An Author's Nightmare

As a writer, I have many nightmares, but I think the biggest thing I struggle with is validation with my peers. I'm not writing this as a sob story or for attention, just sharing some of my thoughts and ways I've been able to deal with my publishing anxiety.

After Avrin and I published our novella, Coup De Grăce, sales were amazing. We sold 9 copies within the first few days, but then, nothing. Our sales have literally come to a standstill and even with Coup De Grăce on Kindle Unlimited, we still don't even have page reads.

Here are some of the thoughts running through my head:

1. Is Coup De Grăce a terrible novella? Do people hate It?

2. Have I done everything in my power to promote it?

3. Do I really just not have any friends who are willing to read my work?

I think the biggest kicker, and I already knew this, so I shouldn't be surprised, but I really thought with my visibility on social media, we would sell more copies. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this to be conceited, but there have been a number of friends books from social media that I have purchased and read, just because they were my friends. But, I get it, the writing community on Twitter is not to sell books, it's to connect with other authors, so I shouldn't be surprised.

I found myself hovering over the sales page and the reviews for Coup De Grăce, literally checking multiple times a day, but I can't be a helicopter author anymore. So, if you find yourself in my situation, here are a few things that I'm doing to keep myself motivated and distracted.

1. I recently read that once you publish something, you need to prepare to publish again within 18 months, so I have strapped on my seatbelt and I'm on the fast track to getting my next novel ready.

2. I've let my anxiety about Coup De Grăce go. I know that we wrote a good novella, and I'm refusing to let anyone diminish that. I never expected to get rich or become a best seller after publishing one work, so why am I setting my standards so high?

3. I'm going to focus on building my author platform and get everyone excited about my next novel. If you want to be a successful author, people need to know who you are. So I'm putting myself out there. I will try to participate in more writing and author events.

4. I have really dove into getting some of my short stories published. In the past 2 weeks, I have submitted 2 stories for AFOW and 1 to Reedsy.com. If I can get my name out there and get people to read my other stories, maybe they will be more interested in reading Coup De Grăce.

So, if you find yourself in my situation, just take a deep breath, forget your KDP login for a few weeks, and refocus yourself on your writing. Don't let lack of sales get you down and don't let bad reviews diminish your work. You've accomplished something just by finishing and publishing a novel. You are an author now. Live that moment and don't let anyone take it away from you.

Coup De Grace Update

If you didn't already know, Coup De Grăce released on Sunday and sales are already blowing me away.

I couldn't be happier to have such a supportive group of friends and family. This is the most amazing experience of my life. We worked so hard putting this novella together, and to see it being purchased by readers is just awesome. I'm seriously at a loss for words right now.

Just to say thank you to all you guys, I put together a giveaway. Check out how you could win a $10 Amazon gift card and a surprise gift from me.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you are an author struggling with publication and getting your words out there, self-publishing is truly a blessing. I know that I probably won't say that a few weeks from now, when sales are at a standstill, but honestly, I couldn't be happier with the out-poring of support from all of you.

I hope this is just the beginning of my writing and publishing journey. I do have a few other projects in the works, including my novel, Deja Vu, the story of how Hayden and Andy's relationship started. And I'm also working on a New Adult novel that I haven't titled yet, featuring Aidan, the orphan with superpowers. I can't wait to share more of my work with all of you.

Be on the lookout for more info from me and my amazing co-writer, Avrin Kelly.

#MCchat

Sunday April 8th from 5PM-10PM EST is the first ever #MCchat. The event will be hosted by Avrin Kelly, Manuel Arbanassi and me. Basically, the event is set up like a big party and our main characters will be tending bar. In preparation for the event, Manuel put together a short story to describe the setting, The Heart's Delight.

So bring along your main character and settle in for a fun night.

Coup De Grăce

In case you missed my announcement on Twitter, Avrin Kelly and I will be releasing a novella at the end of April. We are super excited about the project and can't wait to share it with y'all.

First of all, I would like to share with you all how exciting and rewarding this experience has been. Not only am I publishing something I'm proud of, I'm hoping that you all will be proud of my hard work too. Without the support of my amazing friends and family, this novel would've never happened. 

Avrin Kelly was a big part of this novel too. Without her character and her writing, this novel wouldn't even exist. The project started as just a short story we were going to write together, but then our characters took over and before we knew it, we had written a novella.

We will be looking for ARC readers that would be interested in reading and leaving reviews on Amazon as well as Goodreads.