31 August 2012 by Published in: Uncategorized 39 comments

I wrote a parody of writing/self-publishing self-help books a year ago, and one of the suggestions was to hire a group of Indian boiler-room workers to buy your books, boosting your ranking on Amazon so you would receive better visibility, which would then result in more legit sales as you land on peoples’ radar screens. Little did I know that was what at least one famous indie author (now infamous) who shall remain nameless (hint – it’s the name of a famous English philosopher) more or less did. His defenders claim that it is no worse than what many traditional publishing outfits do. Others claim that it’s fraudulent. Everyone needs to make their own determination on where they stand, although the apologists come off as pretty smarmy, at least to my ear.

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NEWS: A really fun and flattering blog and review, about Silver Justice and my sense of humor, from talented indie author RS Guthrie.

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I thought that I would assemble a punchlist for new authors of what to do in order to have any chance at all of being successful. Call it my dirty dozen. I left out the, “Buy 300 reviews and game the algorithms” part – just assume that’s always an option.

1) Create a website. It should feature a bio, your books, and some information about you that you feel readers would like to know.

2) Get on Twitter. Interact with folks. Don’t just post “Buy My Book” tweets. They don’t work. Nobody wants a salesman at their door. Be funny, or spontaneous, or whatever you are, but be genuine. Devote twenty minutes a day to building a social media platform. Retweet others if something resonates with you.

3) Get a Facebook page. Some people love Facebook. Obviously not purchasers of its recent IPO, but I digress. You need a Facebook page. I have one. Although I’m not that sure why, but still. Do as I say, not as I do.

4) Blog. At least once every 10 days. Blog about things that interest you. I could recommend that you try for heartfelt blogs that glom onto the tribulations of an ailing celebrity or a sex offender enabler, but that’s already been done, so it won’t work – assuming you believe it ever did. If so, I’ve got a bridge to sell you. Call me. It’ll go fast.

5) Write good books. This seems obvious. Don’t put crap onto the market. Take your time, write quality, and then get it edited by someone competent.

6) Write more good books. The best way to sell your last book is to have another good one releasing. And another. And another.

7) Try to be active in forums that interest you. Don’t go because you’re trying to drum up interest in your books. Go to contribute. If you do, eventually forum members will be interested in more about you than just what you post there. They might check out your books. If so, super. If not, you got to make new friends. Stop being such a calculating weasel and enjoy yourself a little.

8) Make sure your book covers are eye-stopping and professional. Most judge books by the cover. Don’t cheap out or try to do it yourself. It’s shortsighted and will make you look amateurish unless you have a background in design. And even then, I’d hire a pro. Why? Because the most important thing I can do as a writer is write. I’m not a designer. Or a formatter. I’ll leave that to those that are. I’m a writer. Given a productive choice, I will choose to write.

9) Work on your product description until it pops. Read other successful ones in your genre and model those. After the cover, the next most important thing in the purchasing selection process will be the product description, so get it right.

10) Distribute books to reviewers. You need reviews. Apologists for the aforementioned not-to-be-named author notwithstanding, they’re important. People read reviews. They do matter. And be nice to book bloggers and reviewers. Unless they’re clowns. You know how I feel about clowns. Grrrr.

11) Scour the internet for the latest on what is working for others and what isn’t. As an example, what was working 90 days ago (KDP Select free days) doesn’t work as well now. Pay attention, people. Stay current on the latest marketing trends so you don’t find yourself working systems that stopped being effective months or years ago.

12) Do interviews. Make them interesting. Be interesting. Nobody wants to read the work of a bore. Try to average at least one interview every two weeks. But be worthy of being interviewed. That’s where the interesting part comes in. And try not to be a self-involved twat. The world has enough of those.

13) Bonus tip: Don’t waste your time getting wrapped up in the marketing part of this. Marketing is important, but writing good books is more important. Spending 4 hours a day with your new twitter friends is fine, but spending 4 mastering your craft is better, in my opinion. So use your time like your most precious resource. In the end, it is the only thing you really have.

There it is. I could take 50K words to tell you this and try to charge you $5 for it, but you probably wouldn’t buy it and I’ve got better things to do with my time. Like writing my next thriller. Which is what I’m doing right now. If you want more detail on what not to do, along with a lot of belly laughs (and some cringe moments now that the cat’s out of the bag on the review debacle), go buy How To Sell A Gazillion eBooks In No Time (even if drunk, high or incarcerated) for $2.99. But be warned – I think everything is deserving of mockery. But don’t try that at home. Especially around your mate.

