When an author publishes a new story, it is much like having a new baby. We fuss, we watch, we worry and at the same time we are thrilled at what we accomplished. Yes, we may talk about the book, just like we would a new baby. We will post pictures on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or anywhere else we can let people know what we have accomplished.
What you may not know is that authors are just as thrilled by the compliments as a new parent is. As we watch our sales numbers climb, we are just as thrilled as a new parent watching a baby grow. When someone compliments our writing style or a story they just read, we are proud and happy!
Sometimes we hear these compliments from friends and family and it is easy to respond back with a "Thank you." Most of the time we may never know who has purchased our stories. We may even see a review someone left somewhere and there is no way to contact the person back. But! Authors do appreciate each and every purchase and kind word readers have to say about their work.
My newest story, Night Dreams, has been available for a little over a week as a digital download on Amazon. It has sold 7 copies and has 3 very nice 5 star reviews on it. I would like to say a great big "Thank You" to every one of those 7 people, but I only know the names of the 3 who left reviews. So, please know that while we may not be able to say thank you to all of our readers, we do appreciate each and every one of you!
A good way to give an author a chance to say thank you is to join their Facebook writing page or follow them on Twitter. Drop them a line and let them know you read their story and enjoyed it. Chances are, they will respond with a great big "Thank you."
I would love to have you all come join my writers page on Facebook so I can get to know you and say "thanks for reading!" You can find me HERE.
Welcome to my world of words! Explore some of my writings as well as some writings of some of my friends.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Monday, January 7, 2013
Self Publishing: Fear It or Face It? I did Both...
Have you ever had something you wanted to do and for some reason, you just couldn't get the hang of it? Well, that's where I was with self-publishing several months ago. Oh sure I could easily publish articles using website templates, and I can find my way around Blogger okay, but for some reason, the mere thought of self publishing on Amazon like many of my writer friends were doing terrified me.
I belong to a writers group on Facebook, and the more they all talked about self publishing the more I wanted to try it. So, I had a talk with myself and said, "Look here! There is no reason you can't do this. Just get off your butt and get at it!" Yes, I can be pretty harsh with me when I think I deserve it. Well, I didn't want Me to be mad at Myself for long, so I took my own advice and decided to just jump in there and give it a try.
If you are thinking about self publishing and are procrastinating like I was, the best thing you can do is get a few friends behind you that have already done it. I bet I asked a zillion questions while I was formating my short story and getting it ready to upload. But guess what? I had a good friend that hung out on facebook's chat to answer each and every one I asked.
With each step I managed, my confidence grew. It really wasn't as hard as I had convinced myself that it was. It didn't take long, until I had everything filled out properly on Amazon's site. I had to upload a cover for my story, but once again, my friend came through for me and designed one that I just love. I will tackle figuring out how to make my own covers eventually, but for now, I was glad she had offered. Baby steps is where I am comfortable!
Let me tell you, I was in a sheer panic when I finally hit that upload button to send my story into cyber space. I watched the little wheels spinning and thought, "Oh, please let it all look okay!" Even worse was the fact that I should have been able to preview it, as it would look on a Kindle. Nope, just one more thing messing with my nerves! Somehow the page glitched and I never got to see a preview. Okay, time to panic, now!
My writer friend assured me that it was probably fine, and even if it wasn't I would be able to quickly edit, even after the story went live. okay, that made me feel a teensy bit better. Well guess what? My short story, "Night Dreams" is live on Amazon right now and available for digital download and it feels great!
So, if you have been considering self publishing your own short stories or even a full length novel and have been putting it off because it scares the daylights out of you, like it did me...I say just go for it! If you need help, let me know. I learned a lot and what I don't know, I can sure hook you up with folks who do!
Here is a peek at my brand new baby: Night Dreams
I belong to a writers group on Facebook, and the more they all talked about self publishing the more I wanted to try it. So, I had a talk with myself and said, "Look here! There is no reason you can't do this. Just get off your butt and get at it!" Yes, I can be pretty harsh with me when I think I deserve it. Well, I didn't want Me to be mad at Myself for long, so I took my own advice and decided to just jump in there and give it a try.
If you are thinking about self publishing and are procrastinating like I was, the best thing you can do is get a few friends behind you that have already done it. I bet I asked a zillion questions while I was formating my short story and getting it ready to upload. But guess what? I had a good friend that hung out on facebook's chat to answer each and every one I asked.
With each step I managed, my confidence grew. It really wasn't as hard as I had convinced myself that it was. It didn't take long, until I had everything filled out properly on Amazon's site. I had to upload a cover for my story, but once again, my friend came through for me and designed one that I just love. I will tackle figuring out how to make my own covers eventually, but for now, I was glad she had offered. Baby steps is where I am comfortable!
Let me tell you, I was in a sheer panic when I finally hit that upload button to send my story into cyber space. I watched the little wheels spinning and thought, "Oh, please let it all look okay!" Even worse was the fact that I should have been able to preview it, as it would look on a Kindle. Nope, just one more thing messing with my nerves! Somehow the page glitched and I never got to see a preview. Okay, time to panic, now!
My writer friend assured me that it was probably fine, and even if it wasn't I would be able to quickly edit, even after the story went live. okay, that made me feel a teensy bit better. Well guess what? My short story, "Night Dreams" is live on Amazon right now and available for digital download and it feels great!
So, if you have been considering self publishing your own short stories or even a full length novel and have been putting it off because it scares the daylights out of you, like it did me...I say just go for it! If you need help, let me know. I learned a lot and what I don't know, I can sure hook you up with folks who do!
Here is a peek at my brand new baby: Night Dreams
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