Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Shaken Breaks Top 100 Kindle Bestseller List

Exactly seven days ago, I cracked the Top 100 with DRACULAS, a horror novel I wrote with Blake Crouch, Jeff Strand, and F. Paul Wilson. That ebook was a self-published Kindle exclusive, and it continues to sell over 100 copies a day.

Today, SHAKEN has been released. This is the seventh book in my Jack Daniels series, and it wasn't self-published. Instead, it was picked up by AmazonEncore--a publishing wing of Amazon.com.

AmazonEncore is publishing a print version of SHAKEN in February, and though that appeals to the nostalgic part of me that still has an emotional attachment to dead trees, and though AmazonEncore has been a completely positive experience for me (which includes working with some of the smartest and most enthusiastic folks I've ever met), these aren't the real reasons I signed with them.

The real reason I'm working with Amazon, ego and pleasantries aside, is because of their marketing muscle.

I've proven with Draculas, and with ENDURANCE, that I can hit the Top 100 on my own. But I don't have the reach that Amazon has. This is a chance for me to release a book with a big push behind it--something I've never had in my career.

It will be fun to watch how Shaken does over the next few days, weeks, and months. Naturally, I'll keep my blog readers posted with numbers.

In the meantime, I'm happy that Jack Daniels has a new publisher, and that the series is still kicking after seven years. I get a lot of email from fans who have been anxiously waiting for this one, and that makes me happy. Reviews like this one also make me happy.

Tess Gerritsen is a physician and an internationally bestselling author. She gained nationwide acclaim for her first novel of medical suspense, the New York Times bestseller Harvest. She is also the author of the bestsellers Ice Cold, The Keepsake, The Bone Garden, The Mephisto Club, and more. Here's her review of J.A. Konrath's Shaken:

J.A. Konrath achieves the stupendous feat of blending both a prequel and a sequel in this timeline-hopping thriller, expertly making the pieces click together like an intricate Swiss watch.

Over the course of her decades-long career, Detective Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels has pursued her own great white whale: a sickeningly twisted serial killer named Mr. K. Years ago, Jack came heartbreakingly close to catching him, but he managed to slip away. Now Mr. K is back from her nightmares, and she's his captive, in a secret place where she's beyond rescue. Bound and gagged, the clock ticking down till zero, Jack faces a death more excruciating than anyone's worst imaginings. She has seen Mr. K.'s other victims, so she knows how terrible her end will be.

In flashback, we see just how Jack ended up at this moment in her life. From her first exposure as a rookie to Mr. K's handiwork, through her career-long pursuit of her nemesis, we watch Jack grow as a cop, as a woman, and as a friend to her two eccentric colleagues, Harry and Herb. That journey is both terrifying and wildly hilarious, a wacky combination that only a writer as good as Konrath can pull off. Throw in a deeply moving denouement, and you have a story that hits every single mark.

The pace is frantic, the horrors truly horrifying, and the dialogue will have you laughing out loud even as you're gripping the pages in terror. Konrath is so good, he makes other novelists jealous--and count me as one of them.

Five very enthusiastic stars out of five. --Tess Gerritsen

Buy Shaken for $2.99 for Amazon Kindle.

Because it is DRM free, you can also read it on other ereaders (Nook, Kobo, Sony, etc.) Instructions are HERE.

27 comments:

Julia Rachel Barrett said...

Very cool. I will. I'm genuinely enjoying reading about your voyage into the world of self-publishing - it's fascinating and encouraging.

JoePike said...

From a daily tech-news email I receive from radio host Kim Komando:

"Amazon has announced that its new Kindle version has outsold all previous versions combined. It also revealed that e-book sales are outpacing traditional book sales. That is for the 1,000 bestselling books. E-book readers are exploding in popularity. You may be thinking of buying one soon. Learn everything there is to know about e-readers..."

"Possible color e-reader leaked.
A new Barnes & Noble e-reader briefly leaked on its Website. Called the nook Color, it is rumored to have a full-color display. There is no news on what screen technology it will use. The speculated price is $249. Current black-and-white e-readers use E-ink displays..."


Color ebook readers were just a matter of time. If there really is a color nook coming then a color Kindle can't be too far behind!

Mark said...

Hey Joe,

I've been anxiously awaiting for Shaken to be released. Can't wait to read it. A couple of things: 1) Do you plan on releasing an audio version of this book? 2) I tried converting the book using Calibre and I get the following error message.

Could not convert: Convert book 1 of 1 (Shaken)
It is a DRMed book. You must first remove the DRM using third party tools.

I'm very familiar with Calibre so I'm pretty sure it's not just me making a mistake. Is anybody else having problems converting?

Thanks!

Ruth Harris said...

