promoting her ebooks... She is not only helping herself but also marketers like us, especially those who are promoting amazon products.
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    • Profile picture of the author Aussie_Al
      Nice post - which reminds me I really have to convert one of my DVD info products to an ebook and get it on I-tunes and Amazon!
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      • Profile picture of the author thegotoguy
        I wonder how she marketed the ebook? That would be an awesome piece of information to have right there. As for her? I am glad to hear it. Since it is the niche that I'm in although I don't write ebooks too often. Great post!
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        • Profile picture of the author Adie
          Originally Posted by thegotoguy View Post

          I wonder how she marketed the ebook? That would be an awesome piece of information to have right there. As for her? I am glad to hear it. Since it is the niche that I'm in although I don't write ebooks too often. Great post!
          I am also wondering... If she just posted her ebooks in amazon and barns, she might have marketed it but how?
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          • Profile picture of the author edlewis
            She really didn't do much "marketing"...

            She has a blog - My Blood Approves -but in one post she says, "Another thing people keep asking me is - how do you self-promote? The answer: I don't."

            Another interesting thing she says is that because of her success, alot of people now look at self-publishing as a "get-rich-quick" scheme.

            She says people look at her and say it's amazing what she has accomplished in a year...she says it took her 20...she's 26...do the math.

            She's been writing books ever since she could...literally.

            Here's the key to her success - she writes GOOD books. Books that her readers connect with...her success spread virally because her writing was excellent and readers LOVED it.

            There are still some things to learn.

            One is that all of her ebooks are under $3. I believe she has 3 for $0.99 and the others sell for $2.99.

            And those who want to use her as the EXAMPLE that "print is dead" should be careful....because she also sells lots of paperback copies of her books too.

            You can check out her blog if you want, but don't expect a bunch of posts on killer marketing tips on how to sell a boatload of ebooks....it's mostly about what movies and music she likes....although she does talk about her books. But I wouldn't say she "promotes" them.

            And maybe that is part of her "secret"....her fans connect with her...and vice versa.

            Another good place for some info on self-publishing is Joe Konrath's blog....

            A Newbie's Guide to Publishing

            These all deal with FICTION though....so if you're not a novelist, some of it may bore you. But there is still some good stuff there.
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            • Profile picture of the author Adie
              Originally Posted by edlewis View Post

              She really didn't do much "marketing"...

              She has a blog - My Blood Approves -but in one post she says, "Another thing people keep asking me is - how do you self-promote? The answer: I don't."

              Another interesting thing she says is that because of her success, alot of people now look at self-publishing as a "get-rich-quick" scheme.

              She says people look at her and say it's amazing what she has accomplished in a year...she says it took her 20...she's 26...do the math.

              She's been writing books ever since she could...literally.

              Here's the key to her success - she writes GOOD books. Books that her readers connect with...her success spread virally because her writing was excellent and readers LOVED it.

              There are still some things to learn.

              One is that all of her ebooks are under $3. I believe she has 3 for $0.99 and the others sell for $2.99.

              And those who want to use her as the EXAMPLE that "print is dead" should be careful....because she also sells lots of paperback copies of her books too.

              You can check out her blog if you want, but don't expect a bunch of posts on killer marketing tips on how to sell a boatload of ebooks....it's mostly about what movies and music she likes....although she does talk about her books. But I wouldn't say she "promotes" them.

              And maybe that is part of her "secret"....her fans connect with her...and vice versa.

              Another good place for some info on self-publishing is Joe Konrath's blog....

              A Newbie's Guide to Publishing

              These all deal with FICTION though....so if you're not a novelist, some of it may bore you. But there is still some good stuff there.
              because of her success, a lot of people might jump into her bandwagon and will eventually fail. Lot of people can write but the question is about passion and perseverance. basically, she was not writing for money when she started writing. She was writing for passion - turned money.
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            • Profile picture of the author Alan Petersen
              Originally Posted by edlewis View Post

              She really didn't do much "marketing"...

              She has a blog - My Blood Approves -but in one post she says, "Another thing people keep asking me is - how do you self-promote? The answer: I don't."
              Another key in my opinion is the "niche". She's writing in a uber popular space of super natural tween stuff. Like Twilight. Shows the importance of writing in genre's that are popular. Sounds like a "no duh" statement but a lot of folks skimp on this process. Not just for writing fiction books but non-fiction, Amazon niche sites, etc.

              Vince Flynn is a very popular published author of spy novels and he was rejected by 60 publisher's so he self-published his first book sold a ton of books and got a juicy book deal.

              So yea the old publishing model shouldn't be a barrier if you write well and in topics that sell well.

              Loved that video. Thanks for the share!
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              • Profile picture of the author schttrj
                Originally Posted by Alan Petersen View Post

                Another key in my opinion is the "niche". She's writing in a uber popular space of super natural tween stuff. Like Twilight. Shows the importance of writing in genre's that are popular. Sounds like a "no duh" statement but a lot of folks skimp on this process. Not just for writing fiction books but non-fiction, Amazon niche sites, etc.

                Vince Flynn is a very popular published author of spy novels and he was rejected by 60 publisher's so he self-published his first book sold a ton of books and got a juicy book deal.

                So yea the old publishing model shouldn't be a barrier if you write well and in topics that sell well.

                Loved that video. Thanks for the share!
                Exactly said! It all DEPENDS!
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            • Profile picture of the author sonia1
              sorry guys I don't get it. she says she doesn't market but she must have done SOMETHING way back then to get folks to notice her very first book. did she simply post part of it on a website or blog? if anyone knows please let me know, thanks.
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              • Profile picture of the author edlewis
                Originally Posted by Alan Petersen View Post

                Another key in my opinion is the "niche". She's writing in a uber popular space of super natural tween stuff. Like Twilight. Shows the importance of writing in genre's that are popular. Sounds like a "no duh" statement but a lot of folks skimp on this process. Not just for writing fiction books but non-fiction, Amazon niche sites, etc.

