Brand New (Self-Published) Author

Hi all (anyone? Anyone?)

I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on the new-to-me experience of having a book up on Amazon. First, there is a real, and perhaps cliched, sense that you are abandoning your precious child on a street corner in the hopes that people will pick it up and find value in it. Second, it's strange to monitor the book sales data on Amazon, where my worth as an author is rendered in stark -- and humbling -- numbers. I am literally only a couple weeks into the public phase of my writing career and I already feel like I am a product as much as my book. Third, feedback from readers is filling me with an urgency to finish my second book ASAP.

What thoughts would you like to share with me??