Heady stuff, even for an old war horse like me.

But I said no. I’m proud to be an independent author, proud to be self-published. Those who remember me from my first tweet in late 2009 will tell you I’ve always believed in self-published authors, always believed we could compete with industry giants. They’ll tell you I always supported indie authors by tweeting news and buying books. In some cases I bought three, four, and even five indie books at a time, announced contests, and paid to ship these books to the winners, to help indies gain not just readers, but also much-needed reviews.

It would have been easy to take millions for my books, but my success came from the friends and authors I met on Twitter and through blogging, emailing, and selling books one person at a time. These are my people, and I wanted to remain loyal to those who brought me to the dance. By accepting a traditional deal, I’d have to change my style, raise my prices, slow my publishing schedule. I always wanted to help bring prestige and respect to indie authors. If I went trad, I could talk about how great it was to be indie, but would my walk match my talk?

On February 1, 2012, thanks to Simon & Schuster and their amazing sales force, my self-published book, Wish List, hit retail stores across America and Canada. Thanks to them, we hit a milestone! We’re in!

But the rest is business as usual.

Thinking this a huge story, I hired a national publicist to book TV talk shows, newspaper feature articles and book reviews. But not a single newspaper or TV show in the country was interested in talking to me.

Well, that’s fine. I’ve been here before.

Last time I found myself in this situation I was told social media wouldn’t work. Now I’m being told it might work for ebooks, where all a customer has to do is click a link, but tweets and blogs will never get customers to drive to retail stores to buy a book.

Will you help me prove them wrong?  Will you help me prove indie books belong on retail shelves?

As we speak, Wish List is in the stores, on the shelves! But outside our community, no one knows. The competition has millions of publishing dollars behind them. National media marketing campaigns, book tours, TV talk shows, newspaper ads and articles, book reviews and…Wish List has none of that. It’s an indie book.

On paper, the competition holds all the cards. On paper, I don’t have a chance.

But I’ve got something they can’t measure on paper. I have you!

Let’s be clear: I’m not asking you to buy Wish List because it makes a good story for the Indie movement. I’m asking you to try Wish List because it’s a great book at an incredible price! If not, S&S wouldn’t have made the deal. Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart, airport bookstores, Walgreens, others—wouldn’t have put me on their shelves.

You’ll enjoy Wish List. If not, one of your friends certainly will. And yes, if Wish List succeeds in stores, S&S and retailers will do more deals with indies.

I need an army of authors and friends. Will you tweet the message? Facebook it? Will you blog it? Will you help me spread the word? If so, we can send a powerful message to mainstream media: INDIE BOOKS BELONG!

On bookstore shelves: WE BELONG!

On best-seller lists: WE BELONG!

In magazine articles: WE BELONG!

In newspaper interviews: WE BELONG!

In media book reviews: WE BELONG!

On TV talk shows: WE BELONG!

I’m asking for your help and support. Because no one on earth has the optimism of an indie author, and no one works harder. And no one believes in themselves more than indie authors, and no one is more determined. And one thing I know and believe with all my heart is no amount of money or power on earth can measure up to an army of independent authors and our friends!

Will you help me spread the word?

Here’s an idea. Fourteen authors have sold more than a million eBooks on Kindle. Type the following names into your Kindle search and you’ll find their catalog of eBooks. Some are more expensive than others, but these are the top-selling authors, so their books are almost certainly worth the price.

1.  Stieg Larsson

2.  James Patterson

3.  Nora Roberts

4.  Charlaine Harris

5.  Lee Child

6.  Suzanne Collins

7.  Michael Connelly

8.  (See Below) *

9.  Janet Evanovich

10.  Kathryn Stockett

11.  George R.R. Martin

12.  David Baldacci

13.  Amanda Hocking

14.  Stephenie Meyer

*In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m John Locke, #8 on the above list. I’m a New York Times Best Selling Author, and I sold more than 1,720,000 eBooks in 2011.

Just to be clear:

I’m not asking you to choose me over these other wonderful authors. In fact, I recommend you buy their books first, because you probably already know and love them. Buy as many of their books as you can afford. Then, if you’ve got a dollar left over, I recommend you give one of my books a try. You see, I sell my eBooks for 99 cents. This isn’t a one-time special, it’s my everyday friendship price for all my novels.

