Amanda Hocking

In my previous post, I talked about the visit to Gregory Maguire's house. And I talked about how he wrote a ton from a very young age. I find this topic very interesting and I wanted to provide one more example of someone who has wrote/told stories from a young age and is now successful.

Amanda Hocking.

Amanda Hocking is a recent phenomenon. She only became a well-known author in the past couple years when she began self-publishing her YA novels (paranormal romances). Eventually, her novels caught on like a wild fire and she has made the USA Bestsellers list, $1,000,000+ all from self-publishing, and recently has become a traditional published author.

How does she explain her success?

"People ask me, "When did you start writing?" And the truth is I never didn't write. Before I could talk, I would tell stories. When I was younger, I couldn't write fast enough to keep up with the ideas I had, so I had talk and get them out. I was always writing. It never occurred to me until I was about 12 that I would do anything other than be a writer. 

When I was 12, I decided that writers were boring people, and I didn't want to be boring, so I'd save writing for my "safety" career while I tried out other ones. In high school, I probably wrote about fifty short stories and started a dozen novels. I also wrote a full-length script for a movie about four teenagers who resort to murder to protect a friend. I'm sure it's poorly written, but I haven't looked at in like 8 years.

I finished my first novel when I was seventeen, right after I graduated high school. It was about a guy with amnesia. In a corrupt institution. Looking for a serial killer. I know, it's shocking that something with that many overwrought cliches never found a publisher. (BTW - my mom still says its her favorite book by me. But its still a very bad book)."

This is just one instance where she explains her success. Time and time again, Hocking says the best advice she can give people is write. Just write. She attributes her success to hard work in writing (and a little luck). If you are interested in Amanda Hocking and want to read more of her blog and other work, you can find it here.

So, in the spirit of my past two posts, did you write today? I know I did, just by writing this post (but, I will do 500 words on a story project).