Sales in the Third Month
My week is about to get better. Officially at 10:45 am Saturday(tomorrow) I start my week vacation. Hoping to get enough sleep that I will have a writing boon and get loads of work done. An update for those who may or may not be beginners in the world of the author; sales: so far for the month of June, Amazon 0, B&N 2. Decided since I wasn't selling anything anyway that I should up my price. Have been told I should anyway. (good or bad strategy, only time will tell) I looked through the different ebook prices and decided to settle on $3.41. Don't have a clue why I chose that number. I am hoping something will change soon. As a writer, I do desire that people read my book. I also want them to enjoy them. Hopefully feedback will follow soon, have only seen one comment and I am happy to say it was a five star. I am writing this for those who are looking, as I have done, for that magic number of when sales will take off. For me, the first few months were okay, but they trickled to drips in the third month. I've read a couple of other authors that the fourth month was their take off. Can only wait and see, but I will let you know. This is what I am doing to promote: twitter, facebook, goodreads, scribd, and book blogs. Also looking for individuals to read and leave reviews. Do have one set up but at the moment, I am third in line.
Patience. God has them and since there is nothing for me to do but wait and work by promoting the best I can, I must have them too. I must trust that all is in good time. That being said, I also must be a good writer which I hope I am. And that being said, I can't help to be a little disappointed that people are not reading my beloved story. But again, all in good time. So for those of you searching and dealing with any disappointments or small let downs, know you are not alone. There are several of us all in the boat with you. Too bad we can't all be instant winners. Then again, where would the lesson be in that. How strong is your faith in yourself to keep pushing and striving for better. Life is full of lessons, the words 'that being said' and 'there again' and the knowledge that all does happen in good time. So keep pushing yourself. I will.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Thank You, Mark
I must show my appreciation to a friend of mine that I work with. Mark Sewell has been the behind the scenes fan of mine since he found out I was writing Chasing Dragons. He has supported me in many areas: given an ear, offered advice and pointed me in the direction of possible websites I might take an interest in. He has also told others of my book, helping to promote it by word of mouth. No matter how successful my book becomes, Mark will be at the forefront of its launch. And for that, I am very much appreciative.
So, I say thank you, Mark.
I must show my appreciation to a friend of mine that I work with. Mark Sewell has been the behind the scenes fan of mine since he found out I was writing Chasing Dragons. He has supported me in many areas: given an ear, offered advice and pointed me in the direction of possible websites I might take an interest in. He has also told others of my book, helping to promote it by word of mouth. No matter how successful my book becomes, Mark will be at the forefront of its launch. And for that, I am very much appreciative.
So, I say thank you, Mark.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
The Joy I Have In Summer
My favorite time of the year is autumn. But the last few years, summer has come a very close second. I used to dread summer even thought that was the only way fall could come back around. But the last few years, summertime has been a great joy. Maybe I am more laid back the older I've become. While that is true, I think it is more that the older I've become, the more I seem to realize the little things beckon me to them. I love to sit and swing, watching everything around me as the wind blows through the leaves of the trees. Of course, that is on a good day. When the wind refuses to offer relief to the stifling warmth, I thank the Lord for air conditioning, that and our sub-division swimming pool. My home is situated at the beginning of our sub-division and the edge of the out of town where homes are scattered and spread out. If I look straight out, I can pretend we live out in the country. It does sometimes feel that way. Actually, the farmer who owns the land across the road from us has already said he will never sell. Hope he never does. Can't imagine seeing a home instead of trees and land when I look out my front door.This is what I see in my front porch. A street that ends in a cul-de-sac with no houses on the other side separated by a narrow creek. In my front yard, a large flat rock, with interesting craters and behind it in a semi-circle, yellow day lilies, a red tiger lily(sadly they lose their petals by the first week of June) and a double set of two perennials that are native to Missouri(have their names somewhere). I love to watch the bumble bees and butterflies lift delicately from flower to flower. I have trees and other shrubs, but it may become a little boring to describe every last detail of my yard. Know this, my eyes are well pleasured as they peruse my yard, ogling every plant, tree, bird, bee, butterfly and the occasional lizard.
My garden is a little bigger this year. We got a late start in the planting due to the rain, but some green leaves are peeking through the dirt. Will have to get back with results later in the summer. This is the other joy I have for summer. I also gained a great deal of appreciation for the hot days. My garden made me realize that without the hot and sun filled days, my vegetables would have no hope in growing and filling not only our bellies with fresh garden vegies, but also my freezer. I never cared to garden until a few years ago. Now I look forward to it.
Every season has something to have joy in. And I believe God made sure we would never be bored with them, even if some of the results are disastrous. Thankfully, most are worth a smile.