My little odyssey thus far has been an eye opening one, and I recognize I beat the odds. Only a handful out of every hundred thousand authors can do well enough at this game to make a living at it. For that I am consistently grateful. I understand that it could crash and burn at any time, or continue for another twenty years – as long as I’m still plying my craft and delivering value. The above represents about everything you need to have the same shot I had. Use it well.

And now for a little break from our weighty matters, bowing to pressure and in an obvious attempt to pander, I am posting a puppy photo. But in an effort to not leave readers with a cloying syrupy taste in their mouths, as well as to remind them what happens to people that don’t buy my books, I am also including another, far more ominous snap. Something for everyone.

Awww. Little guy is thinking, “Hope someone buys Russ’ books so he doesn’t sell me as taco meat.”

 

 

The horror never fades.

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Comments

  1. Fri 31st Aug 2012 at 8:44 am

    Russell,
    Fantastic advise.
    Being both your friend and your fan, I trust you will entertain a suggestion, observation really. Namely, your mastery of number 5 puts the other twelve in the deep shadows.
    Thanks for your willingness, not to teach, but to model, and to do it with such excellence.
    Yours to count on,
    Bert

    Reply
    • Russell Blake  –  Fri 31st Aug 2012 at 12:23 pm

      Thanks Bert. Appreciate the kind words.

      We toil away, every day, trying to improve our craft. That in the end will carry the day. Hopefully.

      Reply
  2. Fri 31st Aug 2012 at 11:23 am

    Russell
    Great advice. Nothing new, but all relevant and we all need a kick in the shin once in a while to remember the components of being a Authorpreneur (a term I like, to go with the phrase: Writing is an art, Publishing is a business).

    My top three from your list:
    #5 – Write good books
    #13 (my lucky number)
    #11

    If you want this to be a career or a second job, something more than a passion, you need to do more than #5.

    Keep writing, mi amigo, and be glad that clowns wear squeaky shoes so they can’t sneak up on you.

    Doug

    Reply
    • Russell Blake  –  Fri 31st Aug 2012 at 12:22 pm

      F#cking clowns ruin everything. They must be stopped.

      Yes, I think writing good books is what will sustain a career for decades. That’s my hope, anyway. That’s where I’ve invested my time, and my hopes. That, and puppy snaps.

      If I can just convince everyone that loves puppies to buy even one of my books, I’ll be doing body shots off a nubile bikini model’s midriff whilst floating on my mega-yacht chortling at the demise of my enemies. A noble goal, I think.

      Reply
      • Tasha Turner  –  Tue 04th Sep 2012 at 11:17 am

        Great goal. Love your writing and your sense of humor.

        Reply
  3. E. J. Robertson
    Fri 31st Aug 2012 at 2:08 pm

    Hi Russel,

    All very credible advice.

    I’m not sure just how much I want to chime in on the subject of paid reviews. My biggest concern is that it’s an attempt to make indy authors look more dishonest than the mainstream publishers. Do mainstream publishers pay for reviews, buy up large amounts of table space at large book stores to squeeze out their competition, or take part in any of a number of things that would look less than scrupulous to the average bear? Certainly. On the other hand, when the finger is pointing at one person (and not a large corporation) it becomes much easier to wag the finger of shame.

    Do I personally agree with it? No. But neither am I surprised to hear that an independent author has attempted to emulate big business strategies. I’m sure there are others out there doing the same.

    That being said, I agree with everything you’re saying–which is why I’m reading and contributing to your blog. If you’re not having fun with your craft, you’re doing something wrong and people will sense it. Even a non-writer who knows little of craft and technique very often has a sense of these things. In general, people are hungry for something good and honest in it’s effort. They come to a writer’s world for entertainment and escape from the politics of living–as most hear it through friends, work, and the media. And they generally want to like the author whose words are helping them get away from all that. I think this is even more important for the independent writer, who, on some level, is also a form of escapism. As an individual, the public is going to expect better from you than what they expect from “Corporate America.”

    I came into the world of entertainment as a commercial artist doing freelance assignments. And I remember a printout that was hanging on one editor’s wall. It’s an old saw, but one that still cuts:

    You’re very good at what you do.
    You’re very reliable.
    You’re a very likable person.

    Pick any two out of the above three and you’ll get work.

    I believe this not just true for editors hiring talent, but is also true in the way the public views those who make a living in the entertainment industry as a whole. How many total jerks and still find public favor because they are good at what they do and keep cranking out work regularly? Of course, some Hollywood types have trashed all three of the above and still make millions simply because they’re beautiful…but that’s a whole other ball of insanity.