I could charge more for my eBooks. But you know what that would mean?

It would mean you’d have to pay more.

I’ve written 14 thrillers, mysteries and westerns.  My two newest 99 cent novels are Call Me! and Maybe. If you feel like giving these books a try, here’s a link:

Call Me:  http://tinyurl.com/6ntaq64

Synopsis:  A beautiful, young private detective supports herself by posing as bait for men whose wives suspect them of cheating. On the side, she hunts for a notorious killer.

Maybe:  http://tinyurl.com/7u47wn9

Synopsis:  When an angry, unemployed chemist unleashes a bio-terrorist attack against women and children, the president of the United States asks Donovan Creed to get involved. It’s just one more thing on Creed’s plate.

Remember, enjoy these other authors first, and tell them I sent you. And when you’re down to your last Kindle buck and want to have a few laughs, try one of my laugh-out-loud thrillers.

You’re going to love your new Kindle. A world of entertainment awaits!

I’m not going to publish the book.

Those who voted yes gave me brilliant reasons that inspired me! Those who voted no told me tragic stories that hurt my heart.

I need to confess something: my book was not nearly as creepy and graphic as I led you to believe. But I wanted to phrase it that way because the subject matter was rough. While my advisory council thought I shouldn’t publish the book, they also said it was the best writing I have ever done, which is what led me to the quandary. So I wanted to get your opinion.

Your comments of support brought tears to my eyes. The votes were completely anonymous, but 20% of you wrote to tell me why you voted yes or no, anyway!

What moved me was you wanted me to know you were in my corner either way, and…wow, I love you for that!

Why did I decide not to publish The Little Girl Who Got Away?

In the end, the answer was simple. The Donovan Creed novels, Emmett Love novels, and my new book, Call Me! were written by a smiling John Locke. Yes, these books include some coarse language, graphic scenes, silly and outrageous plots…but they were all written by a smiling John Locke, intended for an audience cool enough to “get” the humor. Girl isn’t as awful as I implied—not even close!—but I didn’t smile while I wrote it, and that has always been my litmus test and will continue to be, thanks to you.

You helped me remember something important this week. You got me back on track. I almost forgot why I do this. I don’t want to change the world or write books kids will have to study in high school someday. I want to keep writing the kind of books I’ve always written: books that take you out of your stressful lives for a few hours and make you smile. It’s who I am, what I’m good at.

So why did I even consider writing something different?

Maybe I was getting full of myself, or trying to be someone I wasn’t. Or maybe my abandonment issues were overwhelming me again, and I was afraid I’d lose your support if I didn’t branch out and extend myself as an author.

In the end, thanks to your wonderful emails and comments, I realize it’s like it’s always been. Despite my mistakes and imperfections, you love me just the way I am, same as I love you. And we’re still in this writing adventure together, as partners and friends. We’re still having fun, still making history together.

So thank you for helping me with this reality check. I’m happy with who I am, and hope you’ll continue supporting me as you have so many times in the past.

In that regard, if you haven’t downloaded Call Me! I hope you will, because Dani’s
cute and funny and you’ll like her. We’ll keep her past in her past. What’s important,
she’s moved beyond it, and finally, so have I.

Call Me! was written with a smile, and I’m pretty sure it will make you smile. My advisory
council loved it. Try Call Me! and let me know if you agree, and hang on because the next Creed is going to be a wild ride. It’s titled Maybe, and I hope to have it for you by Christmas, if all goes well.

Thanks for being you. I’ll keep trying to be me.

Link to Call Me:     http://tinyurl.com/cdj75y7

This time I need your advice.

As an author, I’m a “push the envelope” type of person. I like to shake things up. I think the worst thing an author can be is boring or predictable, so I created a new series about a former kidnap victim. I wrote two books. The first is present day, where 24-year-old Dani Ripper is a private investigator who searches for missing kids. Nine years ago she was kidnapped by a serial killer/rapist who held her captive in his basement for a month. Obviously, bad things happened in the basement. By using her wits and courage, Dani eventually managed to escape.

I have an advisory council, people who read my books before publication. I send them my manuscripts, they give me valuable feedback. Their comments make my books better, so this is something I recommend to all authors.