                Vince Flynn is a very popular published author of spy novels and he was rejected by 60 publisher's so he self-published his first book sold a ton of books and got a juicy book deal.

                So yea the old publishing model shouldn't be a barrier if you write well and in topics that sell well.

                Loved that video. Thanks for the share!

                Exactly Alan...people need to realize she may have just hit the market just right. She understands her readers, plus the demographic she sells to is very likely to be "hip" to using new technology like Kindle, Nook, iPad....

                She is also an excellent writer in a genre that is very popular.

                On top of that, because she is 100% self-published, she can sell her books for 99 cents or $2.99 and still see a decent royalty at that price range.

                If she had a publisher, the publisher would sell the same ebook she sells for $2.99 for $9.99 and her royalty would be about the same...probably a little less than the 70% ($2.09) that Amazon pays her.

                The price of her books had an impact too. Those $0.99 and $2.99 price points are key.

                Those who hear about one of her books from a friend or see a positive review for it on Amazon can quickly grab a copy for a buck....if they like it, they will buy more.


                Originally Posted by sonia1 View Post

                sorry guys I don't get it. she says she doesn't market but she must have done SOMETHING way back then to get folks to notice her very first book. did she simply post part of it on a website or blog? if anyone knows please let me know, thanks.
                She has been writing her blog since 2009....I don't know if it had a following or not....she didn't publish her first ebook until April 2010.

                So she may have had a small audience to start with. She also is a heavy social network user....but by her own admission, she wasn't just on those platforms to try and SELL her stuff.

                My guess is she published her books, and her small following liked her work and told people they did - thru social networks, forums, word of mouth, and Amazon reviews - and because her work was excellent...it kind of just took off.

                Like I said earlier, the low price points played a role too. If her books had been $9.99 each, it's unlikely she would have seen that type of exponential growth.
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              • Profile picture of the author Dana_W
                Originally Posted by sonia1 View Post

                sorry guys I don't get it. she says she doesn't market but she must have done SOMETHING way back then to get folks to notice her very first book. did she simply post part of it on a website or blog? if anyone knows please let me know, thanks.
                I've been studying up on this and reading everything I can about the whole Kindle phenomenon.

                I think it's kind of taken out of context when she says she doesn't do any marketing; I believe what she means is, she doesn't do any marketing RIGHT NOW, now that she's widely established and a lot of people know who she is.

                Here's a blog post from yesterday where she says she does TONS of marketing. (March 3 entry). And if you read her blog posts from a year ago she talks about doing tons of marketing.

                My Blood Approves

                That's Amandahocking blogspot dot com

                Among the things she did: submitted her books to book review blogs, offered her first books at 99 cents, promoted herself on social media sites.

                So no, it's not like she just wrote the first book, uploaded it to Amazon, and it took off like a rocket.
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                • Profile picture of the author Alan Petersen
                  She never said it was "instant" success and looks like all the negative comments are getting to her. In her latest blog post she says it's not easy especially when you're self-publishing and doing all yourself vs. having a publishing house working with you.

                  I don't think people really grasp how much work I do. I think there is this very big misconception that I was like, "Hey, paranormal is pretty hot right now," and then I spent a weekend smashing out some words, threw it up online, and woke up the next day with a million dollars in my bank account.

                  This is literally years of work you're seeing. And hours and hours of work each day. The amount of time and energy I put into marketing is exhausting. I am continuously overwhelmed by the amount of work I have to do that isn't writing a book. I hardly have time to write anymore, which sucks and terrifies me.
                  My Blood Approves: Some Things That Need to Be Said

                  It's just like the Internet to find a great success story like Amanda's and then online peeps start the negativity.
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                  • Profile picture of the author QuickSurf
                    She found one of the strongest niches for books, anything Vampire related or similar is gobbled up like kid raiding a candy store.
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                  • Profile picture of the author Colin Palfrey
                    Originally Posted by Alan Petersen View Post

                    It's just like the Internet to find a great success story like Amanda's and then online peeps start the negativity.
                    I don't think any of us are being negative here. Some people are talking like she lucked into this, others are pointing out she worked darn hard for it.

                    That isn't done to be negative but to warn those that only take note of the words "Kindle" and "Million" while skimming, then point out that she worked for this.

                    I know that seems an obvious fact and she even mentions it herself, but you just know there are going to be people that selectively edit the hard work out of her story, and there is even evidence of it in this thread.

                    Cheers,
                    Colin Palfrey
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                    • Profile picture of the author Martin Luxton
                      Originally Posted by Colin Palfrey View Post

                      I don't think any of us are being negative here. Some people are talking like she lucked into this, others are pointing out she worked darn hard for it.

                      That isn't done to be negative but to warn those that only take note of the words "Kindle" and "Million" while skimming, then point out that she worked for this.

                      I know that seems an obvious fact and she even mentions it herself, but you just know there are going to be people that selectively edit the hard work out of her story, and there is even evidence of it in this thread.

                      Cheers,
                      Colin Palfrey
                      Colin,

                      As I mentioned before, people tend to overlook the HOW. There are also many IM products that, if I were a cynic, I would say deliberately leave out the HOW.

                      Which sounds better

                      "Push Button Kindle Bestseller - No Writing Ability Needed!!"

                      or

                      "Spend half your life marketing on social networks and the other half attending every writing course in sight."


                      Martin
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                    • Profile picture of the author Alan Petersen
                      Originally Posted by Colin Palfrey View Post

                      I don't think any of us are being negative here. Some people are talking like she lucked into this, others are pointing out she worked darn hard for it.

                      That isn't done to be negative but to warn those that only take note of the words "Kindle" and "Million" while skimming, then point out that she worked for this.

                      I know that seems an obvious fact and she even mentions it herself, but you just know there are going to be people that selectively edit the hard work out of her story, and there is even evidence of it in this thread.

