What's the point of this blog!

I'm documenting the marketing for my YA book series "The chick friends rules". I want to see which marketing strategies will work best in creating buzz and hopefully income. So, sign up below and take the journey with me.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

5 writing milestones that comes once in a lifetime.

These milestones bring pure joy to writers.

1. Being inspired to write a great story - Some writers make themselves write. They sit down with their laptops and force themselves to write 30 minutes to an hour everyday honing their skills. I'm not as disciplined. I am one of those writers that is inspired to write. I find it difficult to force myself to write. I was inspired to write "The chick friends rules" series after a platonic friend of my son was molested by her stepfather. The story came out of me like water from a faucet and I didn't stop writing until 2 years later. The last time I was inspired to write was about 13 years ago. Yes, that's how long ago I wrote something. So, for me personally, being inspired was like a gift from the heavens that came once in a lifetime.

2.Finishing your great novel - Every writer can give testament to the exhiliration one feels when writing the words "The End". Ahhhh, talkin' bout pride and satisfaction. Of course all stories will come to an end but the joy of finishing the story you're working on will only happens once. You will never write "that" story ever again.

3.Holding your first book in your hand for the first time - When I received a proof of The chick friends rules!Freshman year; I did the happy dance. I smelled it, I thumbed through it, I called all of my family and friends, I wanted to go out and celebrate, I slept with it under my pillow and turn the lights on in the middle of the night just to look at it. I had a permanent smile on my face for the entire day. It was like giving birth to a first born child. The excitement and joy is unimaginable. The subsequent books, not so much. Yes, I was happy to see the finish product but the feeling wasn't the same as the first novel. It was just business. The first book holds the joy.

4.Your first sale - Oh, my god, do you remember the feeling? I do. A tear came to my eye. I remember thinking to myself; "I think I can pull this off." I stared at the computer screen for about an hour with a smile on my face. And I wondered who was the one person that was enticed to purchase my novel. I called all of my family and friends just to make sure the sale was "legit". And when I realized I sold my book to a stranger; I wanted to track them down just to thank them. Yummy, yummy joy.

5. Breaking 100 sales - For an author signed with a major publisher this may not be a big deal but for an independent author the thrill of selling 100 novels is a milestone. I reached the 100 milestone today, 103 to be exact. I woke up this morning to find the pleasant surprise. Everyday I check my sales on Amazon and B&N and today was the day. I started selling my series back in July. I had a total of 5 sales until the tide turned sometime in December and then January pulled me over the 100 mark. I've been walking on clouds all day.

Please share your milestones as a writer by leaving a comment below.

5 comments:

  1. Here are a couple of my milestones, and remembrer this is since 2008 and I've been published both ways - traditional and as an indie author.

    Your very first rejection. You never forget how you felt after being rejected or not accepted for something. For me, it was the first story I ever shared with a critique group only because I didn't feel they had really accepted me or the story. This wasn't anywhere near the truth - they critiqued the story and helped me make it bretter for submission and that story did take a shared 2nd place in the contest I entered.

    Your first contract. I know that as an indie author you don't have contracts but there are many who will never forget their first contract, whether it be for a small press or a larger publisher.

    I have to agree with your first sale, although for me I was published in July of 2008 and can't remember if I sold any copies before my first big event - the Decatur Book Festival or if the DBF was where my first sales came from. I'm thinking I really did sell some books prior to Decatur because it was such a rush job to get the book published, even though we were touting it as a debut book at Decatur.

    As far as your 100 sales mark, I can't really say this was as big a deal for me since I had three books with a publisher before becoming an indie author and could have possibly sold 100 (I'm sure I did because I was going strong doing events as much as I could) before becoming an indie author. I've probably sold at least 100 in the 1-1/2 years since becoming an indie author; I was pretty close to that over the course of 2011 - had like 80 something sell for the whole year. I'd love to see at least 100/month and that will be a big milestone. So far, nothing much coming from that goal, but hopefully it will pick up as my event season is gearing up this month.

    Definitely holding your first book - that feels like nothing else. And I totally agree that subsequent books do have a thrill associated with them but it's not the same.

    That's it for me - hope others have other milestones they can share with us - E :)

    Elysabeth Eldering
    Author of Finally Home, a YA paranormal mystery
    "The Proposal" (an April Fools Day story), a humorous romance ebook
    "The Tulip Kiss", a paranormal romance ebook
    "Bride-and-Seek", a paranormal romance ebook
    http://elysabrethsstories.blogspot.com
    http://eeldering.weebly.com

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  2. Vici, so excited for you, I'm grinning from ear to ear and contemplating dancing on the table. Only contemplating, mind...
    My heart-swollen moment was my first front page lead in a national newspaper. A sad story about vivisection but it was wonderful to see it given the chance to influence opinion.
    Inspirational to read your and Elysabeth's milestones.
    I'd love to have a book milestone myself one day...
    So many congratulations.

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    1. thanks for sharing Annie. I like hearing milestones of other writer. Keep 'em coming.

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  3. Hi Everyone!

    I published my first book, "How to be a Waitress and Make Big Tips" on June 10, 2010. Since then I have given away 45 books and have sold appx 180 books.
    I have been (and still am) a cocktail waitress in a strip bar for over 17 years in Vancouver, BC Canada. Over the past year or so, I have been interviewing over 50 strippers to get their stories on how and why they got into the industry. My manuscript is done and I am just waiting for my editor to send me my last chapter. The book will be called, "The Life of a Stripper."

    The waitressing book has been a pretty hard sell (I sold 5 through my website, about 15 through online book stores and the rest were sold by me. In all honesty, I stopped working on marketing my book around the time I got busy interviewing strippers and working on the stripper book manuscript.The stripper book will be easier and more fun to market.
    I will keep you posted.

    I like your blog Vici! It will be interesting to see what others experiences are!
    Good luck with your book sales! :)

    Romana Van Lissum
    Author of "How to be a Waitress and Make Big Tips"
    www.howtobeawaitress.com
    Soon to be released book, "The Life of a Stripper"
    www.thelifeofastripper

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  4. Great Blog Vici. Such a great feeling to reach those milestones. They'll keep coming but remember to keep enjoying them!

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