If Amanda Hocking Can Do It

I started a new week of training for my new bid job in the great postal service. One week of book work in forty hours. The first day is so far, not so bad. After fourteen years working five a.m. to eleven a.m., six days a week, this eight to five is a little different. I've been spoiled, being home when my kids walk through the door after school, or running errands and picking them up for after school meetings. But it is only for two weeks. My last week will be on the job window training. When I am done training, my job will be eight a.m. to two p.m., five days a week. Just in time to be home for the kids or to gather them from their after school meetings. All will be good again. I have to say though, I enjoyed "sleeping in" til six a.m. It felt nice.

My days of writing in a quiet house are over. I will have to write after the kids are home, maybe later in the evenings. It will be interesting to see how productive I can be. I have been a little frustrated with sales on my first novel, Chasing Dragons: Vengeance. I have gotten a few good reviews, but still it hasn't sold very well. I try and figure what is selling the other books out on the market, but they keep their secrets.

I have completed re-edits awhile back and believe everything looks good. My cover by Jerry Kissell, I believe, is rather awesome. Friends and complete strangers have told me they love my book, but still, I am left feeling confused at how to get it out there. To tell the truth, as much as my ideas flow and swirl around inside my head, writing is hard, but promoting and getting people to read it is a lot harder. Someday I will be able to help others who are in the same situation. For now, I am constantly looking for new paths to take. I will not give up. I have found I love writing. And, I guess, even if no one does read my stories or like them, I do and I will keep plugging away until every last character is out of my head and on the screen. Two books are swirling in my head at the moment. It is interesting how I am able to keep them separated from each other. Their magic is slowly spreading from my fingers onto the screen.

I lowered my book price from $2.99 to $.99. I am testing the waters to see if this will help. My son, Liam, thinks I should raise the price. He thinks maybe readers think lower prices equate to an inferior book. If this price fails, I will raise the price a little higher and see if he is right.

If you are an author, as well as I, maybe the articles I write of my experience will give you some insight or help in your adventure. There are no instant answers. Why one sells and another doesn't, I haven't a clue.
Maybe it is the genre or the type of characters, or maybe it is the description or lack of. What ever it is, without the expertise of a publicist, I am on my own, picking my way through the crowding ocean.

In the mean time, we must each have faith in our abilities and believe that if Amanda Hocking can do it, so can we. I wonder if she ever believed she could be an inspiration to others? I hope someday I can be.