                      Cheers,
                      Colin Palfrey
                      Hey Colin, I didn't mean us here... I doubt she knows about the WF. She could pick some marketing tips. I checked out a few other spots where they're being critical of her writing. How she makes it sound so easy (which she has never said from what I've seen). Even blasting her for her appearance. The YouTube commentators attack pack mentality.
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            • Profile picture of the author tpw
              Originally Posted by edlewis View Post

              She really didn't do much "marketing"...

              Here's the key to her success - she writes GOOD books. Books that her readers connect with...her success spread virally because her writing was excellent and readers LOVED it.

              There are still some things to learn.

              One is that all of her ebooks are under $3. I believe she has 3 for $0.99 and the others sell for $2.99.

              And those who want to use her as the EXAMPLE that "print is dead" should be careful....because she also sells lots of paperback copies of her books too.

              You can check out her blog if you want, but don't expect a bunch of posts on killer marketing tips on how to sell a boatload of ebooks....it's mostly about what movies and music she likes....although she does talk about her books. But I wouldn't say she "promotes" them.


              Just imagine how many more books she could sell if she knew what we knew.

              Certainly, her books connected with readers, because she would still have a real job if it did not.

              This is not the easy road to riches, but just imagine if you can how many more books she could sell if she did some marketing...
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              • Profile picture of the author Alan Petersen
                Originally Posted by tpw View Post

                Just imagine how many more books she could sell if she knew what we knew.

                Certainly, her books connected with readers, because she would still have a real job if it did not.

                This is not the easy road to riches, but just imagine if you can how many more books she could sell if she did some marketing...
                She's a writer, creative-type most of them don't know/hate marketing. She should hire a publicist to help in that front but she's doing fine. Buying a house. Happy. Not everyone wants make a gazillion bucks. I'm not one of them.
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                • Profile picture of the author edlewis
                  Originally Posted by Alan Petersen View Post

                  She's a writer, creative-type most of them don't know/hate marketing. She should hire a publicist to help in that front but she's doing fine. Buying a house. Happy. Not everyone wants make a gazillion bucks. I'm not one of them.
                  She says she's had an agent since August...

                  And you hit something on the head....it's very likely she and many of her fans HATE marketing...the quickest way to tick that crowd off is try to SELL them something.

                  They are artists, not marketers.
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                • Profile picture of the author Fred1
                  Originally Posted by Alan Petersen View Post

                  She's a writer, creative-type most of them don't know/hate marketing. She should hire a publicist to help in that front but she's doing fine. Buying a house. Happy. Not everyone wants make a gazillion bucks. I'm not one of them.
                  Yes, she's already "a millionaire" from the sales of her ebooks. Plus, on her blog she says she has a trilogy that's being made into a movie. She may not market directly, but word of mouth is making her a fortune + she's now getting media attention which = more $$. It looks like she'll be adding many more millions to her growing fortune.
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                  • Profile picture of the author Shana Walters
                    Wow, this seems to be a very hot topic.

                    I'm glad I came across this thread, because up until now, I had not given much thought to self-publishing on the Kindle. Good to know.

                    All the best,
                    Shana Jahsinta Walters.
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              • Profile picture of the author edlewis
                Originally Posted by tpw View Post

                Just imagine how many more books she could sell if she knew what we knew.

                Certainly, her books connected with readers, because she would still have a real job if it did not.

                This is not the easy road to riches, but just imagine if you can how many more books she could sell if she did some marketing...
                I'm not quite sure of that.

                She could have also shot herself in the foot trying to do that too.

                There are "viral marketing" firms and publishing companies out there who often try to duplicate success like this, and very rarely achieve it.

                Maybe the way she un-marketed herself helped lead to her success?

                Somewhat reclusive, "nerdy", self-published writer from Minnesota....maybe that helped her sell more books because readers could relate to her and her characters?

                It's possible that "marketing" could have ruined the whole thing...it wouldn't be the first time.
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              • Profile picture of the author Colin Palfrey
                Originally Posted by tpw View Post

                Just imagine how many more books she could sell if she knew what we knew.
                Bill,

                I was just about to say the opposite. :rolleyes:

                I know quite a few bands that have made it big and if you ask them how they did it, the answer is always "Just do what you do better than the competition."

                This of course is the answer they give to people who don't know they worked for years hauling their equipment across three continents, while surviving on beans on toast.

                Most people say "It all just happened!" and fail to mention the years of work that proceeded it just happening.

                I can't help wondering whether she is just a very hard working marketer that has had her work pay off. Of course she would need to write great books as well, but we all know how salable an unseen art work is.

                Regards,
                Colin Palfrey
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                • Profile picture of the author Steven Carl Kelly
                  Originally Posted by Colin Palfrey View Post

                  I can't help wondering whether she is just a very hard working marketer that has had her work pay off. Of course she would need to write great books as well, but we all know how salable an unseen art work is.
                  If you have a chance, grab a copy of one of her books. I'm not convinced of the greatness of her writing -- but then again, I'm not a 17-year-old female.
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                  • Profile picture of the author Bruce NewMedia
                    Originally Posted by cosmokid View Post


                    3) At the end of each book she includes excerpts of the NEXT book in the series, so it's very tempting to buy the next one ASAP as each book has a cliffhanger quality to it;
                    Jennifer, this is a great idea!...I have to remember that for my next project.
                    _____
                    Bruce
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                    • Profile picture of the author Alan Petersen
                      She's now publishing paperbacks and has hit the USA Today best selling and she's getting more publicity...

                      Young Minn. novelist rakes in national raves, serious coin through digital publishing | StarTribune.com

                      Obviously the more publicity she gets the more books she sells. Hell, I even bought one of her Kindle e-books because I was curious - the teen paranormal romance genre isn't really my bag.

