How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months!

Metadata

Author: John Locke
Full Title: How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months!
Category: #books

Highlights

The people who love my books love everyday heroes. They are compassionate people who root for the underdog, but are drawn to the outrageous, and have a dry sense of humor. They are all ages, but a surprising number are professional men and women above age 50. More than 70% are women, which defies everything you would normally think when you read my books! My readers are much more intelligent than you might expect. Many are doctors, nurses, and business leaders. Many are retired military. At least three are movie producers. At least two are working actors. At least one is a famous Broadway producer. And one is a brain surgeon! Those who like my books tend to be busy people who are frazzled and stressed out beyond the point of no return, just as I am. I started writing to help me unwind, and those who love my books are also seeking stress relief. They’ve read their share of high brow books, but these days they mostly read to relax with a fast-paced, breezy read that makes them laugh out loud at the insane actions and situations I present. My readers are…
The people who love my books love everyday heroes. They are compassionate people who root for the underdog, but are drawn to the outrageous, and have a dry sense of humor. They are all ages, but a surprising number are professional men and women above age 50. More than 70% are women, which defies everything you would normally think when you read my books! My readers are much more intelligent than you might expect. Many are doctors, nurses, and business leaders. Many are retired military. At least three are movie producers. At least two are working actors. At least one is a famous Broadway producer. And one is a brain surgeon! Those who like my books tend to be busy people who are frazzled and stressed out beyond the point of no return, just as I am. I started writing to help me unwind, and those who love my books are also seeking stress relief. They’ve read their share of high brow books, but these days they mostly read to relax with a fast-paced, breezy read that makes them laugh out loud at the insane actions and situations I present. My readers are smarter than my heroes, and they know it. But in every book there comes at least one moment when my hero says or does something that is so deep or well-thought, or so endearing, my readers have to smile…
My male readers want to be Donovan Creed and my female readers want to date him. The ladies don’t want to marry him though, because he’s a bad risk. But they feel he has potential, and that makes him endearing. If he could just find the right woman… My readers love a quiet hero, and they like to see my heroes getting themselves into trouble. Above all, my readers love the banter between my main characters and the people they encounter. They love action novels that are light on narrative and heavy on dialogue. They like a smart ass, and like to see a hero in control, but they don’t want him to have an easy time of it. They love the fact that both my heroes know so little about women. They like the fact that Donovan Creed does a bad job of impressing the “right” women, and that he fails a lot in his romantic quest. They like how he makes his bewilderment plausible without coming across as whining.
My readers love a quiet hero, and they like to see my heroes getting themselves into trouble. Above all, my readers love the banter between my main characters and the people they encounter. They love action novels that are light on narrative and heavy on dialogue. They like a smart ass, and like to see a hero in control, but they don’t want him to have an easy time of it. They love the fact that both my heroes know so little about women. They like the fact that Donovan Creed does a bad job of impressing the “right” women, and that he fails a lot in his romantic quest. They like how he makes his bewilderment
plausible without coming across as whining. My readers like the small bit of research I do. They don’t want to be educated, but they love to learn one or two unusual facts along the way they can pass along in conversations at dinner. My readers are renegades. They like the things editors hate, including, (1) I offer light character descriptions, (2) almost no details about settings unless they’re related to the action, (3) I talk to the audience right in the middle of scenes like the Marx Brothers used to do, and (4) I use contemporary references that date my work! My readers like sexual situations and sexual banter, if funny, but don’t want to hear all the sexual details. If there’s a bomb going off it only needs to be plausible, meaning my readers don’t require a detailed explanation of how it was created or wired. My readers know I don’t take my books seriously and don’t expect them to, either. They know I’m not trying to save the world or write meaningful literature kids will have to study in school someday. They know the sole purpose of my writing is to make them smile or laugh for a few hours on a day when they need it most, and they like that about me.
My readers like the small bit of research I do. They don’t want to be educated, but they love to learn one or two unusual facts along the way they can pass along in conversations at dinner. My readers are renegades. They like the things editors hate, including, (1) I offer light character descriptions, (2) almost no details about settings unless they’re related to the action, (3) I talk to the audience right in the middle of scenes like the Marx Brothers used to do, and (4) I use contemporary references that date my work! My readers like sexual situations and sexual banter, if funny, but don’t want to hear all the sexual details. If there’s a bomb going off it only needs to be plausible, meaning my readers don’t require a detailed explanation of how it was created or wired. My readers know I don’t take my books seriously and don’t expect them to, either. They know I’m not trying to save the world or write meaningful literature kids will have to study in school someday. They know the sole purpose of my writing is to make them smile or laugh for a few hours on a day when they need it most, and they like that about me.