The New York Times Best Selling Author, John Locke, joins Freedom Giveaway Hop!

This month I have the honor of giving away a copy of my friend, John Locke's, new book along with mine, for TWO great giveaways! 

TWO winners will get a Kindle copy of both books!

Attention all Indie Authors: You NEED this book!

How I sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months

Now, for the first time ever, John Locke reveals the marketing system he created to sell more than 1,100,000 eBooks in five months! 

His Credentials:

• John is the eighth author in the world—and the first self-published author in history—to have sold 1 million eBooks on Kindle!
• He is the first self-published author to hit #1 on the Amazon/Kindle Best Seller’s List, and the first to hit both #1 and #2 at the same time!
• He is a New York Times best-selling author!
• He has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and Entertainment Weekly!
• He has had 4 of the top 10 books on Amazon/Kindle at the same time, including #1 and #2!
• He has had 7 books in the top 34 and 8 books in the Top 50 at the same time!

These numbers are not positions within a category. They are positions that include all Kindle sales including fiction, non-fiction, magazine subscriptions, and game apps!

By the middle of March, 2011, it had been calculated that “every 7 seconds, 24 hours a day, a John Locke novel is downloaded somewhere in the world.”

…All this was achieved PART TIME, without an agent, publicist, and at virtually no marketing expense!
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=john+locke&x=0&y=0

A Secret in the Attic

Amy has two best friends. Emma is her best friend and rival, Jonathon is her childhood sweetheart.
But then she meets Jake, and everything changes. 

When Amy finds an ancient book in an old steamer trunk in her grandmother’s attic, her world is turned upside down. 

The book contains an old gypsy curse; a curse so powerful it’s called The Curse of the Widowed Bride. 

Amy’s secrets could destroy all of them, but what’s a few secrets between friends? 

Only one can break the curse. 

Which one will walk down the aisle? 

Find out in this urban fantasy... 

by Samantha Jillian Bayarr.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=samantha+bayarr&rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Asamantha+bayarr&ajr=8

Giveaway Entry Requirements:

Enter giveaway in 3 easy steps!

1. Follow this blog
2. "Like" this blog
3. Leave a comment with your email address at the end of this post 

It's that simple!

You MUST follow and "like" 

this Blog to enter!

Last Day to Enter is July 7, 2011  Comment section below link list!

TWO winners will get a Kindle copy of both books!

Indie Author vs Traditional Publishing with Samantha Jillian Bayarr

Samantha’s Rules of Writing:

My first rule of writing is always to set goals. When a new book idea hits me, I set a goal of how long it can reasonably take me to write it. After deciding how long I want the book to be, I do the math and divide the number of words the book will contain by how many words I can reasonably write per day, and the end result is an approximation of the book’s release date. I don’t recommend this method for the faint at heart, because it takes discipline, and determination.  As evidenced by the fact I have written and published eight books in the last ten months.

A second rule to observe would be: if you’re bored or hit a stumbling point, move to the next project. I write several different books at the same time, and often write several chapters in the same book at the same time (this helps to keep your time-lines straight).  I may write in one book for several days straight, then, move to another book as the ideas flow. I don’t know how people can stand to write one book from start to finish. In my mind, I assume that’s what causes writer’s block (something I never get)!

Last, but not least…yield the advice of those that have gone before us. They all say two things:

1. Keep a notebook handy—in case of inspiration.

I have several. I keep one for general ideas and new titles that come to me when I’m busy with something else (or trying to sleep). But the most important notebook I keep is the one that I use WHILE I’m writing. If I’m writing, and an idea to twist the plot occurs to me, I write it down immediately—mostly because I can usually write 5,000 or more words per day, and I don’t want to stop in the middle of a writing jaunt because I usually have to continue writing until my brain is emptied for the day!

2. Throw away your thesaurus.

No one wants to have to keep a dictionary on them when they’re reading your book. I’ve found the best way to gauge this is to write the same way you speak. And unless you make a habit of stopping midsentence to look for a bigger word for what you are trying to convey, you shouldn’t do it with your writing. 

Benefits of being an Indie Author:

I published my first book in August of 2010, and currently have eight books published, with a goal of publishing a minimum of five more before the end of this year. I’ve observed the release of books by fellow authors that are in contract with big publishers, and I see that they publish only ONE to two books per year! That would drive me absolutely mad!

I have several book ideas of different genres in my head at any given time. Being limited to one book per year in one specific genre would not only prohibit my creativity, but would slow my career to a pace I could never tolerate. As an Indie Author, you can go at your own pace, and the sky is literally the limit if you go this route.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=samantha+bayarr&x=0&y=0