                      So good for her! She'll sure to get a juicy publishing deal now.
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                      • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
                        Originally Posted by Alan Petersen View Post

                        So good for her! She'll sure to get a juicy publishing deal now.
                        Will she need it, Alan? :confused:

                        A publisher was quoted in the MJ DeMarco article (linked to above) as saying "There is no traditional publisher in the world right now that can offer Amanda Hocking terms that are better than what she's currently getting, right now on the Kindle store, all on her own."
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                        • Profile picture of the author Alan Petersen
                          Originally Posted by John Henderson View Post

                          Will she need it, Alan? :confused:

                          A publisher was quoted in the MJ DeMarco article (linked to above) as saying "There is no traditional publisher in the world right now that can offer Amanda Hocking terms that are better than what she’s currently getting, right now on the Kindle store, all on her own."
                          That is true. The publicity she's gotten is the nice component of having the PR/Market department of a big publishing house going at it. But it will still be nice if she can negotiate advances and bigger royalties now that's she a proven selling commodity.

                          Stephen King, John Grisham, and the big time writers have regular publishers so they don't have to do it all like Amanda is doing (not that she's at that level yet).

                          Hey. it's like outsourcing. She can outsource all that stuff to a publishing house so she can just focus on writing. And they give her an advance to boot.
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          • Profile picture of the author Shana Walters
            Yeah, I would definitely love to know how exactly she went about promoting her e-books on the kindle and nook.

            All the best,
            Shana Jahsinta Walters.
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        • Profile picture of the author Don Schenk
          Originally Posted by thegotoguy View Post

          I wonder how she marketed the ebook? That would be an awesome piece of information to have right there. As for her? I am glad to hear it. Since it is the niche that I'm in although I don't write ebooks too often. Great post!
          Here is an article about her in which the writer (of the article) asks how she marketed her books.

          Tonya Plank: Meet Mega Bestselling Indie Heroine Amanda Hocking

          :-Don
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    • Profile picture of the author LilBlackDress
      Originally Posted by Adie View Post

      I agree, the number of options is increasing to people who don't recognize limitations. With her as a writer writing books, I believe a number of people are also making money promoting her ebooks... She is not only helping herself but also marketers like us, especially those who are promoting amazon products.
      Curious..in the video they show illustrations with the book, in some cases they are moving illustrations.

      Any idea if these books are illustrated and if so where would she have gotten the illustrations for her books?
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      • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
        Amanda Hocking gives her reply to all of the attention that she's been receiving...

        What I'm about to say next is something I've been debating how to say. I think it needs to be said, but I know that I need to word it carefully. I want you all to know that I don't think I'm super awesome special or anything like that.
        Amanda Hocking's Blog: Some Things That Need to Be Said
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  • Profile picture of the author maxsi
    Thanks for your article, it's very important.
    If Amanda use her content to create websites, memberships, blogs (audio courses, video courses) then she will get MORE massive profits.
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  • Profile picture of the author Adie
    Another thing is, I think posting your product in Amazon is cheaper than having it published by some publishers or publishing house? In my country, only selected people can afford to pay the publishing and copyright fee. No wonder why not many local authors are interested to write and publish.... Is the same thing happening in US? In here, publishing a book is super expensive. It's like recording a song by a popular recording company....

    Update:
    I searched Amazon and it looks like she got a pretty good reviews. Listed lots of books under her name:
    http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...ocking&x=0&y=0
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    • Profile picture of the author Yadira Barbosa
      Originally Posted by Adie View Post

      Another thing is, I think posting your product in Amazon is cheaper than having it published by some publishers or publishing house? In my country, only selected people can afford to pay the publishing and copyright fee. No wonder why not many local authors are interested to write and publish.... Is the same thing happening in US? In here, publishing a book is super expensive. It's like recording a song by a popular recording company....

      Update:
      I searched Amazon and it looks like she got a pretty good reviews. Listed lots of books under her name:
      Amazon.com: Amanda Hocking
      You can copyright your work on USA online for just $35 bucks, even if you don't live on USA!

      U.S. Copyright Office

      So, the main lesson here its: find something that you feel passionate about and take action!
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      • Profile picture of the author Adie
        Originally Posted by Yadira Barbosa View Post

        You can copyright your work on USA online for just $35 bucks, even if you don't live on USA!

        U.S. Copyright Office

        So, the main lesson here its: find something that you feel passionate about and take action!
        Wow, that's pretty cheap!
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  • Profile picture of the author Mohsin Rasool
    Simply Awesome story!

    I imagine her becoming next J. K. Rowling!

    More Power to Amanda!

    regards,
    Mohsin
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    • Profile picture of the author Steven Carl Kelly
      Originally Posted by Mohsin Rasool View Post

      I imagine her becoming next J. K. Rowling!
      More like the next Stephanie Meyer.
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    • Profile picture of the author HiAbby
      Originally Posted by Mohsin Rasool View Post

      Simply Awesome story!

      I imagine her becoming next J. K. Rowling!

      More Power to Amanda!

      regards,
      Mohsin
      This is an amazing and inspiring story and it's very nice to hear of this kind of success.

      However, I checked out her writing and thought that it was decent enough but she is nothing close to J.K. Rowling! (Sorry, huge HP fan.)

      But this is encouraging because it goes to show that you don't have to be a literary genius to get your stuff out there. She hit a goldmine because she wrote passionately about something she loves, that happens to be really popular.

      A great marketing lesson in and of itself.

      I would venture to say that she can easily market her future works through her blog and all the buzz she's getting and bound to continue to get.

      If any of you love to write fiction (my husband is totally into it), or even non-fiction and marketing stuff now that I think about it, you could market your ebooks by starting a blog in the genre that you write in.

      Write reviews on books and movies that are related, write some short stories, talk about things you like, then drive some traffic with videos, blog commenting, forums etc...

