How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months

His system is solid marketing for his specific circumstances, I'll grant. That doesn't mean it will work for you or even apply remotely to your situation. When one of the major cornerstones of his plan's success is to already have four-to-eight books available, that right there cuts out the majority of self-publishers. I can't daisy-chain my marketing and reviews and book links between my multiple products if I only have one book ready and it takes me longer than his two months to write another (hell, I'd be thrilled to write one in ten months). All his Twitter techniques are grand, IF you already have hundreds of followers, or know how to get them. All in all, the only reason I don't feel like I wasted three bucks is because it's not really his fault the techniques don't apply to me, or that I don't have the time or money to invest in websites and blog writing.

Interesting...genuine, & honest. But what in the hell is up with all the exclamation points!?!? I stopped counting (yes, I counted them--keeping track was the only way my mind would move past the brick wall of overuse) at just around the 50% point of the book: 146 exclamation points. There were less than 5 pages with none of the offending punctuation, some pages (on an iPad mini, set at a moderately sized font) had as many as 9-----on a single page. I feel the urge to put three or four exclamation points at the end of that thought, but I will refrain, restrain my inner-8-year-old.

Mr. Locke suffers from the no-editor feature of being self-published. A good editor would catch and stop the madness. Exclamation points are crutches--if one must rely on them to support words and phrases--then the words and phrases should be strengthened through revision rather than simply slapping some bad punctuation on them in an effort to prop them up.

There's a bit of an exclamation-point paradox in that while they are meant to show emphasis (which they do reasonably well in children's books--in moderation of course) instead, they weaken the writing intended for readers over the age of ten.

I was curious, so I went poking around Locke's fiction to see if it too was drowning in a sea of over punctuation...it didn't seem to be as bad, but it's still there. There were areas of really decent scene setting and character inner dialogue that are ruined with one of these useless and irritating hyper-punctuated phrases...

I'm glad Mr. Locke is seeing such great success with his work and through his marketing process--(though, I fear for the deterioration of the reading public's apparently dwindling IQ. The sweeping success of the 50 Shades of Crappy Writing series is evidence that the decline started long before Locke entered the picture. He should thank her for blowing the doors right off the building of well-written good stories. Sadly, we can't unring that bell.)

I am a self-published author. Non-fiction, which is not the meat of the book. However, I have walked in his shoes with so-so results even though I had the luxury of attention from NBC and CNN ...as he said so eloquently "..that helps but you need the day to day reader, follower." I learned a ton,TON, from this book. And as John said, the self-published route is not for the weak. He spent $25K but I can top that and not proudly. Everything he says is common sense, not marketing 101 as one person suggested. (you try it, let me know how it works) The biggest lesson is that any success is daily routine, a plan, and execution. It is elementary but there are few who will adhere to it. I more than recommend this book to any writer. And my very best wishes to John Locke for his continued success OUTSIDE the box. You gotta love a guy like that! Nancy Rossman [...]

John Locke is completely generous to have shared all of his "How To" knowledge. What a great guy! He calls this book "Howie"-how perfect! Now I call it "Howie" too b/c I'm going to follow this book as my marketing guide for my forthcoming "Tax Path" series (how to save income tax). Don't think this is a "fast food" answer to marketing your book. It will be work, but if it's worth it, of course it will be work. Thank you! Lisa Backus, CPA

Funny, insightful and filled up with "popular wisdom". His "business"approach to writing comes in the right moment, proving that writers can make a living out of their passion as long as they are determined to make a change in the way they perceive the whole concept.

I totally recommend it to all writers, whether they're copywriters, ghost writers or bloggers. What are you waiting for? Buy it! :)

Read it. Deleted it from my Kindle.

Common sense. Basic marketing principles. Lots of financial investment.

Still, Locke's fiction books must have something going for them.

I probably should have read one of those first.

So much fantastic information in this book - that I'm going to have to read it again and again just to get all the information seared into my brain. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a workable marketing plan to self-publish their own novels. I don't know if I can do it, but I'm certainly willing to try!

How do you sell 1 Million the store Kindle ebooks? John Locke has done it and shares his business model with the world.

