About having my book on Amazon

Things I did not expect

I did not know how emotional it would be, to actually open Kindle, and search out my own book, and download the sample, and open it.

Seeing my words!

The ones I typed, letter by letter, in an order I hoped would convey meaning, spark interest, and compel total strangers to keep on reading. It is not an exaggeration to say that I’ve thought about each word, each phrase, each sentence.

If you are a writer, you know about all these small and big choices.

For each sentence that has survived the lengthy process of creation, deconstruction, re-creation, and careful placement in the final text, there were so many of their sisters and brothers, the little darlings that were sacrificed for the greater good. I still miss some of them.

Looking at the dedication, and chuckling again at the secret meaning that is only for those who know the secret meaning.

Putting the news of publication out, first to my close circle, and then the wider concentric circles of my human pond. As it rippled out, receiving messages of encouragement, congratulations, and surprise (You wrote a book, really?).

Having my daughter make a point of being the first to buy the book online (even though she was a beta-reader), and telling me this secures her spot as my number one fan!

Breaking out in actual tears when she messaged that she could not be prouder. Oh my.

What a wonderful feast of experiences and emotions.

There are others, that seem less worthy of sharing. The ones that are trying.

Trying not to check the Kindle Direct dashboard that tracks sales.

Trying not to check, again, where the book ranks on Amazon. Number 1 in Religious Humour? That sounded pretty good until I saw what else was in the category.

Trying not to worry about the tiny punctuation error I found, that is now out there, forever. (A quotation mark that points the wrong way, for shame!)

Trying not to guess who has bought, and who has not bought the book.

Trying to remind myself it’s never been about counting sales, but always been about the joy of telling the story, and having it reach others.

(But if you’re interested, here’s the link!)

Trying to get back into the other projects, to use the energy I am gathering from these experiences to fuel the creative work. As my wife has reminded me, not being distracted from the actual writing!