      Keep mentioning that you are working on something and then when you finally have an ample amount of viewers, subscribers, traffic etc. then you can publish your work and let everyone know. Not a bad idea...

      Thanks for sharing, this story made my day.

      <3 Abby Elaina
      xoxo
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Carl Kelly
    Guys, my 18-year-old daughter is HUGE into vampire stuff. She's part of a gigantic, hungry market. Amanda Hocking is just feeding the hungry...

    Take a lesson from that. There's no magic bullet, no marketing secret, no "big reveal" coming. She likes vampire fiction, she wrote vampire fiction, she sold vampire fiction.

    You guys want to make good money? Start writing. Write a lot. And publish your writing in a format that pays you a few bucks every time someone consumes it. The more you publish, the fewer of each publication you need to sell to make good money. If you have one book and you make $5.00 a copy, and you sell 25 copies a month, you'll make $125 a month.

    Publish 20 more like that and you'll be making over $2,500 a month. Publish 50 and you'll be making over $6,000 a month...
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    • Profile picture of the author schttrj
      Originally Posted by Steven Carl Kelly View Post

      Guys, my 18-year-old daughter is HUGE into vampire stuff. She's part of a gigantic, hungry market. Amanda Hocking is just feeding the hungry...

      Take a lesson from that. There's no magic bullet, no marketing secret, no "big reveal" coming. She likes vampire fiction, she wrote vampire fiction, she sold vampire fiction.

      You guys want to make good money? Start writing. Write a lot. And publish your writing in a format that pays you a few bucks every time someone consumes it. The more you publish, the fewer of each publication you need to sell to make good money. If you have one book and you make $5.00 a copy, and you sell 25 copies a month, you'll make $125 a month.

      Publish 20 more like that and you'll be making over $2,500 a month. Publish 50 and you'll be making over $6,000 a month...
      Absolutely! I think Gary Halbert used to say, Always feed the "hungry" market!
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  • Profile picture of the author noble
    A lot of people put their books on amazon and go viral. The guy from dontevenreply.com (the craigslist comedy) did that and with basically no marketing just a lot of word of mouth he sold a TON of copies and still does.
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  • Profile picture of the author offlinemarketer
    Banned
    What they're not telling you is the amount of money it cost her to promote her ebooks.
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    • Profile picture of the author Colin Palfrey
      Originally Posted by offlinemarketer View Post

      What they're not telling you is the amount of money it cost her to promote her ebooks.
      That is an interesting point but would ruin the argument that success comes easy, so the media will have none of it!

      If you chase your dream, follow your star and think positively ...you will always be beaten by someone that put the time and effort in.

      Cheers,
      Colin Palfrey
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      • Profile picture of the author Alan Petersen
        Originally Posted by Colin Palfrey View Post

        That is an interesting point but would ruin the argument that success comes easy, so the media will have none of it!

        If you chase your dream, follow your star and think positively ...you will always be beaten by someone that put the time and effort in.

        Cheers,
        Colin Palfrey
        Have you watched the video? The reporters said "the success took years in the making". How she almost gave up. She was living paycheck to paycheck. Was rejected by hundreds of publishers. She's had to write many books, etc. I didn't hear any of the media talking-heads say her success came easy.
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      • Profile picture of the author BruceWood
        Originally Posted by Colin Palfrey View Post


        If you chase your dream, follow your star and think positively ...you will always be beaten by someone that put the time and effort in.

        Cheers,
        Colin Palfrey
        I know TONS of artists who don't have the sense to push their work out into the world. They think it's beneath them to self-promote. I like to say they "suffer from art".

        The very fact that this writer was rejected so much shows that she had the sense to get her work out there -- and then instead of giving up she self-published and made sure that people knew about it! That places her in rarified air. More power to her!
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        • Profile picture of the author Colin Palfrey
          Originally Posted by BruceWood View Post

          The very fact that this writer was rejected so much shows that she had the sense to get her work out there -- and then instead of giving up she self-published and made sure that people knew about it! That places her in rarified air. More power to her!
          That is a point I think is getting lost in this thread, though.

          Many are watching the video and assuming she just kept on writing books, where as she clearly also worked on her marketing techniques.

          Cheers,
          Colin Palfrey
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          • Profile picture of the author schttrj
            Originally Posted by Colin Palfrey View Post

            That is a point I think is getting lost in this thread, though.

            Many are watching the video and assuming she just kept on writing books, where as she clearly also worked on her marketing techniques.

            Cheers,
            Colin Palfrey
            Exactly! People here are all for the easy way out - it just doesn't happen like that! If Amanda sold so many books by chance, I would call her "lucky". If not, she must be holding a secret
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            • Profile picture of the author Colin Palfrey
              Originally Posted by schttrj View Post

              Exactly! People here are all for the easy way out - it just doesn't happen like that! If Amanda sold so many books by chance, I would call her "lucky". If not, she must be holding a secret
              As we both know, 'Nobody' is that lucky.

              I think if she came to the WF, she would be a long way above the average marketer.

              The proof? Well she made a million from a book she wrote, which most here have yet to do. She obviously learned all she could from her failures and carried on to perfect her marketing technique.

              I would say her secret is: Putting in a ridiculously large amount of work, divided between learning to write in a way that captivates the interest of her readers and to marketing. Either ability alone is useless.

              Cheers,
              Colin Palfrey
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              • Profile picture of the author schttrj
                Originally Posted by Colin Palfrey View Post

                As we both know, 'Nobody' is that lucky.

                I think if she came to the WF, she would be a long way above the average marketer.

                The proof? Well she made a million from a book she wrote, which most here have yet to do. She obviously learned all she could from her failures and carried on to perfect her marketing technique.

                I would say her secret is: Putting in a ridiculously large amount of work, divided between learning to write in a way that captivates the interest of her readers and to marketing. Either ability alone is useless.