From September 2010 to March 2011, John Locke's Kindle monthly ebook sales went from 63 to 369,115. What an amazing change in sales in six short months. After March 2011 John became the eighth author to sell 1 million Kindle ebooks.

John is the first self-published author to sell 1 million Kindle ebooks and the first self-published author to hit #1 on the the store Kindle Best Seller List. Who better to teach us all how to do this?

In the midst of Internet Marketing hype, it is a breath of fresh air to have an author truly sell - 1 million ebooks and break open a new avenue for self-published authors on the store Kindle.

Inside this great book, John details the exact business model and methods he used to achieve his astounding success. He broke these sales records with his fiction series. And now opens the doors to us all to follow in his footsteps.

John Locke built several businesses offline, that enabled him to make two fortunes. When he decided to write fiction books he turned his business expertise to the new the store Kindle format. He developed a business model as he wrote and proved its effectiveness in his fast record breaking sales.

This book not only provides a blueprint for other writers and authors. It teaches something you simply can't find anywhere else today. How to truly sell a lot of Kindle ebooks without any hype or gimmicks. Just plain everyday sales from readers who will eagerly buy more and more of what you write.

With the new ereader technology, authors and writers of all genres have new avenues to sell their work. Up until nowmhowever, many have not seen a lot of sales success. John Locke is changing all of that with this incredible instruction manual.

Inside you will find everything you need to duplicate his success. You learn first hand how John created his fiction series and the ways he tried to sell them before he developed this business model.
John takes you by the hand and fills in all the needed information so you don't have to spend months, or maybe even years, testing and retesting yourself.

This business model is easy to follow and will work for both fiction and nonfiction books. It does not matter if you are a successful published, or self-published author. Nor does it matter if you are just starting out writing your first book. This easy to follow, non-techie book will get you up and going fast.

Can every ebook sell this well? No, of course not. However, you can utilize this proven system to get your books into your market faster and deeper. Why not maximize your sales instead of being happy with just a few sales a month.

I have personally taken detailed notes while I read this book. I am applying these techniques to my new Kindle ebooks soon. I will update this review in the near future with my results.

I want to personally thank John Locke for taking the time to share his proven business model with us. I truly believe this book will change the face of self-publishing forever. It is a Must Read!!!

Interesting take on marketing a book. Interesting point of view. In conflict with what other have written on the subject but I would say John was the most successful one to write on this topic. Take that for what it is - probably the most successful approach.

At last I've found a very informative and helpful ebook. It gave me a strategic plan for the ebooks that I'm writing. I would highly recommend it to anyone who needs direction on selling their ebooks and who would not be lazy to implement what is suggested.
Thumbs up to John Locke!!!

Great presentation of fundamental marketing concepts and practices using the Internet and Twitter and Facebook. The examples of the author's blogs and his specific explanation of why they worked is very effective.

I did like the idea of having interaction with your readers by setting up a blog and Twitter page. I thought there would be more direction, like a road map to use to achieve success. But I guess each book has its own way of succeeding.

Some books change your life. There are two in the last couple of years that shifted the way I was thinking, and John's was one. Simple, direct, easily articulated steps by someone who's successfully done it. I suddenly looked at twitter and its possibilities as a possibilty for community and communication, as opposed to one more thing to strangle time.

So, as of last week, I'm now more actively on twitter, and following people from whom I've learned some new things. I've been able to support them by "retweeting" their messages to my audience, as well.

The other book that was transforming for me? Brooks Palmer's Clutter Busting. These books create paradigm shifts...or they did for me.

THE place for any internet marketer to start, with a simple but never quick or easy plan for success. Not for everyone, and may not combine well with more complicated plans, but a great sample of how straightforward a plan can be.

When I completed my recent novel, "Passion is a Harsh Taskmaster," I was undecided about how to proceed with publishing it. Several alternatives were available, but I did not want to go a route that would require me to sink a lot of money into promotion that may not bear any fruit. So, a friend of mine recommended that I purchase this book by John Locke. I found that in the first half, Mr. Locke talks mostly about his success with his novels. However, the second half has the real meat. Here, Mr. Locke discusses all the ways he promoted his books with very little money, but with great success. If you are just getting into eBook publishing, this is definitely one of the books you should read.

