Amanda Hocking

Amanda's Blog Post

Oh, Internet, and Your Wicked Untruths

December 29th, 2010 by
This post currently has 18 comments

The subtitle of this blog could be titled “How Google Alerts Are Ruining My Life.”

It’s too easy for me to find misinformation about myself, and I can’t help myself. I have to correct it. I’m compelled to set the record straight. So be prepared for a long-ish blog where I say things.

Okay, first of all, I’m not “averaging” 30,000 sales a month. To be honest, I’m not “averaging” anything. I’ve only been at this for going on 9 months, and every month has been different. I’m not going to post my monthly sales totals (mostly because I’m lazy but also because December isn’t over yet).  But if you were to average out my current total of books sold over 9 months, I’d average about 15,000 books a month.

Second, my agent isn’t why I’m successful. That’s not saying anything bad about Steve. But he is my agent – not my publicist. He has done no marketing for me. He and his foreign agents have negotiated deals with foreign publishers and pitched my books to other foreign publishers. They’ve also pitched audio and film rights. That’s what an agent does. They don’t set up up marketing campaigns. They don’t edit books or make covers. They pitch books to various people who buy rights and negotiate contracts.

On a side note, I think it’s going to be more and more common for self-published authors to have agents. Why? Because I can’t read foreign contracts. I don’t know how to negotiate for a better deal. And most movie studios won’t accept my calls. You dig?

Third, I use the word foxy. Okay? Me and my friends all use the word foxy. All the time. In fact, in reference to attractive young men, I refer to them almost exclusively as “foxy” or “dreamy.” I think the word “cute” is for puppies, and “sexy” sounds dirty. I will not apologize for using the word foxy.

Fourth, I had nothing to do with this book: Kindle Maestro. I have not read it. I did not help write it. I do not endorse it. I have no idea what’s inside of it. But I strongly believe that everything you need to know about publishing on Kindle is available for free on the internet, and most of it at Joe Konrath’s blog.

Fifth, I am not magical. Having me endorse your book will not help it sell. Having me read your book will not help it sell. I do not have special powers. People credit for me for things I had no power over. If I could make other people’s books sell, Jenny Pox would be #1 in the Kindle store. And it’s not. So I’m clearly not magic.

Sixth, I have a Frequently Asked Questions tab at the top because I want to make life easier on you. So please check it out.

Seventh, my age seems to be of some dispute, which seems strange to me, since I have my birthday posted all over the place. I’m sixteen. Just kidding, I’m not. But I’ve considered telling people that because then my success would seem even more awesome. But I’m not sixteen. I’m twenty-six.

I feel like I read something else incorrect that had me enraged, but I don’t remember what it was, so it must not have been very bad.

If I come across as snappy or snarky, I apologize. It’s not my intent to be. And I don’t feel crabby. But I do feel a bit… overwhelmed lately. I’m not complaining at all. But a lot has happened in a very short amount of time, and I’m still trying to figure out the best way to do everything.

The bottom line: I write books for teens about trolls and vampires and zombies that are meant to be fun and entertaining. That’s it. Although lately, I’ve spent more time playing Robot Unicorn Attack than writing, but that happens to be the best game ever.

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  • rosehips says:

    I read or heard recently (sorry to be vague, I’ve been all over the internet for about two months obsessively trying to soak up everything I can on social media and writing) that too many celebrities fail to use social media to manage their reputations. So you, as a celebrity (that’s what you are, you know) are doing the exact right thing by using your social media outlet to set the record straight. Keep it up. 🙂

  • Hi Amanda! Yeah, it’s all happening fast and I can understand it can be overwhelming at times, but you’re handling it perfectly. Publishing-wise, the writing and the readers are what’s most important and I can tell you have a handle on that. And isn’t it great to have readers begging for more? You’re living the dream…

  • Tara Maya says:

    Ack, that’s the downside of being famous. And I’m not saying that in a snarky way. But thanks for clarifying the fog of rumor. 🙂

  • gniz says:

    I came here via JA Konrath’s blog as well. It’s really inspiring and has actually sort of changed the course of my–erm…career…

    Because of what you guys have blogged about, I was inspired to self-publish 5 novels to kindle this past week. I am writing about it here:

    epubmanifesto.blogspot.com/

    Thanks for your honesty and inspiration, continued success!

  • Bakari says:

    Thanks for recommending J L Bryant, author of “Jenny Pox.” I just bought his (and yours) “Dark Tomorrows.”

  • C.Lefeve says:

    I know it’s important to set the record straight. If I were in your shoes I would do the exact same thing…but then again…who cares? Your books rock (I read the entire My Blood Approves series over the holidays, while I await the release of Ascend) and all you ever need to know is that your writing IS entertaining and fun (yes, even to those of us in our mid-ahem-thirties).

  • I guess I’ve never tried to look things up about you, but I figured since we’re friends and have been since grade 9 (although, we technically didn’t get along then) I didn’t need to. I guess that’s what happens when you have your name on things that people are interested in…

  • I know this off topic, but I was just reading on JA Konrath’s blog and wanted to say how awesome your mention was on his 12/8/10 post. Congrats Amanda! You Rock!
    http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2010/12/bestseller-shift.html