The level of success an author has is directly related to the amount of effort they put into their work. This has been said over and over again and has resulted in many authors becoming great successes over the last few years. But there has always a quandary: Is the Western readership growing or dying? Actually, it’s growing, but that growth has been driven by ‘Westernization’—a concentration of effort through a sales formula from authors to please the core readership and take care of their natural readers before reaching out to the readers of other genres. Peter Alan Turner is no exception. Once he learned the correct formula for ‘Westernization’ after attending one of my webinars, he knew that he could make it fit his work—and fit it did, as his new Western “Bear Willis: Mountain Man” has made its first appearance inside the top one hundred. It’s his first appearance after many years of writing.

Success and ‘Westernization’ comes from understanding the taste and reading habits of the Western readership. You see, Western readers already know what they want to read. They have made it abundantly clear what their preference is. Look at the bestseller chart to receive an education in readers’ taste. The trick for an author and the promoter is to balance their own artistic needs against the desires of the readership to come away with a winning product, one that socks it to the Western readers first, and goes for secondary genres second, third and fourth.

Sure, we would all like to write everything we want to write, and that is possible, as long as you have the formula in mind. For years, writers were trying to pick up Western readers, and thriller readers, and science fiction readers. This was a mistake. ‘Westernization’ calls for books the Western reader will want first. This sales formula can be applied to any Western, and that’s one of the reasons we are seeing more Westerns selling today than in many previous years. The fact is the formula is the striking point—it’s a way for you to concentrate the power of your writing to make sure it’s read by the readership because it’s created and promoted directly to them.

Yes, the Western genre is undergoing a ‘Westernization’ process at the moment. Instead of Western authors becoming more and more creative in their ways to put their books in front of other audiences, the Western is being written for the Western readership, and the formula is leading the way. I expect to see more success from Peter Alan Turner as he continues this very exciting process of ‘Westernization’ for his novels… and it all happened because he could answer the following questions:

Can you see how the formula would help sell your Western stories to readers?

When an author jumps right in with a new idea, you know they have the right idea. It was only shortly after the webinar that Peter took the elements that made the formula a success and turned them into a plot idea, no discussion needed. He knew the formula was something he could work with, and work with he did.

Are you interested in selling Westerns?

Everyone thinks they are interested in selling books, but some don’t want to change direction to do it. There were no problems with that in this case. “Bear Willis: Mountain Man” was delivered soon after conception. I think Peter was very interested in selling Westerns.

When do you think you ought to start selling Westerns?

Pronto. Now. Straight away.

And a commitment was made. He wrote the books, I sold them, and now with this first top one hundred smash, he is sitting pretty for future success as the policy of “Westernization” drives more, and more authors towards the top of the bestseller chart.

And how about you? Do you think you’d like to try the formula? How do these questions look when you answer them? Remember this, friend, it takes a lot longer to build a whole town than it does to build a wood hut, but the right blueprints can save you a lot of time. Heck, if you want to discuss the formula, you can send me a note through the form below. I always like hearing from the next Western bestseller.

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Standing behind a United States Marshal’s badge, Jubal Stone will show no mercy when he crosses paths with murderers, highbinders, and outlaws foolish enough to challenge his authority. He is a killer with a badge, and if you’re breaking the law—he’s coming for you!

As anyone who has a passing interest in Westerns knows, great stories are hard to come by. That’s why when a truly great one arrives readers flock to get a copy. “Jubal Stone: U.S. Marshal” from Casey Nash is one such release—the first book in a spell-binding new series from Casey Nash. Readers have been discovering this new book over the last few weeks and have been encouraging other readers to give it a try. Heck, they have almost driven the book into the top one hundred.

Now I’m asking you—have you caught a copy yet? If not, why don’t you give it a try?

He’s now #116 on the bestseller chart and rising—looks like you got a copy too, right?

One of the great hurdles to success within the Western business is actually one of the elements that seems so simple. The cover. Creatives the world over have tried, and in many cases, have failed to create covers for their books that resonate with the readership—and that applies to the Western genre too. That’s why we have a formula for covers.

Take Harvey Wood, for example. Harvey has been writing for years but only recently found great success for his books. He always possessed a fine writing style, but he did not possess covers that fit the formula for today’s readers. That’s why part of the process of making Wood a winner was centered around finding covers for him that would pop in the eyes of a reader.

Anyone who looks at any of the fine Wood Westerns on the market will see that the covers follow a theme, a theme that readers have shown over and over again that they will respond to. My personal favorite is “Rufus Younger: Mountain Man: Trigger Happy In The Mountains,” a cover that epitomises the danger of the Old West. A rugged cowboy against the elements with shotgun in hand. This cover is currently making its way up the bestseller chart, followed closely by the two other books in the series.

