It's a Marathon

#indieauthors #writerslife #amwritingromance #RomanceReaders #paranormalromance

Writing and publishing are very much like a marathon. Authors need support from readers, praise in the form of true reviews, the high five form the reading community when we hit milestones, etc... Well yesterday, I hit a mark. I was stoked. I checked out Draoithe: A Pack Forms just to see what it looked like on Amazon. I had given away a few free copies of the book over the long weekend trying to build up the readership in the series. It was late. The free give away was almost over. But I found this! A Pack Forms was ranked #37. I had to take a picture of that. No one would believe me if I did not. So there it is. Now the important part.

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Thank you! Thank you all! I hope everyone who got a copy of the book has an opportunity to read it, and I hope that you enjoy it. That book saved me from a fate worse than death once upon a time. It also eventually led to a life changing event for me. (No, not the ranking.) First, it saved me from a repetitious meeting that was literally destroying my creative brain tissue. Later, it gave me the courage to walk away from a long time employment to work for myself. I am an Indie Author. I stand behind my work. The story is good. I improve a little everyday in my writing, my understanding of the business I am in, and my appreciation for what other independent artists must do in order to make a living. 

So what else is new? I have been working on the rewrite for a later book in the series, Prodigal Son. It is looking really good. I shared a piece on Facebook, I will try to share a bit more when I can. I have gotten good feedback from the preview stories that are posted on Instagram and Pinterest. I'm still working on the Fireside Read. It is harder than I thought it would be. But if I get it, I will put it up on YouTube. I wanted to produce The Thread first, but I think I need to practice with something a bit smaller first. My ambition may have gotten the better of my ability to date. LOL. The Thread is still FREE just for subscribing. If you have not seen it, I posted pictures of the author copy of the book on Instagram. There is something nice about holding a copy of a book in your hands rather than the digital. It makes all the hard work feel real even if it is only a short read.

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I wish to plug my upcoming novel. Dream Therapy Is available for pre-order now. It will release on Jan. 30, 2020. I'm curious what readers think. Do you like pre-orders? From the author's perspective, all I see is that it offers an advertising gimmick. Admittedly I am not any kind of expert in marketing, so I am not sure if as an author I should be thrilled with the concept, but would you rather simply have the book available? Instant gratification? Don't tell you about it until it's ready? Or do you like the build up to release and the anticipation for a new book by an author that you follow? I definitely lean toward instant gratification and routinely click off or delete advertisements for books that have not yet been released. I will try to put up a poll on Facebook later and let everyone weigh in.

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Gotta get going, but before I go, One more shout out to all the readers who helped me rank so high on Amazon. You guys are awesome. Special thanks to a late night muse, Jonas Blake who gave me an idea for a new book. Look for Lyons Gate in the future too!
Be Careful!
Happy reading,
​Ophelia Kee