                Cheers,
                Colin Palfrey
                Absolutely! It sounds like a miracle...but it's NOT.
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            • Profile picture of the author paulie888
              Originally Posted by schttrj View Post

              Exactly! People here are all for the easy way out - it just doesn't happen like that! If Amanda sold so many books by chance, I would call her "lucky". If not, she must be holding a secret
              This "luck" came as a result of tireless hard work and determination. Of course, many people will simply attribute her success to "luck" because it is an easy way to rationalize someone's huge success, but this simply isn't true. As Thomas Edison would say, luck is a result of 99% perspiration and only 1% inspiration!
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  • Profile picture of the author Floyd Fisher
    Name sounds very familiar....where have I heard it before?
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  • Profile picture of the author Nick Sammut
    good on her
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  • Profile picture of the author Adie
    My mentored neighbor who is not making pretty decent amount with adsense is very inpired after I presented this video and news to him... he is a frustrated writer too...Now he is thinking of pursuing his writing career....
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  • Profile picture of the author Sparhawke
    Publishers only publish what they like, not what the people like...it took Beatrix Potter an age to get someone to finally give her a chance, and then they only did it to get rid of her and have an excuse to get rid of a minor partner...her books sold millions and she is the worlds most famous childrens writer even many years later.

    Go figure.

    Publishers don't know it all and now with this cost of publishing an ebook being next to nil anyone can have a go, but that is not to say everyone will have success.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alan Petersen
    In the video they briefly showed a breakdown of author's and how many units of they've sold. Here is the screenshot:



    Anyone know how to get that data? I searched Amazon but couldn't find it. Thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Carl Kelly
    Alan:

    For info on that data, go here...

    Adventures in ePublishing: The keys to epublishing success?
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Carl Kelly
    Also, here's a decent resource for those looking to self-pub:

    How to self
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  • Profile picture of the author donhx
    Interesting to me that she started blogging in 2009 and her book came along in 2010. Big publishers talk about "platform." If you have a blog with just a few thousand followers, you can parlay that into real publishing success. This kind of platform is similar to the guru phenomena we have in IM, but it's a different audience. In IM the followers are looking for some secret to making money quickly with little effort. In the literary world, they connect with the writer and the story. With them it's all about the power of art.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sportate
    It is wonderful to see people have success like this especially if she has been at this since she was 6 years old. There appears to be a lot of cynicism in many of the comments here. I think it is nice that she can bask in her success for awhile and if there is more to her story maybe there will come a time when she wishes to share that.
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  • Profile picture of the author VOnline
    Great!
    Motivation booster right here!
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  • Profile picture of the author BlondieWrites
    What she has accomplished in such a short time is totally amazing. It's a huge inspiration, to say the least. The fact that she says she doesn't market makes this whole thing even more amazing and inspiring.

    And to think the big house publishers thought they were all that lol...


    Cindy
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    • Profile picture of the author Martin Luxton
      From her Amazon page

      The first book in my new paranormal romance trilogy comes out Monday. Switched is set to come out on July 12th. This also happens to be my birthday, so every time someone buys one of my books, it's like a birthday present
      Yep, the girl is just a determined author who is clueless about marketing.

      There's a lot of hype in the book and music industry.

      Remember the penniless singer who became an internet sensation from her basement?

      Sandi Thom Stole My Story. The Implications To The Unsigned Artist. - Stereoboard UK

      Not saying Amanda Hocking is the same but with rags to riches stories you should always be sceptical about the HOW.


      Martin
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      • Profile picture of the author TyCohen
        Just goes to show you how companies like Amazon and Apple are changing the landscape of things... Plus introducing new buying habits through the use of 0.99 to $2.99 "micro payments" for things like songs (iTunes) and ebooks (Amazon) which makes it much easier to capture impulsive buyers.


        Kindle has been really good for me as well this year and as marketers we should all be taking note.


        Ty
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      • Profile picture of the author LilBlackDress
        Originally Posted by Martin Luxton View Post

        From her Amazon page



        Yep, the girl is just a determined author who is clueless about marketing.

        There's a lot of hype in the book and music industry.

        Remember the penniless singer who became an internet sensation from her basement?

        Sandi Thom Stole My Story. The Implications To The Unsigned Artist. - Stereoboard UK

        Not saying Amanda Hocking is the same but with rags to riches stories you should always be sceptical about the HOW.


        Martin
        My pop singer daughter has close to 400,000 song plays and thousands of fans on Myspace. All organic.

        I had read about Sandi Thom's rags to riches story and shared it with her. Very inspiring. Never realized it was a set up. I am always skeptical when it comes to those "discovery" stories but now will be even more so.

        One thing my daughter has said is she would rather have one real play than hundreds of fake plays. Guess the artist mentioned in the article really didn't care.
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  • Profile picture of the author GuruGazette
    Guys and Gals: One huge piece of the story here is the Kindle. Amazon has set up a brilliant system that generates impulse buys like there's no tomorrow.

    I am both a Kindle author and owner/buyer. As a buyer, I can download a sample of every single Kindle book published. Samples are about the 1st 10% of the book. At the end of the sample I can click ONE link and seconds later have the entire book downloaded to me automatically. There is no form to fill out, no box to check to agree to terms, no review your order details, nothing.

    Just. One. Click.

    And yes its super easy to accidentally buy a book. The point here though, is that it's super easy to buy a book! If the sample is engaging enough, people will click the link and buy to satisfy-instantly-their desire to keep reading.

    As an author/publisher, I've been selling books without trying for a couple of years. I had my first Kindle sales in Dec 08. When I passed the 200 copies in a month mark a couple of months ago is when I finally started doing some minor marketing. Hell I didn't even have my books tagged until last month sometime.

    So yes it is more than possible for authors to become successful on Kindle without "trying." The samples, easy buying process and word off mouth have HUGE impacts.

    With that said, you do have to do something. Like actually write a book, preferably with decent quality, then put it up for sale.