Bravo, congratulations & mazel tov! You have truly earned every bit of money, recognition and success you're now enjoying. Believe me, I know -- because I've been there -- how frustrating being a published author can be. The chasm between people's fantasies of being published and making the Times list & the reality of said accomplishments can be breath-taking.

Thanks to your inspiration, I'm about to put my Big Six-published bestsellers on Kindle. I write women's contemporary fiction and am working right now on the cover & digitized version of the first release -- HUSBANDS AND LOVERS, a NYTimes bestseller.

Congratulations, Joe. Revel & wallow!!!

Douglas Dorow said...

Congrats! Enjoyed Draculas, I'm sure I'll like Shaken.

I've followed your blog for quite some time and appreciate the discussion, advice and opinions shared here.

I've worked with Carl Graves, introduced from your blog, and just got the cover back. Can't wait to finish my edits on my thriller and publish it for the kindle readers.

Thanks for the info and the platform for sharing and best of continued success.

You can check out the cover here;
http://tiny.cc/2rfjy

Dawn Ius said...

Awesome endorsement! And well deserved. I'm a huge fan of everything you write - in any format, and all pseudo names :-)

JA Konrath said...

Let me check into that, Mark. I'm also getting a DRM message, even though this ebook shouldn't have DRM.

Thomas Brookside said...

It appears that you're already at #84.

Jeff said...

Congrats. At the rate you're releasing books, you should be able to catch up to James Patterson in about five years. Of course, if history is any indication, he'll have another sixty books out by then...

Anonymous said...

Yeah but... it's just cuz you're Konrath. This stuff really doesn't work!!!!

j/k Well done!!

P Dugan said...

Joe, really, how long does it take you to write a book?

I figure I'm about 1/10th as productive as you.

T. B. Wright said...

Congrats on the new novel. When I first saw that you had been picked up by AmazonEncore I had somewhat mixed feelings, but then I saw the price. At $2.99, it's just as cheap as your other novels and still has all that marketing strength.

As always, you're an inspiration. How long do you think the e-reader "bubble" so to speak will last? My first novel, The Fall of the House of Burne will be out by spring 2011. I keep getting anxious that by the time it comes out the revolution will have balanced out. Bubbles are good for business.

Any thoughts on when or IF it will subside?

Mike Fook said...

Shaken sells 100 times per day? I'm happy to hit 150 per month this month. I won't be happy at that for next month, but how in the world do I jump to 100 per day?

You are great inspiration Joe.

Deanna said...

Congratulations on this! Will your earlier books still be available from the old publisher and on Amazon Kindle? I've just downloaded the first book - Whiskey Sour and would really hate to have the rest of them no longer be available in the near future.

jeroentenberge said...

Congrats Joe!

And thanks for "pronounced yer-oh-in".

Hahaha - classic!

Unknown said...

Dear Joe,

Congratulations on everything you have done with your books. While I have never heard of your book before, I have now and I want to know more. It is great that you found a home with Amazon. With their help, you will probably crack much higher than the top 100.

You did this all on your own? That is really inspiring. I like the sound of that serial killer / saw book.

Seeing how often you are putting out books, do you ever feel you lack quality? Has writing gotten old to you? I could never imagine writing becoming tiring.

Being an author of horror, I appreciate how far you have made it in a genre that has been dying, by some standards. Good luck with Shaken! I'm sure I will like it.

Draven Ames

Lundeen Literary said...

Dude.

More like #17 on Amazon.

O_O

You're in the top TWENTY, bro.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!

-Jenna Lundeen

ecommerce web developer said...

When is the video going to be released,I am awaiting for the video to come,

Jude Hardin said...

Congrats, Joe!

Unknown said...

Well done, Joe!

You have really "Shaken" Up the publishing world, and I'm sooo looking forward to seeing what you're stirring-up next...

Congrats and thank you for paving the way to a new and fabulous publishing future!

Smiles & Happy Dancin' All-Around --- D. D. Scott

Angie B. said...

Congrats on your e-book successes, Joe!

Just curious...did you decide not to use Smashwords for Dracula? If so, any particular reason?

Blake Crouch said...

@Angie - We put DRACS on Kindle exclusively for the first year as a thank you to Amazon for their above and beyond the call of duty efforts to help us launch the book. It'll hit SMASHWORDS and elsewhere next October. A print edition is coming soon as well.

JA Konrath said...

Shaken is DRM free--I just confirmed. If, by some mistake, you got a DRM protected version, I'll be posting some customer service contact info so you can have Amazon swap it out for free.

Anonymous said...

Explain this one...

Stephen King's new book is coming out. Hardcover: $15.11 on Amazon. The Kindle version? $14.99!!!!!

That's like a slap in the face. What are these knuckle-headed publishers doing. Do they blindly believe enough readers just don't care about the price? Have they seen what kind of economic times we're in??? This is epic fail at an all new and idiotic level.

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