Milestones along the Writer’s Road

Hello, my wonderful friends. I’ve missed you the past couple of weeks. The exciting Horror Cage Match, Rich Evans’s fabulous interview, and my Book Blurb Contest, displaced my usual weekly posts to you.

This week, I’d like to take the opportunity to give you a few updates about my action-packed journey as a debut author. I woke this Sunday morning to find “In Memory of Greed” sitting at Amazon’s #1 ranking by readers in the political fiction category. Guess what…I owe it all to you, dear friends. It just shows the importance of leaving reviews for fellow authors after reading their works. I’m both humbled, and endlessly appreciative of this milestone. You did this. And I thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

I realize how much an author’s success hinges on the support of those who are kind enough to take a chance on new books. My novel would still be lost in a virtual sea of stories, were it not for all of you. As a result of this gradual, yet consistent, appreciation of “In Memory of Greed,” I have decided to use my production arm, Query Publishing, to do a run of paperback, and hardcover books. Many people have expressed a desire to own a tangible copy of my novel. Also, the local Barnes and Noble in my community has offered to hold a book-signing event in their store. It’s an amazing dream-come-true to being living this reality.

In light of my decision to publish hard copies of my work, I am in the process of having my wonderful friend, Steve Umstead, run another edit of my work, to insure the fine-tuning of the pages before going to press. I find his offer to do so both humbling and uplifting. He is among the finest of friends I have made while on this exciting writer’s road.

Thank you, dear friend. (Check out his wonderful scifi novel, Gabriel’s Redemption  http://tiny.cc/22o0s )

In addition, going to press makes my Book Blurb Contest more important than ever. If you can put aside a block of time to do so, I strongly urge you to take part in this competition. See details here: https://alboudreau.wordpress.com/2011/05/07/book-blurb-contest/  The winner will receive a $100 Amazon gift card.

Thorough editing and writing a great book description are two of the most difficult and critical aspects of writing/marketing your work. My advice—take the time to do them both right, and don’t try to do them alone. It’s nearly impossible to do either effectively without the assistance of others.

Please believe me when I tell you…the rise of my novel seems to have taken place incredibly slowly. Therefore, do not get discouraged by slow days, less than perfect reviews, or self-doubt. These things happen to all of us, and are perfectly normal. Simply visualize your goals then go after them with passion. Don’t take no for an answer—especially from your self.

I’ve had the joy of getting to know all of you pretty well, and you are a wildly talented bunch. I believe in you, and will continue to do my best to support you all personally, as well as support your fantastic works. Keep plugging away, and success will be yours.

Lastly, I want to thank you all for helping me reach my personal goal of $1,000 in sales profits to send to Japan. I will make a final decision this week on which organization to send your money to, based on your recommendations.

At the risk of redundancy, thank you all again for your warm friendship, support, and love. I know for a fact, none of this would have been possible without all of you behind me. You are truly an amazing bunch. Know that I cherish each and every one of you.

Oh, and don’t forget to utilize #BookLook on Twitter to help promote your books, and come visit me, and my excellent friends, in #pubwrite, if you haven’t already done so. Make it a great week, and don’t forget to say hello in the comments section of this post. You know I love that sort of thing.

All the best,  AB