Before you run out and get five friends to read your books and tell you how great you are, you need to know my group is hyper critical. They usually beat the crap out of me and force me to defend my reasons for what I’ve written.

I love them for it.

My group talked me into two rewrites for Call Me! The result? A much better book than I would have written on my own.

The second book. The Little Girl Who Got Away, is the story of Dani’s kidnapping, imprisonment, and escape. My advisory council said I shouldn’t publish the book because my heroine is 15 years old. One member wanted to toss the manuscript after five pages because the subject matter was so offensive and the events too creepy. She said, “Every time a kid goes missing the police will search your basement!”

I was told if I publish The Little Girl Who Got Away I’d lose my fan base overnight. It would shock and horrify people. It’s every parent’s nightmare. The dialogue will make people wonder about me!

I said, “Several best-selling books have been written by girls who escaped their kidnappers. I haven’t read them, but surely their books include the bad things that happened.”

I was told the public likes true stories about these situations, but not fictional accounts. My agent called it a taboo subject. My publisher doesn’t even want to read it!

I don’t want to lose my fan base, alienate people, or make them think something’s wrong with me. I wanted to write something edgy about a resourceful young lady forced into a horrible situation, who found a way to survive and escape. Yes, it was creepy and terrible, but I thought it was a compelling story that would hold my readers’ interest. I don’t want to ruin my reputation or the good will I’ve built as a writer, but I also don’t want to throw a book in the trash simply because it’s too controversial.

Is my advisory council right? Are some subjects so offensive they should never be published?

I decided to take a poll.  Please click the yes or no button that asks if I should publish the fictional story of Dani’s captivity. I’m not trying to sell you on it. I want your honest opinion, and your vote is completely confidential.

Here’s the link to vote: http://daniripper.wordpress.com/vote/

Thank you so much for your help.

 Really? What type of advice is that?

 Sure, there are obstacles out there, but that’s true in any endeavor. Is it simple to write a best seller? No. But can you do it? Yes, absolutely!

The world makes it hard enough for you to be successful, so you’re not going to see me piling on the negativity! Let others talk about the mountains. I’ll show you where the tunnels are! Others can talk about the raging rivers, I’ll point you toward the bridges! Yes, there are roadblocks in the land of self-publishing, but there are super highways, too.

I’ll leave it to others to lower your expectations. There are plenty eager to do that. But I’m not one of them. If you’re a struggling author I want to RAISE your expectations.

I’m not a know-it-all. I’m still humble. I’ll never forget the frustrations I felt, trying to fit in, trying to feel like I belonged. I absolutely know what you’re going through. I’ve been there.

It’s a huge achievement to complete a manuscript, and that’s just the beginning. You’ve still got proofing and re-writes and edits and more re-writes, and when you finally get it just right you dig into your pocket and take money you could use for other things, and invest it in your dream.

But when your book is published, it just sort of lays there. No one knows how to find it. You listen to others tell you what to do, how to get your book “out there,” and you try those things and they don’t work. You Facebook, you Tweet, you blog, you try to get reviews, you buy courses, attend classes…and nothing seems to work.

After awhile, you start to take it personally. You wonder if it’s you. Maybe your writing sucks. Maybe you’re a joke. Maybe you were stupid to even try. Maybe the whole thing was a colossal waste of time.

Let me tell you something. Rejection of any kind sucks. But rejection of your book, which entered the world as your labor of love, is especially hard to take. Especially when you talk to your friends about being an author. They may be very supportive of you, but…

They don’t consider you an author.

Your friends and relatives know what an author is. To them, it’s the names they see on the shelves of bookstores. The ones who wrote the books that became movies. Until our books start selling, they consider us vanity authors.

That’s what I was, a vanity author. At least that’s how everyone saw me. But when I finally got sick of being a vanity author I sat down and created a marketing system to get my books onto the best-seller lists.

On Monday, June 20, 2011, Amazon announced I was the first self-published author to sell a million downloads on Kindle, and only the eighth author in history to do so. You know how I’m celebrating? By making my marketing system available for everyone who wants to duplicate, or exceed my achievements. I wrote it all out, step-by-step. Everything I tried that didn’t work and everything that did.

