Help Make an Indie a Bestseller
I’m self-published, that much is certainly true, but independent I am not. If I want my books to reach readers, and if I want my story to be shared with more people, then I need the help of my fans, friends, and family (the holy alliterated trifecta, as it were) to get it done. I need your help, but let me explain a little first.
I started writing the Vitalis Chronicles trilogy back in May of 2010, about the same time I made this crazy decision to sell everything I owned and move to West Africa. I didn’t know what life was going to throw at me next, but I did know that I needed to start writing before it was too late.
On Christmas day of 2010 I finished writing what is now White Shores. I’ve told this story before, but the most terrifying thing in the world for me at this point was sharing something that had existed nowhere but in my head until that very day. The moment I put the finishing touches on my first draft it existed outside of myself, and it was in danger of no longer being mine.
I did share it, because if you don’t share your work it may as well never have been made, and I waited.
The waiting is the killer part. The waiting is where you pace around in your tiny cement cell of a room in Zulu territory in South Africa, grabbing your scalp as if to pull yourself into a somersault in mid-air, reliving every error you’re sure you made and seeing every person you sent your book to cringing (or rolling their eyes) each time they find them.
This is the time when you bury your kindle under a pile of clothes, because every time you open what you sent people around the world you find something else that’s embarrassing. A corny line of dialogue, a misspelled word, or God forbid: a cliche. I will never forget the night that my book was returned to me. I will never forget Peter Koontz.
Peter is my friend, a big firefighter who looks kind of like Shrek, and who will tell you anything and everything straight whether or not you want to hear it. It’s one of those qualities that puts a lot of people who are used to lies off pretty quickly. Peter doesn’t lie. Don’t get me wrong, Peter is a fantastic guy. He’s friendly, funny, and is a mad man at cribbage. But if you’re wearing a shirt Peter doesn’t like, and you ask him what he thinks of your shirt, Peter will tell you how much he hates it and why. He might even do so uninvited.
I love this about Peter, because it means that I know exactly where I stand and what he’s thinking. But when he read my book, and especially because he’s an avid fan of all things fantasy, I was terrified. I remember the rush when he told me he had finished my book, and the fear when he asked if we could talk about it. We set a time and a place, and after an evening meeting we sat down in the old run-down gym of Appelsbosch College to go over what I can best describe as a piece of my soul.
The place was full of life. Kids were playing, parents chatting, singles mingling and playing games (and eating lots of ice cream). But Peter and I just sat in the corner, and the first words out of his mouth were, “First thing is that I’m proud of you. Proud just that you sat down and finished writing a book at all. But even more proud because, secondly, you’ve written a good book. And in some places, you’ve written a very good book.”
Hours later, when the gym had cleared out and the night sounds of Africa began to take over, Peter and I were still there talking. You can bet that he had a list as long as his arm about what was wrong in my story. I wouldn’t so easily get off the hook with Peter, but he liked my book. More than that, it had become his in the process. He knew the characters, the places, and the events that had only ever existed in my head before.
He had shared something that was once only mine, and now that it was his I felt something very deep and very powerful. I practically danced my way back to my little cell in the men’s dorm. And that is why I am here today, asking you to join me in spreading the word and sharing my stories. I know that they resonate with a lot of people already, and that those people have enjoyed them in varying degrees. I have a hard time believing this sometimes (most of the time) but I take it on faith that people aren’t lying to me when they say they enjoyed my books.
As my third book comes out I want to share the trilogy with everyone that I can. These stories aren’t mine any more, they’re yours. They’re ours. I want to grow our little club and share them with even more people because, for me, that’s what it’s all about: sharing! And last time we did this there were such cool results!
That’s why tomorrow, and for five days, I’m giving my first two books away for free on Kindle to the world. Let’s spread the word and tell everyone! I can’t be the only one who wants to share these stories! If you want to get even deeper into it than that, check out the plan that I posted yesterday. It’s all about ways you can help us spread the word and invite more people to share in our stories!
As I said before, I’m not independent. I need help from other people. I need you.
Won’t you join us in spreading the word, and getting this story into the hands of everyone you can? Last time we did this (with White Shores) we made it to the 3,000 spot. Let’s see if we can do even better this time!
The first two books will be free for Kindle starting tomorrow, and the third book comes out on May 20th!! Let’s tell everyone!
