Okay, now that the world has stopped for just a moment or two, I can finally tell you about the amazing book launch party I had in my hometown. And also get a little sappy about how I'm a published author now . . . someone get me a soap box.
But first, I need to thank you. Yes, you. If you've read my book or bought it or posted a review, I'm so grateful to you. I'm unbelievably amazed by the power of this community and I can't thank you enough. *showers confetti on your head*
Okay, let's recap:
Book Launch Party
In Covington, Louisiana, which also happens to be the setting of These Are the Moments, a girl put on a red dress and her red lipstick. Hint: this is me. With 120 books in the backseat, my mother, sister and I drove off to the Southern Hotel which was kind enough to host us for the evening. There was wine. There were nerves. But most importantly, there were books that needed good homes.
As 5:30 neared, a couple walked out of the bar and stopped to look at my poster.
"What's this?" stranger man asked.
"Oh," I said, caught off guard. "This is a book. I wrote it." Eloquent, let me tell you.
He takes out his wallet. "You're local. So you're family."
I awkwardly hover over the table and sign my name. I sold a book. I watched him and his wife leave with my words tucked under his jacket. And I wanted to remember that feeling forever.
If I could put that night into words, I would need a whole book to do it. I signed over 91 books that night. I watched as my family and friends reveled over the cover, gently opening to see what I'd written to them inside. If there was one prominent feeling, one single and solitary emotion I can pinpoint, it was love. I'd never felt so much love and support in my entire life.
Thank you, Covington. Thank you for raising me. Thank you for loving me.
Book Launch Day
Aside from my friends and family, my Twitter tribe is amazing. In little over a year of blogging, I've made incredible friends that were excited right along with me, tweeting confetti emojis, and sending me pictures of their shipping notifications. (Shoutout to Brett from The Prodigal Sister.)
I couldn't really prepare myself for all of the friendship. Honestly, I'm a very lucky girl. And if you're reading this, know that I'm so thankful. I do not take a second for granted.
So if you're curious about sales, allow me to be straight-up with you. Here are my sales to date:
- Book Launch Party: 91 copies sold. Additionally, I sold about 6 copies in-person post-party.
- Ebooks through Kindle Direct Publishing: 25 ebooks sold.
- Print copies through Createspace: 19 copies sold.
Not too shabby for less than a week of publication. If you'd like me to create sales reports for this blog to help you learn more about how I sell and the steps I take to sell more, please comment below. I'd be happy to provide income reports.
Praise for #TATM
It's one thing to write a book and sell it. It's another to have people actually like it. There has been so much love for this little book so far, and even though it's not your typical, happy-go-lucky romance, I think that makes it all the more special.
I'm not going to sit here and rave about my own book. But I do want to honor those who took the time to write a review. If I'm missing anyone, please comment with your review link below.
- She's Novel Featured Lady. Thank you, Kristen, for the honor!
- Huffington Post Summer Reading List: Romance for Real Girls. Katie Li, you are magnificent.
- 125Pages. 4.2 stars from Laura Nagore.
- A Time 2 Write Guest Post. Thanks to Abi for letting me host her blog for the day.
- Books and Ladders Review. Wonderful to meet Jamie and so happy she enjoyed the story.
- Write Like Rowling Review. Thanks to C.S.!
- Better Novel Project. Christine is my girl. Go check out her amazing TATM fan art.
- Writer's Edit. I'm so thankful to Writer's Edit for publishing my first short story. They're incredibly supportive and interviewed me for their blog!
Now, back to the notebooks. I've got a second book to write.