    My 20 year old daughter has been writing since she was 12 or 14, fiction/fantasy/popular stuff. Everybody who likes the genre and has read her stories talks about how good her work is... But she never finishes any of it! Drives me nuts! I planted the seed of kindle publishing in her head and she likes the idea but so far? Nope. Not even a finished short story.

    So yes, hard work, persistence, actually going the final mile. All of these contribute to success stories like the one in this thread. But trust me, Kindle publishing makes the actual sales side of things *so* much easier.
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    • Profile picture of the author schttrj
      Originally Posted by paulie888 View Post

      This "luck" came as a result of tireless hard work and determination. Of course, many people will simply attribute her success to "luck" because it is an easy way to rationalize someone's huge success, but this simply isn't true. As Thomas Edison would say, luck is a result of 99% perspiration and only 1% inspiration!
      This is just an excerpt from her blog, people might want to read it.

      Which brings me to another point. As much as my name has been thrown about, I haven't seen J. L. Bryan's name mentioned. He's the author of a fantastic young adult paranormal romance called Jenny Pox. Like my books, his is priced at $.99 EDIT: It's $2.99 now. But it was $.99 earlier. Like me, he has several other titles out. Also, like me, he has paperback versions of his book available and he reaches out to book bloggers. In fact, he just did an intensive blog tour for the release of his latest book The Haunted E-book. I even included an excerpt of Jenny Pox at the end of my book Ascend, because I like his writing so much, and I want other people to read it.

      With all of that said, Bryan sells less books than I do. I don't know how many exactly, because I haven't asked, but I can tell from his rankings that it's not as many.

      What's my point in all of this? By all accounts, he has done the same things I did, even writing in the same genre and pricing the books low. And he's even a better writer than I am. So why am I selling more books than he is? I don't know.

      That's the truth of it. Nobody knows what makes one book a bestseller. Publishers and agents like to pretend they do, but if they did, they would only publish best sellers, and they don't.

      I guess what I'm saying is that just because I sell a million books self-publishing, it doesn't mean everybody will. In fact, more people will sell less than 100 copies of their books self-publishing than will sell 10,000 books. I don't mean that to be mean, and just because a book doesn't sell well doesn't mean it's a bad book. It's just the nature of the business.

      Self-publishing and traditional publishing really aren't that different. One is easier to get into but harder to maintain. But neither come with guarantees. Some books will sell, some won't.

      Don't get me wrong - I am excited about the world now. I am proud of what I've accomplished, and humbled that so many people have embraced my books. I think it's a really great time to be a writer. We have more control of our destiny before - or at least, it feels that way.

      I love what I am doing now. I hope to continue self-publishing for a long time to come. I am immensely grateful to all my readers, book bloggers, and to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and Apple for all the work they've done publishing my books and getting the word out there.

      But I just think everyone should be realistic about this. When J. K. Rowling became the world's first billionaire author, I didn't go, "Ha! I will publish now, now that I see an author can make that much money doing it." (Admittedly, I was trying to get published when that happened, as I had been for the past seven or eight years).

      That's all I'm saying. Self-publishing is great, but it's not easy. Most people who do it will not get rich, just like most authors signed up at Scholastic books aren't billionaires. Traditional publishers are not evil any more than Amazon or Barnes & Noble are evil. Things are changing, hopefully for the better, but it is still hard work being a writer.

      Originally Posted by Dana_W View Post

      I've been studying up on this and reading everything I can about the whole Kindle phenomenon.

      I think it's kind of taken out of context when she says she doesn't do any marketing; I believe what she means is, she doesn't do any marketing RIGHT NOW, now that she's widely established and a lot of people know who she is.

      Here's a blog post from yesterday where she says she does TONS of marketing. (March 3 entry). And if you read her blog posts from a year ago she talks about doing tons of marketing.

      My Blood Approves

      That's Amandahocking blogspot dot com

      Among the things she did: submitted her books to book review blogs, offered her first books at 99 cents, promoted herself on social media sites.

      So no, it's not like she just wrote the first book, uploaded it to Amazon, and it took off like a rocket.
      Exactly! As she said, it's NO easy work being a writer!

      Originally Posted by GuruGazette View Post

      Guys and Gals: One huge piece of the story here is the Kindle. Amazon has set up a brilliant system that generates impulse buys like there's no tomorrow.

      I am both a Kindle author and owner/buyer. As a buyer, I can download a sample of every single Kindle book published. Samples are about the 1st 10% of the book. At the end of the sample I can click ONE link and seconds later have the entire book downloaded to me automatically. There is no form to fill out, no box to check to agree to terms, no review your order details, nothing.

      Just. One. Click.

      And yes its super easy to accidentally buy a book. The point here though, is that it's super easy to buy a book! If the sample is engaging enough, people will click the link and buy to satisfy-instantly-their desire to keep reading.

      As an author/publisher, I've been selling books without trying for a couple of years. I had my first Kindle sales in Dec 08. When I passed the 200 copies in a month mark a couple of months ago is when I finally started doing some minor marketing. Hell I didn't even have my books tagged until last month sometime.

      So yes it is more than possible for authors to become successful on Kindle without "trying." The samples, easy buying process and word off mouth have HUGE impacts.

      With that said, you do have to do something. Like actually write a book, preferably with decent quality, then put it up for sale.

      My 20 year old daughter has been writing since she was 12 or 14, fiction/fantasy/popular stuff. Everybody who likes the genre and has read her stories talks about how good her work is... But she never finishes any of it! Drives me nuts! I planted the seed of kindle publishing in her head and she likes the idea but so far? Nope. Not even a finished short story.

