On the Hazards of Success

http://shevata-cccole.blogspot.com/2011/09/review-of-how-i-sold-1-million-ebooks.html 

Like many other Indie writers, I did a lot of virtual hand-shaking to writer John Locke, who busted the Indie branding with his entertaining novels, and was generous enough to let us struggling Indies in on the “secret” of his success with his widely sold ebook “How I sold 1 Million eBooks...”  See my review above.

A few days ago, Locke’s story changed.  According to a high-profile newspaper, http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/business/book-reviewers-for-hire-meet-a-demand-for-online-raves.xml Mr. Locke purchased 300 book reviews.  But he is no fool.  As part of the purchase, his books had to be “purchases,” therefore, making the reviews look credible on amazon.  So, he bought purchases with the reviews.  Wow, what a trick. 

First, let’s defend Mr. Locke, who according to his Facebook page is a married man, a former investor, and as we all know now, a well-off man in the self-publishing industry.  What about his “how-to” book?  Was it really helpful?  I gave it 4 stars over Michael Robb Mathias 5 stars of a similar book, because to me, Locke’s was “showcased.”  It seemed more about him than about helping writers.  But it wasn’t bad.  He told a bare truth:  “You’re probably not a great writer, but to sell books, you need to be an entertaining writer.”   He didn’t mention that he purchased the reviews, so what does that mean?  Answer:  That he isn’t stupid.

He also defended himself (link above).  I have to agree with him, yes, it is probably easier to buy reviews than to grow an audience.  Money can buy pretty much anything, and for Indie books, he’s now exhibit A.  What about his other defenders?  Some say this has been happening a long time, it’s his business, so what?  OK.  That’s right, it’s his work, his books, and his success.  We’re not attacking his work, it the methods being questioned.  For traditional published books, do they buy reviews?  They can answer that question better than I can, but the answer doesn’t impact an Indie writer to me.

It’s also been brought up that we teeny-weeny Indies have friends and family post reviews for us, and that we give away books to reviewers.  It’s hardly news that the NYT isn’t beating down the doors of new writers to post glowing reviews of our books.  And the dialogue “Indies just couldn’t make it in the real traditional publishing world” sorry, that genie is out of the bottle and many ears are deaf to that.  We Indies have to find support, which isn’t easy, but we do without the help of big companies with big dollars.  The early reviews may be from friends, then usually branch out as the writer learns social networking.

Are Locke’s actions our business at all as Indie writers?  Yes.  Admit it or not, we “star-gaze” on amazon.  As a reviewer, I do write brief reviews because I read a lot of books and have been burned by spoilers in the past.  Now I have to re-visit that method, which is OK, I'm willing to modify and improve to make the world better for Indie writers.  But what do reviews mean anymore?  He’s brought question of credibility to the one thing that does help Indie writers:  Reviews and sales.

Do I wish any harm to Mr. Locke?  Of course not, and if his fans enjoy his books, go for it.  If one of his books makes a blockbuster film starring Tom Cruise, that’s great.  But he did affect writers that found him inspiring.  That’s a terrible thing to do, and if he has a conscience, he will cry all the way to the bank.