This isn’t a clickbait scam, I promise. I’ve fallen for those too many times to employ the same sneaky tactics. I’m seriously giving away a million ebook copies of my novel The Orphans. It may sound crazy, but as someone who spends most of the day having conversations with myself through made-up characters–crazy suits me.
Now for the why …
Seven months ago, I self-published The Orphans. I sold a bunch of copies, and got great reviews (currently 4.9 stars on Amazon). A month after it was released, my amazing literary agent found me, and we took the book offline to shop it to traditional publishers. After that, the story gets a lot less exciting. We were turned down by all the publishers we approached.
While I could have found some solace knowing that the primary reason the book was passed over was because I “didn’t have a big enough social media presence” and that having 12 publishers pass on it puts me in elite company (since JK Rowling was similarly shot down when she first approached publishers with Harry Potter), I didn’t. At least not right away.
Why not?
Because I don’t have Kanye West confidence. I only have regular-person confidence. After every rejection, I couldn’t help but doubt myself and my abilities. I doubted whether I had made the right choice to leave finance and pursue a writing career, whether I should have stuck with films instead of switching to novels, and whether I should just hang it up and go back to a steady paycheck, PTO, and the other corporate perks.
Doubt is a real son of a bitch. It’s something everyone deals with. And, while doubt is bad on its own, what’s really terrible is that it often wins and keeps people from taking chances and pursuing their passions. I love writing and sharing my stories with people. I’m convinced that it’s what I was put on this earth to do, even though doubt has tried to tell me otherwise many times.
But, while the doubt kept popping up like an arcade Whac-A-Mole, and will keep popping up for as long as I’m alive, it will never win; because, every time it springs out of its gopher hole, I knock it back down. I don’t use a foam mallet or any of the measures Bill Murray resorted to in Caddyshack. I use something much more powerful: meditation and practicing mindfulness. I’ve found that there’s nothing more effective at destroying self-doubt (of course, an incredibly supportive wife also helps a ton).
My experiences with and growth through meditation and mindfulness were what inspired me to write The Orphans, which bridges the gap between spiritual fiction like The Alchemist and popular young adult fiction like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games. The purpose was to not only entertain (of course, you gotta do that first) but to also introduce audiences of all ages to the idea of meditation and mindful living as a means of tapping into their authentic selves and finding true happiness. It’s a message that people need to hear more than ever, as the world we live in gets increasingly competitive. To me, the message is more important than money, and that’s why I’m giving a million copies of the book away.
So how do you get this free book? It’s simple. All you have to do is:
- Send an email to freebook@matthewsullivanwriter.com and write something like “I want The Orphans” or “Free book” or even just “Kanye!!!!!!!”
That’s it. Do that between now and 5/31/16, and I’ll send you an EPUB version of the book, which is readable on almost all smartphones and tablets, including Apple and Android products. Also, if you want to like my Facebook Page or Follow me on Twitter or Instagram, that would be sweet and would probably help when I go out with my next book.
Some of you might be thinking, “Hey, I don’t take handouts from the government or anyone! I’d rather buy your awesome book!” If that’s the case, great! I obviously appreciate anyone who wants to buy it even though they can get if for free. After all, food doesn’t buy itself, and I have made the price super low ($1.99 on iTunes and Amazon), so you could literally buy it for less than a Grande Skinny Mocha at Starbucks, which I’m not ashamed to admit that I order. If you only read physical books, the paperback is available here.
To give away a million copies, I’m really going to need your help. So please share, tweet, repost, email, etc. this post so it can reach as many people as possible. After I hit a million, we’ll see what happens. Maybe I’ll revise my target and shoot for two million or more. I appreciate you taking the time to read this and appreciate your support.
Sincerely,
Matthew Sullivan
**Your email will be added to my distribution list. To date, I’ve used it to send one email. So don’t get too excited about receiving a bunch of awesome mail from me.**