    For most of us, however, I think this entire fiasco can be best summed up by something my grandmother used to say, “Don’t show your ass in public unless you’re sure it’s clean.” Or possibly very beautiful–oh, my!

    Take care,
    E.J.

    Reply
    • Russell Blake  –  Fri 31st Aug 2012 at 3:36 pm

      Here’s my take on the debacle.

      I’ve heard all the arguments pro and con.

      Quite a few authors are angry because they feel like they’ve played by the ethical rules, as well as Amazon’s TOS, and have been bypassed by someone who cheated.

      Of course the trad pub houses do whatever they can, ethical or not, to make a buck and gain any possible advantage. The Harlequin suit is one of the best examples of how despicable they can be. There are countless others. No question they do unethical and illegal things to secure an advantage.

      My problem lies in the faulty reasoning of those trying to defend the questionable actions. They seem to fall into several camps. “Many others were/are also doing it.” “There’s nothing wrong with it.” “The man was just doing what the big trad pub houses do.” “Only an idiot would believe reviews anyway – most of them are probably bogus.”

      Perhaps. And not throwing stones, but the reality is that the behavior was and is deceptive and undermines any credibility in the reviewing process. There is no question it is deceptive – otherwise why have the reviewers buy the books so they would appear genuine? No reason but to deceive. So then the question becomes whether it is morally repugnant to engage in deceptive business practices. Some obviously believe that any trickery is OK if it is effective. We can call that the morally bankrupt, or if we wish to be more charitable, the morally elastic group. They argue that engaging in deceptive business practices is acceptable because so many do it. Using that logic then robbery (lots do that too) or fraud (many engage in that) or assault (plenty of that going on) are also acceptable. To me it’s a specious argument. But I suspect that they know that if they repeat a lie often enough, eventually it will get confounded with the truth. The trick is always to keep repeating the same baloney over and over, until everyone gets tired and goes home, or gets so confused they just give up.

      So the question is whether engaging in deceptive business practices is acceptable or not.

      I think that all the lawyerly jockeying in the world won’t change that most feel it is not. Whether any of this matters is a different question. In my mind the strength of the writing will carry the day over the long haul, and any gimmicks will fade with time. As with all things, we shall see.

      Reply
  4. Andrew
    Fri 31st Aug 2012 at 4:28 pm

    All I can say is that when I read the words ‘famous English philosopher’ (i.e. the namesake of this notorious and dubious indie author) my first thought was Bertrand Russell, LOL

    I can’t wait for Jet, by the way.

    Reply
    • Russell Blake  –  Fri 31st Aug 2012 at 7:45 pm

      Neither can I. It’s at the editor’s, and I’m hard at work on JET 2 as we speak. I’m really liking this character and the pacing of the novels.

      Reply
  5. Robert jones
    Fri 31st Aug 2012 at 9:16 pm

    Hi Russel,

    Getting back on topic a bit with the selling of ebooks, I would love to here your take on selling novels broken down by chapters, or split into two or three parts. Nineteenth century novels were often divided into two or three volumes. Is this good business sense if each volume is of a decent length, or does it just come across like a writer is trying to squeeze as much money out of potential customers as possible?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Russell Blake  –  Fri 31st Aug 2012 at 10:10 pm

      I have a trilogy out where each book is roughly 50K words. I give the first away free, and haven’t had that many complaints. Except for those who don’t know what a Serial trilogy is, and are too lazy to look it up, who don’t get that it is a story told across three books. They get incensed because each volume isn’t a complete story unto itself. Which always amuses me about people receiving something for free, and then complaining about it. To me that’s the ultimate lowbrow move. I sort of feel like I should tell them, “Hey, here’s your money back, go look the word up in a free online dictionary” but that seems like it could be interpreted as snarky. We live in a world where the customer expects to be right, even if plainly wrong.

      Or at least they live in that world.

      So I wouldn’t do it unless you have a high tolerance for folks who aren’t bright giving you one star reviews.

      Reply
      • CarrieVS  –  Mon 03rd Sep 2012 at 1:50 pm

        Serial trilogies aren’t weird then? That’s a relief. I have 1/3 of one so far (although I didn’t know it was called that) and the only person who’s read the whole of it and given me feedback so far seemed a bit miffed by it.

