# Selling 450,000 in January, an Indie makes it to USA Today's Bestsellers



## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2011-02-09-ebooks09_ST_N.htm

9 Titles, and she sold 450,000 books in January. Amanda Hocking is an Indie comet! 
HP Mallory & JA Konrath are also mentioned telling about HP's new contract with a publishing company, and Konrath's success & website.

--edit fixed 2 typos


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## brian70 (Mar 26, 2010)

BTackitt said:


> http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2011-02-09-ebooks09_ST_N.htm
> 
> 9 Titles, and she sold 450,000 books in January. Amanda Hocking is an Indie comet!
> HP Mallory & JA Konrath are also mentioned tellign about HP's new contract with a publishing company, and Konrath' success & website.


Amazing! I'm calling 1,000,000 by next month, maybe sooner.

Huge congrats to the other authors mentioned.


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## Elk (Oct 4, 2010)

Good for her!

Adam Young (Owl City) had a similar smash success with his song _Fireflies_, recorded in his parents' basement.

There is something about southern Minnesota.


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## Me and My Kindle (Oct 20, 2010)

Wow!  And what's really amazing is that there's only three authors who have ever sold more than 1 million ebooks on the Kindle.  (Stieg Larsson, James Patterson, and Nora Roberts.)  

And yet Amanda Hocking sold nearly half a million copies...in a single month!


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## Guest (Feb 9, 2011)

Whoa, she gets a 30% cut if she prices it at 99 cents but 70% cut if she prices it $2.99 and up  

I would say 50% would be more fair at the least...I haven't sampled any of her books but I'm going to check it out to see what hoopla is about. Not much of a vampire person


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Actually McGee, Amazon's prices to Indies are 35% if they price at 99c, and 70% from $2.99 up. It's not just her, it's ALL books published through Amazon, I think B&N has the same rates through their PubIt! platform for indies as well.


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## matt youngmark (Jan 11, 2011)

I checked out Amanda's blog last week, and was under the impression that the half-million number was her total sales rather than her sales for just January, so USA Today might be a little mixed up on that one. Still an amazing accomplishment, and well-deserved. I had seen how well her books were selling, so did a little poking around, wondering what lead to her tremendous success.

From what I can tell, it's pretty much because she's _awesome_.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

having 9 books out helps too... they raise each other. Someone likes one of her books, says hmm, "Let's see what else she has."
Authors with only one book out atm, are losing out because of this. There are quite a few indie authors out there who pubbed their first book after 1/1/10, and with multiple books out now, have left their "mundane" jobs to pursue their craft full time, because their books are selling enough to pay mortgages & bills.


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## bobavey (Sep 14, 2010)

Wow, I can only dream.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

People like Amanda Hocking and HP Mallory add to indie author credibility. This is such an exciting time to be indie.


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## David Derrico (Nov 18, 2009)

Just speechless. That's incredible. She's just destroying the barriers of what anyone thought was possible for indies.

… And she's very much on pace to be a multi-millionaire by the end of the year.


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## Maria Romana (Jun 7, 2010)

It really is mind-blowing.  No other word for it!

--Maria


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## SailorMerry (Dec 18, 2010)

Haha, I downloaded one of Hocking's books and didn't even realize that it was an indie. I love how what happened in the music industry is now happening to books- after music went digital, artists that had been distributing their content online through MySpace, etc. started getting huge followings and would then get picked up by record companies. Naturally, the same thing is happening with books. What's more, aside from getting lucrative contracts for former-indie writers, the mainstream use of digital distribution will make big publishing companies rethink their practices regarding price and content. Who wins from all this? The writers and the readers. D*mn, I love technology.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

And here she is at #16

16. Switched 
Amanda Hocking, Self-published through CreateSpace 
Youth: Paranormal: Wendy discovers she is not who she thought she was; first in Trylle trilogy (F) (E) $2.99 
Weeks in Top 150: 1 Last week: -- Entered Top 150: 2/10/2011 Peak: 16

And #24

24. Ascend 
Amanda Hocking, Self-published through CreateSpace 
Youth: Paranormal: Wendy tries to save her loved ones as war looms; final in Trylle trilogy (F) (E) $2.99 
Weeks in Top 150: 1 Last week: -- Entered Top 150: 2/10/2011

31. Torn 
Amanda Hocking, Self-published through CreateSpace 
Youth: Paranormal: Wendy is torn between two worlds; second in Trylle trilogy (F) (E) $2.99 
Weeks in Top 150: 1 Last week: -- Entered Top 150: 2/10/2011 Peak: 31

81. My Blood Approves 
Amanda Hocking, Self-published through Createspace 
Youth: Paranormal: Tale of 17-year-old Alice who finds herself romantically torn between two vampires (F) (E) $0.99 
Weeks in Top 150: 1 Last week: -- Entered Top 150: 2/10/2011 Peak: 81

133. Fate 
Amanda Hocking, Self-published through CreateSpace 
Youth: Paranormal: Alice balances the supernatural and real worlds; second in My Blood Approves series (F) (E) $2.99 
Weeks in Top 150: 1 Last week: -- Entered Top 150: 2/10/2011 Peak: 133

146. Flutter 
Amanda Hocking, Self-published through CreateSpace 
Youth: Paranormal: Alice juggles troubles at home with volunteering at a rescue mission for rabid vampires; third in series (F) (E) $2.99 
Weeks in Top 150: 1 Last week: -- Entered Top 150: 2/10/2011 Peak: 146

Full list at http://content.usatoday.com/life/books/booksdatabase/default.aspx


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## Guest (Feb 10, 2011)

It really is incredible. Amanda's an amazing talent and a complete professional. More power to her!


