Readings & Signings & Reaching Small Goals
My debut novel, A Kiss of Glass, was released on June 30th!
I had a TikTok Live and Facebook Live virtual book launch that went extremely well. It was a fun event where I read three excerpts from my novel, talked about my writing process, and answered questions asked by those who attended. And since then, I’ve attended three different readings/book signing events where I have sold many copies of my book!
The first event was a book signing through one of my favorite book stores. In three hours, I sold nine copies of my novel. Then, the following night, I did a reading and book signing where I sold six copies of my book. And then yesterday I did another book signing where I sold six copies of my book. And online through either my linktree or Amazon, I’ve sold over twenty three copies of my book.
My initial goal was to sell 50 copies by the end of July, and I surpassed that by the second book signing event. Now, my goal is to sell 75 copies by the end of July. I have one more book signing this month and I intend to do some promotional giveaways to encourage people to buy. It’s not so much the selling as it is getting my book into the hands of readers that I’m excited by. Having people come up to my table yesterday, ask about my book, and then immediately go, “Oh! This sounds like something my daughter would love! I’ll take one,” is not only exciting, it’s encouraging and helps prove that I am doing what I was always meant to do.
And look, I don’t believe in fate. But I do believe we’re all born with certain gifts that we can either choose to nurture or not. They’re ours to do with what we will. And sometimes those gifts are deeply rooted in our souls, our existence, the very marrow in our bones, and they call to us. Writing is that for me. I could have been a signer or a dancer. I am naturally talented at both. But it’s writing that has always called to me, no matter where I’ve been in life, no matter what I’m going through; writing is what my soul craves. It is what is in my body. It is the gift I choose to nurture. It is what I devote my life to.
And people are reading my book and rating it and loving it and saying they can’t wait until the sequel comes out. What is that if not outright success for a writer? I may not yet be a best seller (although my book was in the top 600 on Amazon for Mythology and Folklore last week), but I am finding my audience. The ratings on Amazon and Goodreads are almost all either 5 or 4 stars. That honestly just blows me away.
My book is on Kindle Unlimited. It’s also available in paperback from Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Or, if you want a signed copy, you can follow this link here and order from me directly.
The rest of the summer is going to be dedicated to marketing my novel, working on the sequel, reading as many books as I can, going on writing retreats with friends, and getting out into nature as much as possible. There are some other things going on with my mental health that I’ll talk about later, but for now, I’m enjoying each day as much as I can.
Remember to nurture your gifts.
