My latest book in the Deputy Tempe Crabtree series came out a bit later than expected due to something wrong with the way the bar code was printed on the back of the cover. It made things a bit crazy for awhile. My book launch had to be put off and because I had a blog tour planned and some of the stops needed reviews, those had to be put near the end of the tour to make sure the blog hosts had time to read the books.
Fortunately the reviews have all been terrific and I just found a new one on Amazon.
Speaking of Amazon, do any of the rest of you authors check the numbers on your Amazon page? During my tour the numbers went way down (a good thing, though not sure it means people are buying books or just peeking at the page) on both the trade paperback and on the Kindle version. Now that the tour is over, the numbers have risen on the regular book, but have continued to go down a bit on the Kindle version. Whether this really means much I won't know until I get my royalty report.
In the meantime, I've sent off the next book in this series to the publisher which meant I had to come up with a short synopsis and a blurb for the back of the book. Leads to a bit of confusion since both books have the same main characters just different crimes to solve. I have to think a bit, "No, it's Invisible Path that has the murder on the Indian reservation and the para-military group in the mountains, this new one is all about bears and dementia."
Oh, and it's Christmas time. I've been squeezing in shopping, wrapping presents, and putting up some decorations so that people know I really am celebrating a holiday I love.
And back to the writing. I've just finished the next one in my Rocky Bluff P.D. series, and it's time to seriously do some rewriting. This can all get a bit overwhelming at times. I love writing--but when ordinary life is busy too, it's sometimes hard to fit in all the things needed to do when your latest book is out.
I can remember when I got a contract for a book and hubby and I went out to celebrate. We haven't done that for a long time, maybe we ought to start doing that again. Would certainly be a lot more fun than checking Amazon ratings.
Marilyn
http://fictiionforyou.com
Oh I can so relate to this post! I try not to keep checking those amazon ratings cuz they can vary wildly and I have no idea what promotion works and what doesn't. In fact, I have one title up there where I get direct royalties so I know what I sell when. And my best sales week was the week I was on vacation doing no promotion at all - lol!
ReplyDeleteAll we can do is focus on what's in our power to do - and definitely go out and celebrate.
Congrats!!!
Marilyn, good luck with the new books, and new proposal! You should come promote at Books on the House!!
ReplyDeleteI'll be hopping over to amazon to put on my wish list for my [hopefully] new Kindle from Santa!!
I'm thinking of a blog post about the numbers game. There are so many things we can obsess about, very few of which are under our control.
ReplyDeleteTerry
Terry's Place
Romance with a Twist--of Mystery
As usual, I found a typo in my post, always after it's been up for awhile.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, Kathy, think I'll wait to celebrate after the holidays, just too busy right now.
If you get your Kindle, Misa, (love mine) look up my title there. I've got a bunch.
You're right, Terry, obsessing doesn't help, that's for sure.
Marilyn