        The story seemed to break pretty well into three sections, and the first is over 90k words (which I reckon would make for a nice-sized omnibus edition eventually) and whilst the structure may not be quite the ‘normal’ 3 acts, I think it’s got enough of a story to keep people reasonably happy. And I think I’ve gone too far to change it now without scrapping the entire thing.

        Personally, as a reader, I’m fine with a long story split into parts. I would suggest, though, that you might want to put more emphasis on each volume being book/part x of the overall series than you might with a series of books that basically stand alone, to make sure your readers know what they’re getting.

        I wouldn’t break it into chapters though. Each part needs to be a reasonable length for a book.

        Reply
  6. Fri 31st Aug 2012 at 9:23 pm

    Hey Russell,
    Great advice. I’m happy to see this is consistent with everyone else’s advice. Well, most of it. 🙂
    I’m now looking for advice on how to pry open the 24 hour ring of time we get every day, hold it open long enough to shovel a few more hours in before it snaps shut. There’s only so much sleep you can function without. 🙂

    Reply
    • Russell Blake  –  Fri 31st Aug 2012 at 10:11 pm

      As soon as I figure out how to do that I’ll let you know. Wink.

      Reply
  7. yoon
    Fri 31st Aug 2012 at 10:52 pm

    HAHAHAHAHA! You put THAT clown photo! That’s really creepy. I thought you’d “like” it.

    AND! Awwwwwww… Fuzzy puppy. Your puppy? Either he’s really small or you like your wine in a seriously large glass.

    I was going to begin and end my comment only on non-writer stuff at first, but I just have to add something in light of the fact that SOMEBODY keeps tweeting non-working links. *coughcough*you*cough* So my contribution to the serious portion of this post is that if you share a link on SM, make sure they work.

    Reply
    • Russell Blake  –  Fri 31st Aug 2012 at 11:03 pm

      Thanks for that. Apparently she moved the location, hence the link not working. It’s not my fault. Nothing ever is.

      I do favor generous helpings of vino. I suppose the cat’s out of the bag now.

      Don’t judge.

      Reply
      • Tasha Turner  –  Tue 04th Sep 2012 at 11:27 am

        The size of the glass to the size of the puppy looked right to me. I had to go back and look at it again to see what yoon was talking about.

        Reply
  8. Sat 01st Sep 2012 at 2:39 pm

    All good advice, but the last sentence of #7 is the most important to me.

    Reply
  9. Mon 03rd Sep 2012 at 12:47 pm

    Thank you!

    Everything else I’ve read puts SO much emphasis on marketing, and seems to suggest that I should know exactly what I’m going to do and already be doing it and be doing so much of it.

    And I really don’t have more than a vague idea what to do, and my efforts so far consist of a (rather unsuccessful) blog and trying to build a Twitter following. I would have got a Facebook author page already, but it feels ridiculous and somewhat dishonest when you’re not yet an author.

    It’s a real relief to hear a successful author confirm that the writing is the important thing and marketing can take, perhaps not a back seat, but at least shouldn’t be driving.

    Frankly, even if you could sell far more books by marketing drivel to within an inch of its life, I wouldn’t do it, but I do want to get my books read (and hopefully make some money out of it!)

    And, btw, your puppy is very nearly as adorable as the baby wallaby on that documentary I watched this morning.

    Reply
    • Russell Blake  –  Mon 03rd Sep 2012 at 2:25 pm

      He is a cute puppy.

      Baby wallaby? That’s a tough act to follow.

      I don’t know. I think marketing is important, but you need to decide what you are. If you are a writer, then writing is the imperative. If you are a self-publisher, then marketing probably is – ONCE YOU ARE DONE WITH YOUR WRITING. That’s just my personal belief. I suppose if I only did one or two books a year I’d be much more focused on marketing, and perhaps that is how 2013 will turn out, but for now, the best way to sell your book is to write another one. That’s what’s worked for me so far. Not saying it’s the only way. But it’s the way that I’m comfortable with.

      Reply
      • CarrieVS  –  Mon 03rd Sep 2012 at 3:23 pm

        The wallaby looked like a pokemon or something, that was drawn to be cute. But it died. 🙁

        I didn’t interpret your post as saying that marketing *wasn’t* important, I was just pleased to find someone who wasn’t seeming to say that marketing is *everything* and trying to write the best novel you can is stupid and pointless and will probably result in no-one ever reading it. I’ve been finding a lot of that kind of thing and it’s just depressing.