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## Cliff Ball (Apr 10, 2010)

Congrats to Amanda. I couldn't imagine selling that many novels, and it would be cool if I could even sell 1% of that total.


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## Jan Strnad (May 27, 2010)

I am so happy for her and so proud...and not even a little bit jealous. Nope. Not one little, tiny bit....


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

And the NYT best sellers list came out... no indies.  I will refrain from further comment on the NYT.


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

My head keeps spinning. Been publishing for a decade, and noq sometimes feel like a buggy whip manufacturer watching the Ford Model T roll off the assembly line.


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## Kristan Hoffman (Aug 6, 2009)

The best part is, she seems really down to earth. I got wind of all this a couple days ago and checked out her blog, and she has a fantastic attitude. To paraphrase: she's not trying to give publishing the finger by doing all this herself; in fact, she'd like to think her success means everybody can win, not that anyone has to lose.

(Also, she's on KB, just fyi. )

Kristan


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## BMathison (Feb 4, 2011)

I agree -- she does seem authentic & down to earth.  More power to her!

E-book sales should be really interesting the next few years.  I suspect that we'll hear a few more stories like this one.  

Also, I agree that having multiple titles does help with marketing & reader interest.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Harry Shannon said:


> My head keeps spinning. Been publishing for a decade, and now sometimes feel like a buggy whip manufacturer watching the Ford Model T roll off the assembly line.


But, you helped make the assembly line. Every indie's success is a success for all. 


Kristan Hoffman said:


> The best part is, she seems really down to earth. I got wind of all this a couple days ago and checked out her blog, and she has a fantastic attitude. To paraphrase: she's not trying to give publishing the finger by doing all this herself; in fact, she'd like to think her success means everybody can win, not that anyone has to lose.(Also, she's on KB, just fyi. )
> 
> Kristan


Yep yep, She is here, not as often as she used to be, but she's still around. Very mild mannered and down to earth you are correct. Very humble gal who is not letting her success go to her head. (bank account maybe  )


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

BTackitt said:


> Actually McGee, Amazon's prices to Indies are 35% if they price at 99c, and 70% from $2.99 up. It's not just her, it's ALL books published through Amazon, I think B&N has the same rates through their PubIt! platform for indies as well.


No, Pubit does not have as good a commission. Amazon and Apple have the best commissions. The other retailers take a bit more of a cut. (Smashwords actually has the best commission at closer to 80 percent, but they do take credit card charges off the top.)


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## Vivi_Anna (Feb 12, 2011)

I think its amazing, and she's a huge inspiration to me and lots of other authors I know that are traditionally published.

It's a great time right now for authors and readers.  Lots of great works to choose from.


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## Ryl (Nov 25, 2010)

Absolutely mind-boggling! It's wonderful to hear success stories like this.


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## RJMcDonnell (Jan 29, 2011)

Will we be seeing a "Secrets to Amanda's Success" ePub coming our way soon?


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## Guest (Feb 17, 2011)

I can't imagine selling 450,000 books in one month!  That is incredible!  E-books are the future and as time goes on, e-books on bestseller lists will be a common scene.


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## Jon Olson (Dec 10, 2010)

The mainstream press is coming around.


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## Basil Sands (Aug 18, 2010)

Jon Olson said:


> The mainstream press is coming around.


It's a good time to be in on the ride before the big guys figure out how to throttle it.

Power to the Indies!


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## Shelia A. Huggins (Jan 20, 2011)

Any way you look at it, that's a lot of books. Funny, I talked to a few people recently, just about ebooks in general. I wasn't trying to promote anyone's work, I was only discussing the increasing number of ebooks and the change that's occurring. These people were very adamant about wanting printing books and ebooks. 

For me, I keep thinking about the number of books and authors I have available to me now. Wow!!


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## Brianna Lee McKenzie (Jan 9, 2011)

Wow. That's awesome!


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## Mel Comley (Oct 13, 2010)

It's an incrdible story and gives us Indie authors hope!


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## KRCox (Feb 18, 2011)

Crikey! That's phenomenal! Good on you Amanda Hocking!


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## Miriam Minger (Nov 27, 2010)

Kristan Hoffman said:


> The best part is, she seems really down to earth. I got wind of all this a couple days ago and checked out her blog, and she has a fantastic attitude. To paraphrase: she's not trying to give publishing the finger by doing all this herself; in fact, she'd like to think her success means everybody can win, not that anyone has to lose.
> 
> (Also, she's on KB, just fyi. )
> 
> Kristan


Yes, it's a wonderfully positive and affirming attitude for all of us.

Miriam Minger


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