Amazon Direct Publishing has enabled a lot of authors to get their writing voices out there. One independent author who has published a number of thrillers over the past year, is John Locke. Locke joins major authors such as Suzanne Collins and Stieg Larsson as the eighth member of the Kindle Million Club.
Locke describes how his successful marketing strategy in his book How I sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months! He does it in a clear and concise way. One important thing that I took from his book is that if you want to sell books, magazines, or even blogs, you need to figure out your target audience. If you can find a good niche, that’s a huge step. Also, utilize social media tools such as Facebook or Twitter to actively reach out to fans.
With the exception of 1 Million Books, Locke’s books go for .99 each. With a lot of bestselling ebooks going for $9,.99 or up, this is an amazing deal.
Saving Rachel is one of Locke’s top selling books and belongs to the Donovan Creed series. This ebook sends the reader on quite the ride as killers give a man the choice between his wife and mistress. Sam Case messes with the wrong people when he hides money from mobsters and terrorists like Donovan Creed. The plot is pretty outrageous, but it is a matter of preference.
Speaking of outrageous, another one of Locke’s books, Wish List, certainly also falls into that category. I cracked up at the main character’s name, Buddy Pancake. Buddy and his friends start making crazy wishes from a Wish List website without really thinking about the consequences of those wishes.
On another note, Locke also wrote the Emmett Love Westerns. These are set in mid nineteenth century Western United States. Follow the Stone has met great success. So, if you need a break from Locke’s thrillers or prefer westerns, these would be a good series. You’ll find touching themes and great characters.
So, as you can see, it is very possible to have great success at publishing ebooks on Amazon. This is great for those who would otherwise not get a shot with the major publishing houses, however, there needs to be more control over Kindle publishing so that all authors can get the merits they deserve and compete with the big names.