And this is the point. While the author may have very definite views about the cover they would want to see on their book, it really comes down to finding the cover that readers will respond to. I think it’s true that many of us have an inner creative demon dictating the way we would want to see a product look—but it might be time to put that demon away and look at what the reader would like to buy. “Rufus Younger: Mountain Man: Trigger Happy In The Mountains” has proven that it has a magical quality readers will respond to. The third book in the series, “Rocky Mountain Scout” is the fastest-chart-climbing Wood adventure—and again the cover is to blame for the opening salvo of any success. Any reader perusing the market will find themselves faced with an easy-to-discern action-led cover that leads them down the path of purchasing the book to discover the great story within.

So, I ask you: If you are currently writing and publishing Westerns and you have had no success, could it be that the cover you have chosen is stopping you from selling? Could this be the time for you to reassess and create covers closer to the formula? I think it’s worth a thought, don’t you? Take a look at the market and see what you can do to bring your covers closer to the desires of the reader.

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That energetic, enigmatic William H. Joiner, Jr. has driven, at great speed, all four books in his “Jack Flint: Mountain Man” into the top one hundred chart. His supercharged series is leading the way and proving that the Mountain Man boom is speeding up! The success of this series has been spearheaded by new promotional techniques that are currently being trialled on other authors to see if the Joiner strategy can be spread across the Western genre to create more blockbuster bestselling authors than ever before.

In the series, Jack’s parents were killed in an Apache raid when he was an infant. Jack was raised as an Apache until his village was destroyed by a rival tribe. Jack was prepared to go to war to avenge his Apache kin. An appearance by the Great Spirit convinced him to take another path. Jack went west and met mountain man and trapper Kit Bridger, who became his best friend. Eventually Jack became chief of the Shoshone in the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming.

Jack defended the weak and oppressed. He cared nothing about the white man’s law. All that mattered to Jack was the justice that could only be found in the mountains.

Fred Staff, bestselling author, of “Will Thomas: Mountain Man” has been toiling away on a brand new series. The first book in that series will go live next week. Keep your eyes peeled for “The Johnson County Wars.”

“The Saga of Eli” will be available in March from Mike Mackessy!

A brand new adventure from C. Wayne Winkle!

Charlotte (Charley) Kelley had no wish to stay in South Carolina after her fiancé stood her up at the altar. So she got a job in Bozeman, Montana Territory, as a newspaper reporter and traveled there. She had no idea she would see as much violence as she did nor did she know she’d meet a man like Morgan Truett.

Morgan only wanted to be left alone to run his small ranch. But people being what they are, many wouldn’t let him live down his past. Even so, he did well, until Graham Richards, the man who framed him and stole his first ranch, showed up.

Can Morgan keep his ranch? Can Charley adjust to the violence in the West? Will the two of them find each other?

Who can say in the country where the sky never ends?

A brand new Western adventure from Casey Nash! This is “U.S. Marshal: Jubal Stone.”

The frontier was no place to hang your hat if you were a coward or weakling, and sometimes even the strong and brave fell victim to the violence that stalked the land and plagued this new and untamed country. Such was the case with Sheriff Joe Stone and his family.

Joe was a man’s man from his narrow-brimmed hat down to his tarnished iron spurs. He had a hickory spine and anvils for fists. A lawman for over twenty-five years, Stone split his time as a Texas ranger and sheriff, keeping law and order in frontier towns all over the Texas territory. Before retiring, he finished out his role as sheriff in the town of Abilene. He was firm but fair. Wherever Joe served, he was well respected by the citizenry, highly admired by fellow frontier lawmen, and unquestionably feared by lawbreakers. Yet, because of the incessant pleadings from his wife, Millie, and his own desire to live a more tranquil life, Stone recently checked his badge, hung up his shootin’ iron, and took up raising cows and a few head of horses. He and his wife bought a small ranch six miles south of town. Together, with their daughter and son, they were committed to make a go of it and had started well.

With two-and-a-half decades behind the star, Joe, like other lawmen with his tenure, was responsible for sending his share of men to prison, thus he had plenty of enemies. Some of them vowed vengeance upon Joe, and a few had already unsuccessfully tried and paid for it with their lives. Unfortunately, the last who tried achieved their mission. Four killers showed up at his ranch one day, bank robbers recently released from prison, men Stone had put behind bars. They ambushed Joe and his family, shooting them down like dogs.
However, the assassins made a grave mistake that fateful day. They failed to confirm that fourteen-year-old Jubal, shot and left for dead, was indeed dead. Now, eight years later, Marshal Jubal Stone wears a badge of his own. A .44 Colt sits low on his hip in a dark brown, well-worn leather holster latched down to his leg, both gun and holster his pa’s.

Now behind a United States Marshal’s badge, Jubal Stone will show no mercy when he crosses paths with killers, highbinders, and outlaws foolish enough to challenge his authority. He’s curry combing the frontier in search of his family’s killers, but in the meantime, he will mete out justice along the way.

Congratulations to C. Wayne Winkle! His latest Western “Guns Across The Arizona Desert” has reached the TOP! Winkle now stands at NUMBER ONE on the Western bestseller chart! How did he manage it? He followed the formula!

This is the third book in the tremendous “Nathan Gage” western series from C. Wayne Winkle! Ready yourself for blockbuster action, adventure and drama in the Old West!