I’m charging $4.99 for this information via eBook, $9.99 paperback. I hope you’ll consider it a bargain, since I spent $25,000 for information that didn’t work. Why so cheap? Because adding five bucks to what you’ve already spent on your dreams isn’t a big deal.

You know when my friends finally considered me an author? When I started making serious money from book sales! And no matter how nice your friends and family are, you know in your heart they’re not going to consider you a real author until the royalties start pouring in.

The book is titled, How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months! It’s about me, but it was written for you.  Here’s the link:  http://tinyurl.com/6atrd8y

It’s good manners!

Folks tell me I should use an auto-responder or hire a secretary to do it. They say, “How can you afford to answer emails?” My response: “What does book income have to do with answering emails? No one’s paying my readers to write to me!  Isn’t their time as valuable as mine? –Of course it is!”

When you read my book and take the time to click onto my website and leave your name and email address, and tell me you loved my book—how could I not thank you? You paid money to read my book! You gave up your time to read it! That’s a gift of time you’ll never get back.

Do most people not understand this?  Out of every single thing in the world you could have done today, you chose to spend those precious hours of your life reading my book?

It’s the most incredible honor in the world!

Bless your heart!  I’m so humbled I don’t even know how to properly thank you! Is someone going to sit there and tell me my readers don’t deserve a couple minutes of my flippin’ time to thank them for what they’ve done for me? My readers aren’t an interruption of my time. They’re the purpose for it!

In short, there’s nothing in it for me…to write about him. Which is proof these words come from my heart.

I’ll make this short. As you know, I value your time, and only write when I feel I have something important to say. I could wait till Mike is in the news, but that would be opportunistic, and unworthy of the subject matter.

I’m busy, you’re busy. But I’m pausing a moment to express my admiration and gratitude for not only Mike, who is an extraordinary human being, but for all those special people who exude character and class every day of their lives while fighting debilitating diseases hell-bent on breaking them down and killing their spirits. I’m talking about not only Mike, but your friends and mine, and our relatives.

I’m sure Mike has rough days where he struggles to stay positive, days when fatigue gets the better of him, days when he wonders from what reservoir can he possibly extract another ounce of strength. But here’s a guy…wow! I’m almost at a loss for words. It takes a lot of courage for a former leading man to put himself out there and take his battle to the enemy in front of all the world’s cameras. So truly…wow!

And yet, we all have friends and relatives who have it even worse than Mike. These quiet family heroes bravely battle incurable diseases without the benefit of an adoring public. My cousin, Susan’s, battle would overwhelm me in no time, and yet she maintains an attitude that shames me to complain about the insignificant trials I face. I have a friend, Lisa, who’s in the middle of a tragic battle. She’s showing us all, by example, what it means to have true courage. Your friends and relatives are doing the same. I wish I could single each of them out and praise their epic, individual examples.

Mike, Susan, Lisa…and your friends and family members are giving us a blueprint for how to live our lives with courage and dignity. They’re teaching us how to face fear and overcome obstacles. How to live extraordinary lives in the face of crushing physical and emotional devastation.

I only know Michael J. Fox through his TV and movie roles and public appearances, and I don’t know your loved ones at all. But I love them. Love them the same way I love my friends and family members who bravely fight the fight. Love their mental toughness. Admire their ability to handle adversity.

I write books about kooky characters and larger-than-life heroes, but I’ll tell you something right now: the amazing true-life heroes we all know and love are everything that’s right, noble and true about humankind. Their remarkable determination, unbreakable will, and their indomitable courage will surely be placed as credits to their names in Paradise.

Michael J. Fox is the name of this blog, and its face. But it’s a blog about all who struggle daily, while displaying the mental fortitude to prevail against overwhelming odds. It’s for all the Dick Clarks of the world. The Roger Eberts. The Susans, the Lisas, and it’s for your parents, your siblings, your friends and your loved ones. So when I say Mike, I’m talking about a million amazing people who are absolutely worth pausing a few minutes to think about and honor. Since I can’t single everyone out by name, I’ll just say:

Keep fighting the good fight, Mike. I love you, man!

I’d outgrown Archie, Richie Rich, Donald Duck and Casper years earlier, and very recently and reluctantly, Superman, Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, and Batman. I was older now. Wouldn’t be cool to get caught scanning the comic book racks.

