Knight on a Mission

Author Justin Knight offers heartfelt thanks to readers of his new science fiction novel Praxis.

Thank you for giving an independent author like me, someone totally unknown to any of you, a chance to show you what I can do. For those interested, the paperback version of Praxis will be sorted soon and will hopefully be out by the end of the month. The audio book I also intend to arrange as well, and am taking auditions for it through ACX, I will post updates as I have them on my Twitter page. I do, however, have something else to ask those of you who purchased Praxis.

Please leave a review.

Reviews will help me to learn, such as what stories are liked and what ones are not, characters, dialogue, and so much else. They will also hopefully attract other potential readers to my work, and that is always a good thing.

Justin isn’t overstating the vital importance of Amazon reviews. They help books succeed and aid authors in honing their craft. If you’ve read Praxis, consider leaving a review. If you haven’t read it yet, consider taking the time to review another indie book you’ve read and enjoyed. The powers that be won’t support us, so we have to support each other.

Back to Justin:

This final part, you can think of as my mission statement I guess.

I want to entertain with my stories, to give readers something they can enjoy without the unwelcome intrusion of politics, ridiculous story elements, or condemnation of the audience themselves.
Yes, Marvel, I am looking in your direction.

I will tell stories of regular folks, men or women, in extraordinary situations. I will tell them in the style of either books, comics, and movies, from the eighties and nineties, because for me, that is when story telling was at it’s best. I will not be one of these authors who does not appreciate his own audience, because I would not be in such a position without you. I will not be one of these authors who bitches that he cannot write because of a current political climate etc, or an author who becomes a political activist, because quite frankly, that is just stupid. I want to be an author who entertains people, to hopefully one day to earn a reputation that has readers looking forward to my next release. The coming days, weeks, months, and years, will see how that goes.

Justin Knight, independent author, at your service.

It’s ethically incumbent upon me to divulge that I edited Praxis. But this ethics disclosure isn’t just an obligation. It’s an unmixed pleasure.

I’ve spoken with Justin at length and, I believe, have gotten to know him rather well. Read his author statement again. Notice what’s there: genuine humility and a devotion to serving his readers. Just as importantly, notice what’s not there: any sense of entitlement or ulterior motives of turning his work into hackneyed propaganda.

That attitude of humility, honesty, and service is why I agreed to edit Justin’s book. Is editing a way for me to earn some extra cash on the side? Yes. Is that all it is? Well, the industry now has a new indie author with a solid work ethic who’s attracting and entertaining an audience. That’s not a coincidence. Justin had the talent and drive to succeed. He just needed someone a little higher up the ladder to give him a hand. The result has been a resounding win-win.

For those who doubt the value of hiring a professional editor, let me draw your attention to some data from Justin’s original post. Praxis outsold Justin’s prior book tenfold within ten days of launch. It also has three reviews at an average 4.6 star rating compared to zero for its predecessor. I can’t take full credit for his success. Others were certainly more instrumental than I was, first and foremost Justin himself. But I do have the numbers on the marketing assistance I gave him, and they’re not insignificant.

Congratulations to Justin Knight on a successful book launch and on staying down to earth while writing of the stars. I join him in thanking every reader who’s supported Praxis thus far. You folks are why writers like Justin and myself do what we do.

How do we know that indie is flourishing? A sure sign of a healthy industry is when those who’ve achieved a measure of success help others level up.

Already own Praxis? Pick up books 1-3 in my award-winning Soul Cycle, soon to be concluded when book 4 drops later this fall. Already read Nethereal, Souldancer, and The Secret Kings? Help readers make informed decisions by posting reviews on Amazon. Effective reviews don’t have to be Pulitzer-worthy. Just two or three sentences are enough to get your impression of a book across.