Randy Finch (author of "Passion is a Harsh Taskmaster")

No hold barred blueprint for marketing ebooks the right way! Not too much detail, just enough to get the point across. Quick, easy read! Well worth the price! I found this manual so very useful that I'm considering purchasing the hardcopy; so, I can refer to it while I'm away from my internet connection.

I always give five stars when I literally cannot stop reading. I devoured this book in one sitting. Practical advice and great examples; John Locke gives you a realistic action plan for marketing your books. Highly recommended!

Right before I published my own novel, I DEVOURED this book. Although I ended up not using a lot of Locke's strategies, the parts that I "have" implemented have really seemed to help with sales. It's still pretty early, so we'll see what happens in another few months, but so far I have NO complaints.

My only criticism is that if I (or another writer) were to spend the time that Locke does on Twitter, developing and nurturing the type of following he has, we'd probably have time for little else--especially writing. But then again, that's just my opinion. Overall, I really enjoyed these tips at this price. A definite recommend for anyone considering independent publishing.

Having heard about Locke and authors like him who took a place on the front lines of what is becoming a new era of indie publishing and self-publishing, I wanted to check out what he had to say. When you title your book "How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months, one can't help but take notice. I know I did. It was short read but worth it. It will remain a reference as I move forward with my own publishing endeavors in this new world of publishing.

John's promotional tactics (which are brilliant) depend on: Writing fast and quality publishing.

Fast means; John punches out a new novel every 8 weeks. Hint - forget about re-re-re-re-writing the bloody things.

Quality publishing means; professional covers, formatting and front and back matter.

I can teach you how to write fast and with confidence.

I (and others) can teach you how to create a professional presentation and publish it on all the major ebook distribution channels.

John teaches you how to effectively promote what you publish.

All you have to do is walk the path. But you'll probably have to shed a lot of false ideas you've picked up along the way to being a writer - starting with just about everything you've been taught about the subject.

"To arrive at the truth, once in your life, you have to rid yourself of all the opinions that you have received and reconstruct anew, from the foundation, all the systems of your knowledge." ~ Rene Descartes

Write on...
Richard A McCullough
write-better-fiction.com

John Locke's book was recommended to me by another author. I downloaded and read it today. A quick read, full of meat, will help any indie author increase their positioning, visibility and eventually book sales. I'm looking forward to seeing how well his system will work for me. Thanks, John, for sharing and best wishes for your continued success.

Honoree (Corpron) Corder, grateful author
Tall Order! Seven Master Strategies to Organize Your Life and Double Your Success in Half the Time
The Successful Single Mom
The Successful Single Mom Cooks! Cookbook

Great info, down to earth style, made me tweak and rethink what I do as an author even though I've enjoyed good success so far. Found his suggestions doable and a springboard for how to personalize them to better connect with my readers.

Being new to the the store Kindle arena (I currently publish Raven c.s. McCracken's books under the imprint Swooping Grizzly Publications), I picked up John Locke's book to check out how he managed to do what no one had managed to do before: sell 1 million+ of self-published fiction on the store Kindle eBook format.

I've found it's always a great idea to learn from those who've done what you wish to do. John Locke's track record definitely puts him in that category for me. And his book does not disappoint. It's true that some of the methods he's recommending have been out there for awhile - he admits it himself. But he's using them in a way that really drives home the "customer service" aspect of the writing business, something that gets left behind in this day and age of "sell, sell, sell." He also makes wonderful points regarding competing with established, "bestselling" authors given the new eBook model that's taking over the industry. He's helped me see quite a bit of the whole process in a new light.

If you write or if you publish books, and want a nice, quick read that's to the point, well-written and well-thought out and will help you in your marketing efforts, then you should pick up John Locke's book and add it to your reference library.

After reading and using Deb Shenkle's "How To Self-Publish A Kindle Book, A Step-By-Step Guide" (Highly recommended!) to publish my first book, I decided I needed more help with marketing. Shenkle's book is a great step-by-step guide for novices in creating their ebook. I read several books to help me learn to market my ebooks, and found John Locke's to be ok, but not the leader of the pack. I am sure he knows what he is doing to help himself sell lots of books, but I felt there was an absence of concrete, pragmatic steps for the novice ebook writer/promotor. I got the feeling that Mr. Locke was holding back the particulars of some of his own strategies while cleverly marketing himself and his book. Just my opinion...