        Reply
        • Russell Blake  –  Mon 03rd Sep 2012 at 4:40 pm

          They’re wrong. I’m by no means a sales superstar, but I’ve enjoyed some success and am delighted with my progress, and I can’t imagine advising anyone to write anything but the absolute best thing they can. Otherwise what’s the point? 99% of all authors won’t make any money. With those odds, marketing or not, why would you pursue an artistic endeavor if you aren’t going to produce something that represents the peak of your abilities? I think whoever is saying that has it dead wrong. Marketing is important to selling stuff. But first the stuff has to be worth marketing. Anyone can put 10 hours a day into marketing crap. Takes no skill or acumen, just a good work ethic and a template of things to do. Where’s the grace in that?

          Reply
        • Tasha Turner  –  Tue 04th Sep 2012 at 11:34 am

          I tell people they should be spending 80% of their time writing and 20% building online relationships/marketing but getting them to understand that does not mean constantly talking about ones book is hard. I do suggest starting some of the platform building before finishing your 1st book but if it is keeping you from writing the best book you can drop the platform building and get back to the book.

          Reply
  10. Terry Tyler
    Tue 04th Sep 2012 at 8:09 am

    Great post. I do most of this stuff and sell quite well – not a gazillion yet, but I’m working on it! So nice to see someone else who uses words like ‘twat’ and ‘crap’ in their blog posts. Talking of which, I haven’t done one for a couple of weeks. Better get to it, eh? (Just put 4th book out so feel I may have a couple of weeks off…. or should I???)

    Reply
  11. Tue 04th Sep 2012 at 11:43 am

    Great post. Love your writing. I’m behind on a reviews for books I grabbed of yours. Fantastic advice. It amazes me how people just don’t want to hear it. Yes it takes a little time to do it the right way… But to be able to be proud of your work and have more books to sell because you focused on what is important that is the way to go.

    Reply
  12. Mark
    Wed 05th Sep 2012 at 8:55 pm

    Just found your blog and wanted to ask about something you said on amazon forum, namely this:

    “And I thought about it, and I realized I put in about 200 hours on a first draft after plotting it”

    – It usually takes me between 2-3 hours to write 3000 words/day. I usually write 1500 for one novella, then take a break, and write another 1500 for a short story. But you work on the same novel day in day out…how do you stay focused for (gasp!) TEN hours a day? My mind is usually devoid of creativity after 3-4k words. Or do you spend 3 hours writing and 7 hours editing for plotholes/tidying up? Lastly, was this amount of writing present with your first book, or did you eventually work your way up to writing this much?

    Thanks…hope to read your blog more in the future!

    Reply
    • Russell Blake  –  Wed 05th Sep 2012 at 9:49 pm

      Good questions.

      I have tried other ways of writing, but the only way I can stay focused is to sit down and do it all day long. I start losing the intricacies if I only write a few hours here and there, and the book takes way longer as I go back and have to try to keep it all straight. I understand it’s freakish. I don’t recommend it. But it’s the only way that works for me. I write for 12 hours, usually, sometimes 15, if the muse is dancing. I can’t edit as I go. I write it, then I go back and edit the damned thing.

      I have always written this way. I’m sort of OCD that way. Or just excited and in a hurry to get it out.

      Reply
      • Tasha Turner  –  Thu 06th Sep 2012 at 12:52 am

        I can do that with technical writing and blog writing. But with my short story I find that I get frustrated too easily. I picture you like a puppy waiting for a bone to be tossed… or maybe anxious to get to that tequila?

        Reply
  13. Mark
    Wed 05th Sep 2012 at 8:57 pm

    Almost forgot to ask…I assume you have no problem with plotting the entire novel in outline form at the outset (which is what Stephen King rails against in “On Writing”). Have you ever just “winged it” and plotted as you wrote along?

    Reply
    • Russell Blake  –  Wed 05th Sep 2012 at 9:53 pm

      I will usually do a couple of paragraphs outlining the story. Then I’ll do maybe 15 chapter summaries of short sentences so I know what comes next. “XXX goes to warehouse, gunfight ensues, he’s injured, bad guy escapes.” Then I start writing. By the time I get to chapter 15 I have a pretty good idea of how the next 15 will go to make it flow and have the beats where I want them. But I also reserve the right to change as I go along, and I typically do. A lot.

      Yes, I’ve winged quite a bit. I winged King of Swords, Night of the Assassin, The Geronimo Breach, Delphi. I plotted the others. I’ve found the plotting part saves writing time, which is why I do it. Perhaps when I’m not under self-imposed deadlines I’ll go back to winging it. There is no right or wrong way, contrary to Mr. King’s view. There is simply what is right for you. I also disagree with him on adverbs. But I have tremendous respect for the man and his writing. But I’m not dogmatic. And I dislike dogma in all its forms.

