Amanda Hocking

Amanda Hocking is my hero. Heroin. Er, heroine.

I first read about her success on J.A. Konrath's blog, and because I am interested in writing I started to follow her on Amazon. On January 19, 2011, I purchased her novel Hollowland, partially because I wanted to read something she had written and partially because I really like Zombies.

The novel was quite good! I was surprised at how well she wrote and at how much I enjoyed it, despite it being written for the young-adult market. I am looking forward to a sequel.

Why am I writing a blog post about Amanda Hocking now when I could have written about her in January (when I finished her book)? Well, she has made the news! CNN, newspapers, the works. This indie author, with nine eBooks published in 2010, has earned around $2,000,000 on those books! She has optioned three of her books for a movie deal as well. It is an incredible success story, and one that any author (or aspiring author) could dream for.

So, what is her secret?

• She has been writing for years, and has worked hard to perfect her craft.
• She writes about interesting topics, and targets a demographic (young adults).
• She markets her books by getting bloggers to review them.

Seems straightforward enough, no? To be a successful author, one needs to write well, write about topics people are interested in, and get market their work.