Maurice

Over 1 Million kindle downloads earns John Locke the spot of being one of the most successful Indie Authors today. If you've written a book, are writing a book or even thinking about writing a book, you need to put this on your must read list. John Locke is the everyday hero of indie authors. He acknowledges the tough challenge of making it as a self published author, but undaunted, he persevered and now has come out on top. He's obviously a marketing genius but take notes and reread his book and you'll have some great tools to use when marketing your own book. This book will motivate thousands of people all across America to look at themselves as enterpreneurs and to stand proud as Indie Writers.

Thanks for the inspiration!

Karen, a fellow indie author

I'm the author of 11 traditionally published books. My 12th was an ebook entitled The 11 Secrets of Getting Published. As a newbie to epublishing, I looked forward to learning from someone who's walked the path. This book has me thinking. And strategizing. And noodling. All good things.

What I loved:

1. His anatomy and tutorial about how to write a blog post revolutionized the way I think about my own posts. I've been a blogger since 2004, but haven't stumbled upon his method. This week I'm going to write some new posts using his insight and see how that works.

2. He gave me confirmation for what I've been doing all along, building strong fans/friends. I've spent several years responding to every reader email. I have an email distribution list of folks who go to bat for me. (This is humbling and heartening!) So I'll keep loving people, seeing my Twitter and Facebook interaction as vital to my career.

3. He writes conversationally.And he's generous with his information.

What niggled me:

1. I'm a craft person. My goal is to write a better book each time I write one. This means I spend a lot of time writing and improving. Though I don't think Locke would advocate writing terrible books, he does dance the line.

2. It appears (I certainly could be wrong) that he violates CAN/SPAM laws when he sends emails out to his fans. If you're not familiar with that, I have a guest post on my blog outlining it succinctly. Emails you send out en masse must be permission based (which his are), but they also have to have an unsubscribe feature to be legal. Again, I haven't received an email from him about his books to say if he does or doesn't do this. But I believe he needs to be very clear about this. I wouldn't want to see people's websites get shut down because they violated these laws.

All in all, I found this book to be valuable. It's rare that I read a marketing book (and I read hoards of them) where I feel energized and empowered. And it's doubly rare that a marketing book has me up at night thinking of new ways to present myself to my readers.

Mary DeMuth

I think John Locke has some insightful information. And as he warns, if his books don't "strike a subtle chord, you're probably not part of [his] target audience." So for those of you who are writing reviews to bash him, I'm curious why you're spending so much time recklessly scrutinizing his work when he is probably selling more books than you and probably didn't have your interests in mind writing this book in the first place.

I must admit though...the one thing that bothered me was the fact that the entire first part of the book (and sporadically throughout) was keenly written to promote all of his other books to the reader. Whether subliminally received or as blatant as a smack in the face, it was quite apparent to me that Locke was not completely genuine about writing a book that solely focused on how to sell "1 Million eBooks." Instead I learned all about his characters, books, and website...which I don't much care about.

With that being said, he DOES offer some interesting tactics on how to promote your books and ideas via social websites and blog posts. But there is no nitty gritty uncovered secret...more of a lot of self promotion. On the positive side, it was a very quick read and I'm hoping to apply some ideas to my own marketing plan to sell the new philosophical book Humantics.

Although the author includes information that will be useful to newcomers, I was disappointed. There was very little here that I haven't heard many times, for free, through Romance Writers of America and from other authors online and at conferences. I hoped Locke had something new and unusual to help me as I reissue my out-of-print novels and venture into publishing nonfiction, but although I admire his can-do attitude and I'm sure he writes his thrillers well--why else would he have so many readers?--I was sorry I spent my money on it.
How to Write a Novel in One (Not-so-easy) Lesson

As a writer myself, I have thoroughly enjoyed John Locke's series of Donovan Creed novels. His description of Rachel in "A Girl Like You" would make a dead man smile. And now, Locke has come out with the recipe for epublishing success. "How I Sold A Million Books..." is a must read for anyone aspiring to make it in the new landscape of independent publishing. I heartily recommend it!