      Reply
      • Mark  –  Wed 05th Sep 2012 at 10:13 pm

        Thanks for the quick response! I admit that I was a bit skeptical with King’s take on plotting. King can do it because, well, he is king. Does he even need to plot? He has written sooo many stories, novellas, etc that he could probably get away with changing something critical midstream and still have it look like gold at the end. Me…I do my own plotting similar to your way: make a small outline of point A to point B/one sentence descriptions. That only gets me the basic skeletal structure of the story, not the flesh and bones, which of course come in small spurts as I write it down in smaller morsels.

        Reply
        • CarrieVS  –  Thu 06th Sep 2012 at 4:16 am

          I don’t think you have to be Stephan King to be a pantzer. I hope not, because I tried plotting, and even trying to figure out a very rough plan is not for me. I just sat there for ages trying to figure it out, and then went and started writing.

          I get to know my characters in my head, long before I put pen to paper. But I usually have only a vague idea of the plot. So I write, and it all falls together. Sometimes I have no idea about one scene until I’ve finished the one before, but one thing follows from another. And things that just seemed to work at the time turn out to fit with things that I had no idea were going to happen. Not quite sure how it works out so well, tbh, but it seems to.

          If King says plotting is wrong, he’s a fool. I don’t think anyone writes in quite the same way as anyone else. Although that said, I think even the most dedicated plotter needs to be willing to be flexible if it turns out not to work that way, and even the most carefree pantzer should try to have a rough idea of where they think the general curve of the story is going.

          Reply
  14. Napoleon
    Fri 14th Sep 2012 at 6:34 am

    I want my money back. I read “ How to sell a Gazillion ebooks in no time” as a parody. I didn’t know that it was a genuine how to manual.

    I love the way that Locke portrays himself as a plucky underdog.
    The David versus Goliath story would have been greatly improved if only David had bought himself a few mercenaries.

    Reply
    • Russell Blake  –  Fri 14th Sep 2012 at 5:21 pm

      I didn’t know it was a genuine how-to manual either. But I had a sneaking suspicion…

      Reply
  15. Thu 04th Oct 2012 at 1:20 pm

    I don’t approve of what Locke did, but I’m not jumping on the I Hate John Locke bandwagon. I hate bandwagons. I bought his book before I knew about what he did. I bought his book because a successful author said that his book helped her to become a success. (He does not mention paying for reviews in his book. So I know she didn’t do that.) Although much of his book was a review for me, some of what he said will prove to be useful – I believe. I see a lot of one star reviews flooding Locke’s Amazon space under his book. I’m guessing some of those people haven’t even read the damn book. They’re just jumping on the bandwagon. Giving Locke a bad review without having read the book solely to hurt him in some way is just as bad as Locke paying for reviews.

    Reply
    • Russell Blake  –  Thu 04th Oct 2012 at 5:50 pm

      To be clear, I don’t hate John Locke. I also am not on a bandwagon. I do find it interesting that there is a group of authors (his friends) who have been very vocal in trying to portray people declaring their genuine outrage at what they believe is a shoddy, unethical practice as being part of a “witch hunt” or on a “bandwagon.”

      Sometimes, Doctor Freud, a cigar is really just a cigar, and people like author Lee Goldberg saying they think something is crooked is really just a group of people stating that because that’s how they feel.

      I read his how to book. It didn’t teach me anything a few days reading author advice websites on the web didn’t. It was also already out of date, in my opinion, the day it was released. Having said that, I don’t think that any of this is going to matter much in five years. If he’s a star or a dud by then, it will have everything to do with the quality of his books and little to do with the quality of his doctored reviews.

      Reply
  16. Thu 04th Oct 2012 at 7:21 pm

    To be clear, I’m a horror/paranormal/erotica author who does not know John Locke and who has never met the man. I state my opinions whether most people agree with them or not. I have no fear, and I think for myself.

    We do agree on this: “If he’s a star or a dud by then, it will have everything to do with the quality of his books and little to do with the quality of his doctored reviews.”

    Jolie (A woman who loves to travel and who has been to Mexico at least 12 times.)

    Reply
  17. Fri 11th Apr 2014 at 7:25 am

    Awesome list of ideas…:) “Met” you on the self publishing roundtable and love that you are funny and interesting!

    Reply
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