With a combined forty years in publishing and internet marketing I guess it shouldn't be any surprise that Wolfpack Publishing LLC's L. J. Martin and internet marketing expert Mike Bray were able to surpass 25,000 sales in the single month of January…their sixth month in business. Martin's novel, THE BAKKEN, currently leads the pack at No. 3 on Amazon's men's adventure and crime lists, and No. 11 in crime print.
Starting with a platform of Martin's many published works, exponentially gaining horsepower by adding the finest in Western genre writers Chet Cunningham, Frank Roderus and Robert Vaughan to the list, as well as other fine writers, it's little wonder sales continue to climb at a phenomenal rate.
And who said Westerns were dead?
Of course all the writers listed above are also prolific in other genres, but Martin reports that Wolfpack plans to be the premier publisher of Westerns on the web, and if their rate of growth is any indicator, that's exactly where they're headed.
Asked if they're entertaining submissions, he could only shrug and offer, "We already have some of the very best in the business, with large backlists, so we can afford to be very, very picky. We're new, and still finding our way, and we discovered early on how difficult it is to market single titles, or even authors with only a handful. So picky is now our mantra."
When asked about the secret of their success, he offered, "It's easy to offer a book to the internet marketplace by converting it to a properly formatted file and uploading to Amazon—no matter what the legacy brick and mortar folks in NY preach to their writers—but then it's a 'what now?' scenario. Marketing is the key, and staying up with the web is a constant enterprise. We're blessed to work with Internet expert Mike Bray, who's sold just about everything in the basket on the web, starting many, many years ago with small tools. He took to eBooks as if selling them was as easy as putting corn through a goose, to risk a Westernism."
In addition Martin offered, "A publisher of printed or digital works is only as good as his writers, and having started in the biz from the writer's perspective, and learning from some of the best at the legacy houses. I've been published by Bantam, Avon and Kensington—it's easy for me to offer writers what I know they've been seeking from the legacy houses. And that's true independence wherein if they don't like what we do for them, they can saddle up and ride on. We think we're among the best in the biz and we know…I know…that prompt payment and no B.S. on royalty statements is what warms the hearts, and fills the larder, of writers. God knows it's a tough business, so we pay monthly, within 30 days of receiving checks, most of which come from Amazon, but Smashwords and Nookpress are substantial players, and I expect Apple to take a shine to the business begin banging on the gates in a more substantial way. As I write this we have 8 of the top 20 action adventure novels on Amazon's list. That's amazing considering our youth. In fact, it's amazing period."
So what's next? "Stay ahead of the marketing curve, jump on the next sales opportunity like a duck on a June bug, and keep bringing new product to hungry readers at prices they can afford and places where they could never buy a book before the Internet…the sailor at sea, the Marine or Ranger in a fox hole in Afghanistan, or the guy or girl on the sofa at home. Entertain, and be proud of what you offer."
Sounds like a great mantra to me.
L. J. Martin and his wife, NYT bestselling romantic suspense author Kat Martin, live outside of Missoula, Montana and winter in Ventura, California. Mike Bray is headquartered in Las Vegas.
More info at http://wolfpackpublishing.com
Contact Martin at: [email protected] - 406-544-8634 or 805-654-1651
Contact Bray at: [email protected] - 702-689-3912