Future of media: The rise of the million-selling Kindle author

Amazon’s Kindle platform doesn't just allow people to read millions of e-books, it also allows them to publish millions of them: the company announced that John Locke, who self-publishes his work through Kindle’s direct publishing program, has joined the elite group of authors who have sold a million or more books, a list that includes Stieg Larsson and James Patterson.

Along with fellow author Amanda Hocking, Locke has become the poster boy for a growing movement of writers who are bypassing the traditional publishing industry. What’s even more incredible than Locke’s million-selling status is that it has taken him less than six months to pull off this feat: the author said in an interview earlier this year with J.A. Konrath -- another popular independent author and proponent of self-publishing -- that he had sold 350,000 copies of his books in just three months and that was in March. In the interview, Locke said that he had no previous experience as an author (he ran an insurance business and a real estate business before turning to writing), and had never submitted a query letter or manuscript to a traditional publisher.