Saturday, July 28, 2012

Feelings on nearing two sales milestones

Every time I near a sales milestone in my so-far short career, I feel the butterflies going haywire in the tum-tum. It always means a quick refresh of my sales sheets when I should be doing something productive, like writing my next story or reading up on a particular topic in order to be more informed while writing my next story. It never fails, though: the refresh button and I have an understanding. He's cool with me pressing his buttons. But seriously...

Milestones seem to come in twos in 2012. I ended 2011 at 3,010 books sold since November 1, 2009, which is when Turning Back The Clock came out. So every time I hit a sales mark, in ten additional books, I hit another. It's like the party never ends here.

The fact that people are buying--and seeming to enjoy--my books, and doing so in such quantities, means so much to me not as an author, but a person. The fact that I continue to entertain these readers--which is always my first goal with any book, to tell an entertaining story--after so long fuels my writing engine and makes me want to continue to pump the books out for the readers.

When I woke up this morning, I did a quickie count of my sales for the month of July 2012. I only have 165 books sold this month, which is a low amount when you consider how many other books I've sold this year. I do realize that it's the summer, and the world of publishing slows down and people are more focused on what beach they're going to than they are on reading. I continually tell myself that I should feel lucky to sell that many, as there are other authors having difficulty selling books at the moment. I'm pleased as punch to hit that number. That 165 has brought me ever closer to selling 3,000 books for the year, but I'm also closing in on 6,000 sales lifetime, AND getting closer to doubling my lifetime sales since New Year's Eve.

Holy schnikes, let that sink in for a little bit.

The marks are as they stand: 50 books to 3,000 sales for the year, 40 books to 6,000 sales lifetime, and 60 books to doubling my lifetime sales in seven or so months (let THAT sink in, too). I'd like to hit each of those marks before August 6, when I go on vacation for the first time in five years.

Last week, I had surfed through my old blogs, bringing myself down memory lane for my career. I came across a blog I had written when I had closed in on 100 sales. That was back in April 2010. I remember feeling that I had climbed a mountain, hitting that magical milestone just before my 33rd birthday. It's almost always slow-going at first, selling books. But soon, I developed a following, and people began to notice the books. They went to my Facebook page and became a fan. They follow me on Twitter. They keep asking me when the next book is coming out.

And that's why I've sold as many books as I have so far.

Keep the milestones coming.

www.seansweeneyauthor.com

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