Four Years of Thankfulness

Four years ago, I began my journey as an independent author. Four years ago, as I chaperoned my daughter's Kindergarten field trip, I anxiously checked my phone and waited for those first few sales to start.

I had a goal. I had to sell 4 books to re-coup the cost I'd spent on the cover (yes, can you believe I paid money for that first awful cover).

I knew nothing. Absolutely nothing.

My book was woefully unedited. I had it edited. I changed the cover. I published a paperback, making it somehow real. I started writing my second book.

And I waited. It didn't sell much. More than the 4 books I needed, but not much more.

Then I learned. I networked, I listened, I worked. I wrote. And I wrote. And I wrote.

In the 4 years since Good Intentions was published, I've released 9 titles (8 novels and 1 novella). I hope by the end of this year to have 10 novels out.

And I wouldn't be here without the support of so many. No man is an island, and certainly no one in the publishing industry truly goes it alone. I'm sure I will miss a few people (and my apologies if I do), but here are just a few who have made this possible:

Michele Vagianelis
Mary Rose and Philip Kopach
Patrick Biel
Karen Pirozzi
Becky Monson
Wendy Nagel
Melissa Baldwin
Cecilia Kennedy
Jayne Denker
Tracy Krimmer
Marlene Engle
Karan Eleni
Amy Buser
Laura Chapman
Cahren Morris
The ChickLitChatHQ Group
The Writing Wenches
Charlotte Lynn
Geralyn Corcillo

Thank you to each and everyone of you for your support these past four years. Thank you to all the readers who have purchased, read, reviewed, reached out, and encouraged me.

I'm sure I've missed a few. I'd like to think my writing has progressed since my first book. It's a good story, but I think I've evolved, and continue to evolve with every book. My sales and reviews have surpassed anything I ever dreamed of. My plan has changed to include writing funding my retirement.

If you haven't read my fledgling effort, take a chance on Good Intentions.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Life Was Changed By A Standard Comma

Image
Last night I was having a conversation with a friend about those missed opportunities in a Sliding Doors (if you've never seen the Gwenyth Paltrow movie , you really need to check it out) sort of way. You know, one small interaction can drastically change the outcome of a situation. Then, I posted a funny meme on my author page about commas. Way back in the day, I was taught to use the standard comma, as illustrated above. Only recently, when trying to name my book, Jump, Jive, and Wail , did I, at the advice of my author posse, start using the Oxford comma. After looking at this meme, I realized that the standard comma changed my life. Way back in 1997, when I was still in college, Congress passed this thing called the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. A lot of people probably don't remember it. I do, because it hit along with a major reform in insurance reimbursment. As a result of the BBA, there was a spending cap put on, amongst other things, outpatient therapy services t...
Read more

Miss Chick Lit

Image
In order to celebrate International Chick Lit month, my latest main character has found herself entered in the Miss Chick Lit 2015 contest. She's not the most girly of girls, so this should be interesting. Read on to see how she represents herself, and for a chance to win a prize yourself! Hi, my name is Kaitlin Reynolds, and I'm representing the great state of, um, New York. No, Utah. Oh crap, I live in Michigan now. I'm representing the great state of Michigan. I'm a twenty-nine year-old former ski jumper who now spends her time pining after unavailable Olympic figure skaters. My dream is to one day improve the real estate market in Detroit so I can sell my condo. Oh, and world peace. For my entry in the swimsuit compet--wait, I've got to put on a swimsuit for this thing? No one told me that. Nuts. You see, I'm a former athlete who may or may not have let herself go since an injury stopped her competitive career. This is going to be tough. I mean, I l...
Read more

Fairy Tale Fun Blog Hop (and a CHOCOLATE BROWNIE GIVEAWAY)

Image
Your mission: read this blog post, comment on the question posed, and check out the other blogs that are part of this blog hop. Every blog post comment enters you to win a Sprites Gourmet Brownie Gift Box from Fairytale Brownies . My mission, should I choose to accept it ... compare my heroine(s) to a fairy tale or real life princess. Uuuuhhh, no way can I do that. Or can I? You see, I'm sort of anti-fairy tale. Especially as being the mom to a young girl. I don't want her thinking that she can live her life as a damsel in distress and expect some man to come riding in on a white horse and save her. Or, that "and they all lived happily ever after" is how marriage goes (sometimes it does, but it comes with lots of hard work). I pride myself on writing women who don't necessarily start out strong but end up that way. Sometimes, there is a man (handsome and dashing, of course) to help boost her up, but I want my characters to find their hero in themselves. H...
Read more