Writing this post on Monday morning and back dating it to 11:30pm last night because my relaxing Mother's Day meant not opening the computer at all.
We had a busy week here last week. I spent the early part of the week working hard on revisions to my contemporary romance so I could get it out to my editor and beta readers. I plugged away and wrote a lot of words and got thing done and out by Wednesday afternoon. Phew! Then Thursday I spent working on the proofreading updates and paperback of RECLAIMED. Once I got that taken care of, I sent the files to Createspace then ordered a proof. I should have that by Wednesday.
I also worked on the cover for the new contemporary romance and tweaked the cover for FACE TIME because both of these books will be under the same series umbrella now. In June, I'll be pulling the paperback of FACE TIME offline and won't be offering it again, and I also won't be offering paperbacks of my new contemporary romance. No one buys them and it's a waste of time and effort for me. My scifi romances will still get paperbacks though.
What else did we do?
We went to the park and I read, back in my favorite spot.
I celebrated finishing another book!
Me and the youngest went to IKEA and had a blast. I love that place.
I got my first ever piece of fan mail. Yes, first ever, after being publishing for 20 months. I honestly didn't think it was going to happen. All of my author colleagues get fan mail all the time, or get invited to book clubs, or whatever. That never happens to me. I was afraid I would get hate mail before I ever got fan mail. Let me tell you how much that piece of fan mail meant to me. A WHOLE LOT. I heard from someone halfway around the world that she loved my books and she read them when was feeling low, and they made her feel better. That right there is worth more than all the money I could ever make at this job. I know I don't have a lot of fans because I write books way outside the norm, and I feel that way deep in my bones. I was beginning to doubt I reached anyone with my books because reviews, comments, mail, or any kind of interaction is so low, and I put myself WAY out there. I'm available and reachable at all times.
So this piece of fan mail reaffirmed that I should keep going because I have honestly thought of quitting several times in the past two months. But no. I promised myself I would keep at this for 20 years. Yep, 20 years. It was nice to get a little validation in Year 2 of my journey. I needed that.
I don't know that I'll be updating the blog that much this week, except for Teaser Tuesday, of course. I'm going to play it by ear. I need to write down some post ideas and build up some stamina for plenty more posts to come.
A belated Sunday Update on the blog! I celebrated the completion of a new book and got my first ever fan mail. http://t.co/aDOyZUNYjB
Belated Sunday Update on the blog has my busy week and my first piece of fan mail! http://t.co/ZQtv1ly5Z8
That’s weird no one buys the paperbacks of FaceTime. I guess most people buy ebooks nowadays. Will the new book feature characters from Face Time or is it more like a series of standalone contemp romances? I hope this brigns some extra sales to Face Time as well.
And that’s so awesome someone sent you fan mail! I can imagine how amazing that must feel that someone loved your books enough to sent you fan mail about it.
And no you shouldn’t quit! There are people who love your books, like me! You are one of my favourite authors and that you write things that aren’t the norm is what I like about your book, although I also guess that makes it harder to reach your audience. It’s so hard to be seen in this market :(.
I am looking forward to the next teaser tomorrow! I hope you have a great week!
Can you believe I’ve only sold 2 (yes, TWO) paperback copies of Face Time since it was published over a year ago? (And I know both people that bought them). I’ve sold plenty of each of the Nogiku books, so I know the scifi romance has a paperback crowd. I have a feeling that contemporary romance is a digital crowd, so I’m going to cease paperbacks for those books. Might as well save the time and the headache of formatting those.
So, I’ve decided to only feature one couple per book and they will all have a “romance overseas in Asia” feel to them, much like Face Time. I’m sure I’ll write another book in Korea or even Thailand at some point, but I think Japan is going to be my niche for the foreseeable future. :) Which is fine by me!
IT WAS AMAZING to get that fan mail, and she lives in Vietnam, too! So that felt doubly amazing because this is someone far overseas who has read my books and loved them. I definitely needed the shot of positivity because I have been very doubtful lately. I’m glad that mail came just when I needed it. <3
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