Independence Day 2011: Heroes Of Self-Publishing, Amanda Hocking, John Locke And Other Indie Author Success Stories (PHOTOS)

"I took the [road less] traveled by, and that has made all the difference." Yes, self-publishing for Amanda Hocking and John Locke was the road less traveled by and it did make all the difference. But self-publishing has also made a difference throughout American and British history. The story of self-publishing is the story of publishing in America and England. Ben Franklin and Tom Paine both did it, as you can see here .

Now that self-publishing has become so easy, now that there are so many options, the new breed of indie authors have decided to go it alone and they made it work.

This week we're celebrating the spirit of independence in publishing. Don't miss:

Independent Publishers We Love For Their Spirit

Bookstores We Love For Their Spirit Of Independence

15 Feisty Small Presses

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Amanda Hocking

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Anyone who knows the term "self-publishing" knows who Amanda Hocking is. The paranormal romance author wrote 17 novels in her spare time, and began self-publishing them in April 2010. By early 2011, she had sold over a million copies of nine of her books. She earned over two million dollars in sales. She recently signed her first traditional publishing contract with St. Martin's Press for four new books.

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Anyone who knows the term "self-publishing" knows who Amanda Hocking is.

The paranormal romance author wrote 17 novels in her spare time, and began self-publishing them in April 2010. By early 2011, she had sold over a million copies of nine of her books. She earned over two million dollars in sales.

She recently signed her first traditional publishing contract with St. Martin's Press for four new books.

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This Self-Published Author

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Eh Inspirational!

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Comments

[Jana Finger]

06:16 PM on 07/19/2011

Self publishing authors has forced the traditional publishing industry to look at them in a new way.Sales and rapid sales numbers drives the industry, therefore, indie writers are creating a new industry all of its own.

[SF TKF]

04:49 PM on 07/14/2011

I know a lot of people making real $$$ self=pubbing their books. But for every one of them, I know a dozen who are making almost nothing. Self-pub is not a golden ticket.

[Raymond Sturgis]

12:53 PM on 07/13/2011

Raymoni love New Book: __Days You Wish You Could F**ck Someone Up .....is going to be a HIT! Barnes and Noble has it!

[jannev]

02:16 PM on 07/04/2011

e-publishing has certainly removed the gatekeepers. I've been trying to get But Can You Drink The Water? published for over 20 years. Publishers liked the book, but told me it wasn't commercially viable. I took the Kindle route to publishing and have sold over 13 000 copies in six months. Perhaps not the millions sold by Hocking and Locke, but enough for me to be glad I didn't give up.

www.just4kix.jimdo.com

[Brandy Love]

09:39 PM on 07/03/2011

Soon Author RAYMOND STURGIS will be on that list. He is a fan favorite....check out his books and you will see!

[ElDru]

04:45 PM on 07/02/2011

Many books are self-published because they shouldn't be published. The writing just isn't that great, which is usually the problem. The plots can be great but poorly written.

I've tried reading self-published books, and the last one that I read, The Atheist Priest, wasn't so bad, I guess. I liked the concept but it wasn't that strong until the last chapter.

Then again, literature (for the most part), like art, is subjective!

[gurukalehuru]

08:12 AM on 07/02/2011

I'm starting to get my books online. Poetry, if you're into that kind of thing. more info at www.gurukalehuru.com

Personally, I think they're kind of awesome.

[citizenkrans]

04:57 PM on 06/30/2011

Rock Town Press is a new self-publishing company that helps authors with the business side of things so the author can concentrate on the more artistic avenues. Their latest title comes out in July: http://rocktownpress.bigcartel.com/product/freeze-tag-on-the-highway

[Spotted Crow]

03:25 PM on 06/30/2011

This is a great story. Something I already knew!
This is my self published book,it was a lot of hard work but Im proud with the results and reviews!
Tales from the Whispering Basket www.whisperingbasket.com
Hope you all will check it out!
-Larry

[Diana Hockley]

07:26 PM on 06/29/2011

Amanda Hocking would be better served financially if she continued to self publish her work. Now the publishing company will hold the rights to her novels, tell her how much to charge for them and take a high percentage of her sales. Good luck, Amanda! You're going to need it!

[SF TKF]

04:45 PM on 07/14/2011

You don't see the big picture. She'll be exposed to millions of readers who've never bought an eBook. Her fan base will expand exponentially. Her new readers will be driven to her eBook backlist ($$$), and should she decide to self-pub again, she'll take those readers with her. It’s actually a brilliant maneuver on her part.

[Jana Finger]

06:19 PM on 07/19/2011

Very good point!

[BlackJAC]

04:12 PM on 06/29/2011

Eisler, Konrath, King and Rowling are instantly disqualified because King and Rowling are instant bestsellers to begin with and Eisler and Konrath had real-publishing careers long before.

[SF TKF]

04:46 PM on 07/14/2011

And Eisler isn't really self-publishing his novels. He signed with Amazon's new publishing arm.

[Shelly Santiago]

04:01 PM on 06/29/2011

It's still hard out there! My rankings stay higher in the UK for The Vampire's Salvation. At the end of the day it's a waiting game. My book Heart of the Curse has yet to sell one copy in the UK. However, I'm happy as long as I know people are reading my work. My dream is to have someone read my work, and love it.

[blogfan66]

03:39 PM on 06/29/2011

"Secret Regrets" by Kevin Hansen is an Amazon bestselling self-published book and ebook that's rising fast. It was recently featured on Dr. Phil, Huffington Post and Psychology Today. Very addictive reading! Short, real-life stories of life's biggest regrets from real people -- and how to get past them.

[ChrisRoberts]

01:47 PM on 06/29/2011

Self publishing has definitely come into its own. What needs help is indie bookstores:

There is nothing special about a bearded owner behind the counter talking about Ginsberg or Sartre and throwing down a hippie story about how he tripped on peyote buttons with dead forever Kerouac (or thought he did) in the Mojave desert.

The prerequisite for an independent owner is that he's Santa Claus fat in a bad way, has a big, coffee junkie splotch on his Grateful Dead tee shirt and breath sour, stale and pungent enough to peel three layers of paint off the wall. Barnes and Noble is down with the incognito, anonymous, forever-leaving-me-alone kick and I roll with them. City Lights Bookstore is dead. Indie is Deceased. Stop crying babies. Hand me a shovel.

[dubbadee]

12:29 PM on 06/29/2011

Well doesn't that make them sick, evil rich people that need to have their taxes raised in order to share the sacrifice?

It sure does libs, we must penalize them for their hard work!

[Lena McFarland]

03:33 PM on 06/29/2011

not everyone considers paying taxes a form of punishment. some consider it a privilege to share their success with those who are less privileged.

[Shelly Santiago]

04:17 PM on 06/29/2011

Taxes never killed anyone!