My favorite time of the year is autumn. But the last few years, summer has come a very close second. I used to dread summer even thought that was the only way fall could come back around. But the last few years, summertime has been a great joy. Maybe I am more laid back the older I've become. While that is true, I think it is more that the older I've become, the more I seem to realize the little things beckon me to them. I love to sit and swing, watching everything around me as the wind blows through the leaves of the trees. Of course, that is on a good day. When the wind refuses to offer relief to the stifling warmth, I thank the Lord for air conditioning, that and our sub-division swimming pool. My home is situated at the beginning of our sub-division and the edge of the out of town where homes are scattered and spread out. If I look straight out, I can pretend we live out in the country. It does sometimes feel that way. Actually, the farmer who owns the land across the road from us has already said he will never sell. Hope he never does. Can't imagine seeing a home instead of trees and land when I look out my front door.This is what I see in my front porch. A street that ends in a cul-de-sac with no houses on the other side separated by a narrow creek. In my front yard, a large flat rock, with interesting craters and behind it in a semi-circle, yellow day lilies, a red tiger lily(sadly they lose their petals by the first week of June) and a double set of two perennials that are native to Missouri(have their names somewhere). I love to watch the bumble bees and butterflies lift delicately from flower to flower. I have trees and other shrubs, but it may become a little boring to describe every last detail of my yard. Know this, my eyes are well pleasured as they peruse my yard, ogling every plant, tree, bird, bee, butterfly and the occasional lizard.
My garden is a little bigger this year. We got a late start in the planting due to the rain, but some green leaves are peeking through the dirt. Will have to get back with results later in the summer. This is the other joy I have for summer. I also gained a great deal of appreciation for the hot days. My garden made me realize that without the hot and sun filled days, my vegetables would have no hope in growing and filling not only our bellies with fresh garden vegies, but also my freezer. I never cared to garden until a few years ago. Now I look forward to it.
Every season has something to have joy in. And I believe God made sure we would never be bored with them, even if some of the results are disastrous. Thankfully, most are worth a smile.
Friday, June 3, 2011
SUMMER IS HERE
On my last posting, I made the statement that I would be writing everyday about a different character of my book Chasing Dragons: Vengeance and my thoughts about each one. Okay, so I need to make an amendment to that post. It's summer and my kids are home. I feel that the amount of time I have allotted to writing has fallen to a dastardly level of almost zero. So, here is what I really am going to do. When I have the time I will do my above statement.
My days have suddenly become, "Mom, take me here. Can you do this? Can we do that?" as soon as I walk through the door from work at 11:30 am. Six hour work days at six days a week, adding the hours of child care of my four kids and the upkeep of the house. Plus there is the fact that it is summer and yard work calls. Especially my garden. It took my daughter (who will be eight tomorrow) and I two days to plant all the seeds. I must mention the fact that my husband did till the ground for us. Which, I am sure was no easy feat seeing how we had been bombarded with so much rain that our garden was really late this year. I had to wait two more days for the ground to dry enough for us to even plant.
At fifteen and fourteen, my oldest two are stepping up and doing their responsibilities more often without my ordering them to. But again they are fifteen and fourteen and they do still need reminding.
This has been a busy start for the summer. I haven't watched television in over a week and the work on my new book has fallen behind. I am still on chapter four. And the only time I get to myself is in the car driving to and from work. But I smile because I think it would be a sin to complain. How many people wish they could have kids to whine about and how many people wish they had a job. I am lucky that my job, because it is six days a week, gives me the opportunity to spend the amount of hours with my family that I do.
So forgive me as my blogs may be sporadic this summer until school starts back up or I find a routine that is agreeable. I am smiling at those last few words. And while the writing may suffer, at least I will be watching my kids have fun and my garden grow.
And this is where I first started when I began my blog last year. With my garden.
On my last posting, I made the statement that I would be writing everyday about a different character of my book Chasing Dragons: Vengeance and my thoughts about each one. Okay, so I need to make an amendment to that post. It's summer and my kids are home. I feel that the amount of time I have allotted to writing has fallen to a dastardly level of almost zero. So, here is what I really am going to do. When I have the time I will do my above statement.
My days have suddenly become, "Mom, take me here. Can you do this? Can we do that?" as soon as I walk through the door from work at 11:30 am. Six hour work days at six days a week, adding the hours of child care of my four kids and the upkeep of the house. Plus there is the fact that it is summer and yard work calls. Especially my garden. It took my daughter (who will be eight tomorrow) and I two days to plant all the seeds. I must mention the fact that my husband did till the ground for us. Which, I am sure was no easy feat seeing how we had been bombarded with so much rain that our garden was really late this year. I had to wait two more days for the ground to dry enough for us to even plant.
At fifteen and fourteen, my oldest two are stepping up and doing their responsibilities more often without my ordering them to. But again they are fifteen and fourteen and they do still need reminding.
This has been a busy start for the summer. I haven't watched television in over a week and the work on my new book has fallen behind. I am still on chapter four. And the only time I get to myself is in the car driving to and from work. But I smile because I think it would be a sin to complain. How many people wish they could have kids to whine about and how many people wish they had a job. I am lucky that my job, because it is six days a week, gives me the opportunity to spend the amount of hours with my family that I do.
So forgive me as my blogs may be sporadic this summer until school starts back up or I find a routine that is agreeable. I am smiling at those last few words. And while the writing may suffer, at least I will be watching my kids have fun and my garden grow.
And this is where I first started when I began my blog last year. With my garden.
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