But there was one I couldn’t’ give up. One I still clung to. One I was willing to sneak out and purchase, quickly and quietly, like a thief in the night.

Kid Colt.

I loved Kid Colt like a ten-year-old loves puppies. The Kid was cool. Only needed one gun. Had a horse named Steel, and a back story that’d make you cry. Well, maybe not cry. But, you know. The Kid lived by a creed (a Donovan Creed, you ask?) The Kid was an outlaw, wrongly accused. Went from town to town, always one step ahead of the law. Everywhere he went, he’d right a wrong.

Great stuff.

It’s eight a.m. Saturday morning, my friends asleep. I enter the store, do a quick walk-through, pause briefly to see where my comic is situated on the display rack. Can’t spend too much time at the rack, you know. Check the soft drinks, then the candy. I’d be less nervous buying condoms, tampons, a Playboy, or beer. Because those things a guy can laugh about with his buddies. Not comic books. Comic books are things that make your buddies laugh at you!

I rush to the display, grab my Kid Colt, set it on the counter with a dime and two pennies. No eye contact. Put the book in a bag and I’ll be on my way. But no. Counter guy picks up my book. In a voice dripping with condescension, says, “Wow! Kid Colt! Fastest gun in the west! Fastest horse ever lived! And looky here,” he says, pointing to the cover. “He’s surrounded by a dozen men, guns blazing all around, but Kid Colt shoots them all!”

While he’s saying all this, and more, I’m shrinking, mortified, horrified. He ends it with the dreaded, “Aren’t you a little old for this stuff?” I stand there, saying nothing. He takes my coins, says, “Want a bag?” I nod, take it, and rush out the store.

I was crushed. He’d found my weakness, and made me suffer for it. My cheeks were on fire like Johnny Storm, Fantastic Four. Once home, I climbed on my bed, opened the cover of my beloved Kid Colt. Read a few words, stopped, stood, gathered all my comics, added this one to the pile, and lovingly placed them in the trash can.

I’d lost my innocence. 

February, 2011.

That’s when I published, against the advice of everyone I know, a Western Adventure titled Follow the Stone. People said “Westerns are dead. If you publish a Western, you’ll lose the audience you’ve worked so hard to build.” They said, “If you must write the damn thing, at least use a pen name!”

I wrote the book. Put my real name on it because…well, because I’m proud of it. You say you don’t like Westerns? I hope to change your mind. I’m writing a series of John Locke Westerns, meaning, Westerns with a smirk. In doing so, I’m reclaiming a piece of my youth.

A few years back, my daughter’s friends thought she was too old to like certain types of toys. So my wife and I took her into toy stores and pretended we were picking out toys for younger kids. “I’m sure she’d like this one!” our daughter would say, with bright, happy eyes. Years later, we did the same for our son. When their friends came over, we’d put these “kid toys” in a box. We kept their toy secret all that time, and I wouldn’t tell you now, except that we’re friends, you and me. I think you understand why I wanted my kids to enjoy their youthful indulgences as long as possible.

Which brings me to why I’m telling you all this: I want you to download my Western for only 99 cents, a friendship rate.

You know Donovan Creed, and I’m honored you like him. There’s only one Creed, only one Callie. But the same author who brought Creed and Callie to the dance has lovingly crafted a whole new group of friends you need to meet. This ain’t your grandpa’s Western–it’s totally cool and hip and funny. You’re gonna love Emmett, Gentry, Shrug, and the rest of the gang.

I guarantee it.

Did I mention it’s the #1 Western on Amazon/Kindle? Has been, for six weeks now. But don’t read it because it’s popular. Read it because it’s fun.

Give it a try. Find your childhood smile.

Here’s the link. Click it now, before the world gets you sidetracked: Follow the Stone

The answer is no.

You only notice the ones who are breaking the rules!

It’s the same with your writing.

You want to be technically perfect? Great. Maybe they’ll study you in high school English class someday. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lofty goal. But it’s the difference between educating your readers and entertaining them. You need to choose which works for you.

