...So now what?

I feel like I've turned this blog into an acquaintance instead of a close-personal-venting palooza. My blog has become that person on the street who barely gets a chin jut or a rushed "How are you?" as you don't wait to hear the answer and spend the next twenty minutes trying to remember their name and how you know them!

I'm sorry bloggy, I do love you.  I won't say that I'll change, because I won't.  We both know that if I say I'll call and that I'll do better this time, that will only last for a moment and then I'll forget and fall back on my old ways.  But you know where the bodies are buried, so I'll never leave you completely, even if I neglect our relationship sometimes...

So, anyways, I published one of my novels.  "Loki Bound" is available as an e-book and trade size paper back on Amazon. I didn't want it to lose its viability, so I self-published my book.  I wanted it out there in the world, hopefully making friends.  I did get one review on Amazon for the book that I take as a huge complement despite the 3-star rating.  The reviewer stated that there were some errors and such but then said, "I actually ended up liking this a lot more than I expected to" and "It was pretty entertaining."  Best of all, she concluded with, "I would probably checkout more by this author."

What? Heck yeah!  Validation, thy name is Amazon!

I wanted to be an instant hit flying up the list of best-selling ebooks, but I knew that was unlikely.  It doesn't change the fact that a random person bought my book, read it, and liked it enough to state that they would look for others by me!

We write to be read. We want to know that there is someone out there being touched by our stories in a way that part of it sticks with them.  Who hasn't had that moment when you were doing something and a scene from a book popped through your head for just a bit to make you laugh, frown or wonder if that author has anything new out?

That's what I WANT. I want to reach people the way all of the stories I've loved have reached me.  Money would be nice, too, but it is the story that I want to tell. I want my voice to connect to someone at a moment that they need it.  I want the jokes I write and laugh out loud to do the same for someone else.

It is hard getting your book out there though.  Just publishing it isn't enough.  I wish someone had taken my book for their publishing company because then they would be doing all the legwork.  Instead, that's part of my job, too.  When you self-publish, you become the agent, the publisher, the media rep, the advertiser, the spokesperson, the scheduler.... everything.  It isn't easy.  It is a fast way to go, yes.  It is a lot of work, though.  Writing the novel was the easy part when it comes to this.