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Monday, June 4, 2012

Smashwords, More Thoughts

Both of my e-books are still pending review for Premium Catalog status.  Even being live less than fifteen hours, my two offerings (one fiction, one nonfiction) have already made a few sales.  That's great!  I cannot tell which version is being bought each time.  I'll figure it out and let you know.

Also, Smashwords sends an email notification with each purchase.  Gotta love that.

For all the newbie Indie authors out there, get your novels uploaded.  It may not be officially summer as June 20 is still over two weeks away, but it is "vacation time" once Memorial Day weekend comes--that's the unofficial beginning of summer.

Kids are out from school.  People are reading by the beach or at the airport on the way to the beach.  Vacation time reading has commenced.

So take advantage of that and put up your books.  I know the first time (and the fifteenth) can be scary (fear of failure, fear of criticism, fear of ridicule, even fear of success) but keep these thoughts in mind:

1.  Nobody reaches all readers (music lovers, foodies, whatever the category).  Not Stephen King.  Not Nora Roberts.  Not Stephenie Meyer.  Not J.K. Rowling.  Not Suzanne Collins.  We aren't meant to.  We reach the readers we're supposed to.  True confession:  I was never into the Beatles.  I may be the sole member of that club.  It wasn't that I hated their music. I was not a fan.  Sacrilege, right?  Sorry.  Just like this blog.  Sometimes I wonder why I'm nudged into writing a particular post.  Maybe it is just for me.  Even if it was only for one other person out there--someone who "got it" and maybe was no longer depressed or was now encouraged to follow their heart--then I'm happy.

2.  Don't read reviews.  Good or bad.  It is just one person's thoughts per review.  Kind of like one acquisitions editor at a publishing house reading one submission and then one committee determining the minds of millions of readers out there.  Just cannot be done.  First, we're all human and have great days and not-so-wonderful ones which color our mood, our perception of things.  Second, there's that insightful quote from an episode of Northern Exposure where Ed is telling Ruth-Anne that the good reviews can give us writer's block just like the bad.  Remember, you write because it is in you.  A story to be told that needs to be let free.  Some will receive it.  Some won't.  They need other stories by other authors.  And that is fine by me.

3.  I was watching One for the Money again yesterday and I was struck with how the Stephanie Plum character faces all those fears mentioned above.  She gets laughed at.  She "fails."  Her self-confidence or her perseverance or her survival instinct or her emotionally charged emotions or all of the above remain intact while she is making fun of herself on top of all the other jokes and comments and brushes with crimes and criminals.  She keeps at it--with no overblown ego thrown in.  Even with a background in lingerie sales, she does what the (overly?) seasoned Morty Beyers cannot do.  She gets Joe Morelli and the $50,000 bounty fee at the end.

Maybe a life lesson there, huh?

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Denise Barker, author + freelance copy editor + blogger
Good Ole Boys, a love story at http://amzn.to/GoodOleBoys

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