You might say, “There’s a reason you shouldn’t drive 40 or 90 on the interstate, John,” and I’ll say, “Of course there is. People could get hurt, even die from such recklessness.” And that’s why I’m not advocating dangerous driving. But let me ask you this: who’s gonna get hurt if you break a flippin’ writing rule once in awhile?

I get a lot of criticism from purists for my writing, but I can live with it, because English teachers aren’t my target audience. Not all English teachers. Just the cool ones. My newest novel, A Girl Like You, breaks a lot of rules. Especially in the last six pages. But my target audience will love that final chapter because they’ve come to expect certain rules to be broken in my writing, and they wouldn’t have it any other way. I have two people at a table in that final scene. But in my mind there are two extra chairs you don’t know about. And I’m doing all I can to put my guy readers in one of those chairs and the ladies in the other.

 Does it work? You Decide.

 Kindle Books – A Girl Like You – John Locke, author – 99 cents.

Aww… It’s all right. No, really, I understand. Come on over, pull up a chair. Yeah, that’s right. Get comfortable. Are you comfy? Good. Here’s a tissue. Wipe those tears from your eyes. Yeah, that’s better. Take a deep breath. You’re gonna be just fine. Now listen up, ’cause I’m gonna tell you all you need to know about “bad” reviews.

Don’t take bad reviews personally.

Yeah, I know. Easy for me to say, right? After all, I used to knock on doors selling insurance! Not to mention I’ve been married 3 times! –I mean, what can you possibly write in a review that’s gonna hurt my feelings?

Someone made fun of Saving Rachel for having 36 1-star reviews. I can deal with it. It helps that Rachel is the #1 download on Amazon/Kindle and has been for the past week. Of course, this will change, and I can deal with that, too, ’cause it’s the natural order of things.

I never received a bad review until I hit the top 100!

In your book’s infancy, you’re marketing to friends, contacts you’ve made, and their contacts. Your book attracts readers by word of mouth. They like you, recommend you, and your ratings reflect it. As your book goes “viral” and works it’s way into the top 100 it attracts readers who never heard of you. They buy your book for different reasons: they like the cover. It has lots of great reviews. It’s a best seller. And these readers will love it, hate it, or forget it. If they love it, you’ve got another fan. If they hate it, they blame you and the folks who gave you a good rating. Doesn’t mean your book sucks, and it doesn’t mean they’re petty, hateful people.

It simply means they aren’t part of your target audience. 

Why do they get so angry? They wanted to like your book. They paid money, invested time, and most importantly, wanted to join your party, have fun, hang out with the cool kids, and be part of the group. They see those 50 great reviews and were hoping to “get” it. And now they feel left out. And sometimes they lash out. In the long run, it’s good for you, and good for them. They won’t buy your next book, and that’s one less bad rating you’ll get next time.

You’ll never get a bad review from your target audience.

Never change your writing to accommodate the ones who hate you. Do that, and your core audience will abandon you.

The more books I write, the fewer “bad” reviews I get.

Why? ‘Cause your first few books will attract followers and repel non-followers. After that, you’ll be selling to a higher percentage of folks who already like your work, which means fewer negative reviews. You’ll also get fewer positive reviews, ’cause your core readers have already invested time and effort to give you good reviews in the past. They feel it’s someone else’s turn. Saving Rachel hit the top 100 with 175 reviews. Follow the Stone did it with 6! This week, A Girl Like You hit the top 100 with only 2! Today it’s #29 with 3 reviews! As Girl attracts people who shouldn’t be reading it, I’ll get a high percentage of bad reviews unless my core audience steps up and fights for me by posting some positive reviews  (Yeah, Chachi, that’s a hint! Step up to the bullies and defend my honor, will ya?)

The reason some people hate your book is the same reason your target audience loves it!

You better HOPE a lot of people hate your writing! ‘Cause if they don’t, you’re not very original. And if you’re not original, you’re not gonna stand out. And if you don’t stand out, you’re not gonna sell.

One last comment…

I like bourbon, my wife likes beer. My kids are too young to drink. You can pour the finest single-barrel bourbon in the world into a tumbler and set it on the counter of my bar, and it’s only going to be right for one out of the four people in my house. Are you gonna sit there and try to tell me that whoever created that fine Kentucky bourbon sucks at what he does because 3 out of 4 people give it a thumbs down?