      So yes, hard work, persistence, actually going the final mile. All of these contribute to success stories like the one in this thread. But trust me, Kindle publishing makes the actual sales side of things *so* much easier.
      Ha ha...don't worry...one day, she will be better than you are...and make a name for herself too!
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  • Profile picture of the author AzzamS
    Its a matter of time till one of her books gets a movie deal and then BAM she is having lunch with JK rowling
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  • Profile picture of the author AzzamS
    Here is what she said in a blog post:

    From what I can guess, it happened because:
    -the books are in a popular genre
    -the covers are enjoyable
    -the price is good
    -the writing isn't terrible (although, believe me, some people would argue that point)
    -book bloggers recommended it
    -accessibility - I'm on Twitter, facebook, goodreads, Amazon, KB. I'm anywhere I can be. I always try to respond to readers, even though most of my responses are lame. I'll spend about an hour replying to fan mail and it only amounts to about 2 sentences that pretty much say thanks. I'm sorry I'm a lame writer-backer.


    My biggest word of advice to any new/future writers thinking about diving into Kindle: Edit. I don't care what you think, you didn't edit enough. Some people won't care that there's errors, its true, but enough of them will. And they paid for it, so they have a right to. So edit more. And then again. Really.
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  • Profile picture of the author sarahberra
    Awesome!! Go Amanda! It's very hard to get published. Never give up. WE have other options and the net opens many doors.
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  • Profile picture of the author cashcow
    Here's what she says in the interview cited above (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tonya-..._804685.html):

    I think one of the advantages I have is that stuff considered marketing is stuff that I do a lot anyway. I've been active on social networks and blogs for years.
    I also send ARCs [advance review copies] out to book bloggers. Book bloggers are a really amazing community, and they've been tremendously supportive. They've definitely been a major force that got my books on the map.

    So, she is actually doing all the things that we should be doing.

    The other thing is that as you got more sales your book moves up higher in the kindle searches so as more and more people are buying it, it is getting more visibility on Amazon thus causing more people to buy it.

    This is truly a great story of hard work, persistence and massive action finally paying off.
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  • Profile picture of the author Adie
    And this thread actually adds her popularity and marketability of her books.. anyhow, she's giving inspiration..positive inspiration...
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  • Profile picture of the author Andrea Wilson
    Great fortune for Amanda. I imagine her being a sudden boom in the market like the publishers of Harry Potter or Twilight, who knows?

    Andrea
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  • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
    MJ DeMarco looks at the nuts-and-bolts of Amanda's success story, which is worth reading...
    3 Ways to Leverage Technological Disruption To Ignite Your Dreams to Reality | Fastlane Entrepreneurs

    He also links to another author who started out as a traditionally published author, but since switching to ebooks, makes more money doing less work. This is worth a look if only because the author divulges sales numbers and turnover figures...
    A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Time Investment

    What I found interesting about Amanda's story was the way she arrived at her pricing policy: she remembered that she was happy to pay $0.79 or $0.99 for a music track and imagined that her books should sell for about that amount if they were to appeal to her young audience. It looks as though her strategy of "walking in the shoes of her customers" has paid off.
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    • Profile picture of the author Shana Walters
      Originally Posted by John Henderson View Post

      MJ DeMarco looks at the nuts-and-bolts of Amanda's success story, which is worth reading...
      3 Ways to Leverage Technological Disruption To Ignite Your Dreams to Reality | Fastlane Entrepreneurs

      He also links to another author who started out as a traditionally published author, but since switching to ebooks, makes more money doing less work. This is worth a look if only because the author divulges sales numbers and turnover figures...
      A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Time Investment

      What I found interesting about Amanda's story was the way she arrived at her pricing policy: she remembered that she was happy to pay $0.79 or $0.99 for a music track and imagined that her books should sell for about that amount if they were to appeal to her young audience. It looks as though her strategy of "walking in the shoes of her customers" has paid off.
      Thank you so much for the link to Fastlane Entrepreneurs.

      I had no idea that Amada Hocking was selling that many books in monthly. It is truly an inspiring and wonderful story.

      All the best,
      Shana Jahsinta Walters.
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      Write until my fingers fall off. LOL!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author mannyman
    Awesome thread!!!

    The self published author does alot of marketing. She says when people asked her what she did, she refers them to read her blog. She detailed everything she did every step of the way.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nick Brighton
    If I say it once, I'll say it a million times... great products market themselves.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike McAleer
    Ebooks really are great but now I wonder how she promoted these. Did she just leave them up there?
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    Recent domain flips : $8->$1000 Social recruiting Software dot com $8->$2000 MobileSalesSoftware.com
    Invest in domains without the hard work !
    Email for details...Mike McAleer at me dot com

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    • Profile picture of the author Adie
      Originally Posted by Mike McAleer View Post

      Ebooks really are great but now I wonder how she promoted these. Did she just leave them up there?
      In at least 1 instances she did mentioned that she was promoting her books on social networks, but the details were not discussed.
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      Moderator's Note: You're only allowed to put your own products or sites in your signature.

      Signature edited.
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    • Profile picture of the author celente
      Originally Posted by Mike McAleer View Post

      Ebooks really are great but now I wonder how she promoted these. Did she just leave them up there?
      would love to know this, reverse engineer baby
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      Create a $5000 USD a month Business. 1-on-1 Coaching. By 6 figure marketer! - CLICK HERE
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      • Profile picture of the author SMS
        The take-away from this for me is that traditional modes of publishing & distribution are becoming somewhat irrelevant in the interconnected world of the 21st century.

        We are still in the early years of the Internet Revolution, and you, fellow Warrior are at the forefront of this brave new world.

        I can't help wondering if there's a market for Internet Marketers that offer their services to frustrated authors who just want to be 'heard'. One problem I see is that even published authors are a poor breed... let alone unpublished and frustrated authors.

        Profit share, anyone?
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  • Profile picture of the author minisite
    I've read her story and watch the video on youtube. It is definitely mind blowing what she did. Although it took her about 8 years to become a best seller, I think her hard work and ambition finally paid off.
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  • Profile picture of the author andyrandall
    Banned
    as if man cant believe that man
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