8 Reasons Hits Amazon #1 Spot

It's a thrill to announce that my free ebook 8 Reasons Your Life Matters officially hit the #1 spot on Amazon's Christian Inspiration (free) bestseller list for Kindle today! It also hit #2 on Amazon's mainstream Motivational Self-Help bestseller list, a position at which the book has bounced in and out for the last month or so. It's an honor, and I hope that position represents people who have received encouragement from the words in the book. Thank you to all who have spent time with the book.


I've begun the revision process for the fourth novel, which is expected to be the third novel to hit shelves. It has turned out to be a cleaner first draft than my first couple of novels. It's cool to see that you've grown as a writer. In truth, after several years spent revising your work—books and otherwise—you develop a sharper eye while writing your first draft. Aware of things to look for and past areas of weakness, I tend to edit myself as I write that first draft. That can lengthen your draft process, but it means less revision later on.


Do I have a title? Off the record: Yes, I've had a title since day one. On the record: No, I don't have a title until the book is complete. (Read into the paranoia however you choose!)


I hope your new year is going well and pray 2014 is full of joy for you and me. Cheering you on. Love you guys.


Never give up!


John Herrick
johnherrick.net
johnherricknet.blogspot.com


Today's Playlist:  10 by Mercy Me

Fourth Novel Done

As it turns out, there are advantages to getting snowed in. I just finished the fourth novel a few minutes ago—the first draft, anyway! Very pleased with how it turned out. It clocked in at 434 pages and a total of 113,249 words, which is also my longest by far. That said, the prologue no longer seems to fit, so that's 8 pages that will probably get nixed during the revision process. The book should hit shelves next year.

On the e-book front, the response to the free nonfiction book 8 Reasons Your Life Matters is beyond what I imagined. About 30,000 copies have been downloaded since its May release. But the exciting thing is the messages people have sent to let me know the book hit their hands at the right moment. I consider messages private, so I don't show them to anyone else (not even my family), but it reminds me of why I want to write. Thanks for entrusting those words to me. Your life has a plan.

Happy new year. And if it applies to you, happy frigid snow day!

Never give up!

John Herrick
johnherrick.net
johnherricknet.blogspot.com

Today's Playlist:  The Blessed Unrest by Sara Bareilles