Book Release Jitters

Hello everyone!! Sorry for not posting last week... Last week was so busy... Wednesday was absolutely crazy. I felt like I was just go, go, go nonstop all day.

Anyways, so I have some big news... surreal news. Wayward is out!! It came out yesterday! :D The publication date really snuck up on me and I didn't realize how soon it was coming until this weekend when I realized I should really finish getting all the details finalized.

While I am extremely excited, there's nothing quite like the rush of publishing a book, I'm also worried. Nervous. Unsure. Afraid I guess... I love this book so much and it's been amazing hearing all the reviews and good things people have said about this book. It made me so happy to see how much people enjoyed the book and definitely has given me the confidence to not only continue the series but to get it done as quickly as I can.

But I also have a lot of expectations I've put on this book. Maybe I shouldn't have... I've never been afraid to talk about my past books and their triumphs and failures. Weapon Icean and Project Hellion were a learning experience. I didn't really know what I was doing and maybe that's why they sort of fell flat in the sales department. I'm not afraid to say that they didn't do very well. I don't make consistent money on them or any of my other books really. I think it's important for me to be honest about that so that others who are considering going into self-publishing know what they're getting into. You have to put in the work and time and effort to make your book a success and sometimes, no matter how much you do your book still just doesn't make the cut. It's very discouraging and after four books not really reaching the right audiences, I was about ready to give up on self-publishing all together. And then I took Katie Phillip's five day Author Challenge and she gave me new perspective and made me realize that my books weren't doing well not because they were poorly written but because I had no idea what I was doing when it came to audience, marketing and ideal readership. Over the past several months... Well for pretty much this entire year so far, I've been doing so much research to educate myself on how to successful self-publish a book.

Back to my expectations for Wayward though, it all is tied to my research. I didn't just write this book because I love the characters and ideas. I started this book with a very specific audience and reader in mind. When I started Wayward I wanted to challenge myself and see if I had it in me to write a genre-specific story that fits into the paranormal romance niche that does so well on Amazon. And from the good things I've heard, I think I succeeded? But I'm still nervous... So, so nervous because I did write this book with a clear vision in mind. I want to make money off this book. I want to make money off all my books. This will never be a full time job -- though I also want to say never say never. Surprises happen all the time and books break out and explode sometimes too -- but I also want to make something off of them. I want a following, a readership and I want to make some money. Which is part of the reason why I wrote Wayward. To see if I could do just that. Write a genre specific book, the sort of book that romance readers would enjoy, that would sell. I'm just going to be completely honest with you guys, I've got pretty low expectations. My goal for this book is to sell ten copies a month. Honestly, I would be happy with just five a month. And/or hopefully rack up some money through pages read in Kindle Unlimited. That is my goal for Wayward. But even with such a tiny goal, I'm still worried I won't reach it. I'm worried that in the first month or two I might get a few readers but the sales will dwindle and die out like Weapon Icean and Project Hellion.

I'm not saying all this to make people feel bad for me or to make anyone feel like they should check out my book. I just want to be honest on here and I needed a place to put all my thoughts and this blog is that place haha

With all that said, I just realized that what I should really be doing is giving this book to God. Praying about it and praying about what He has for me. Let Him lead me and just put the book out and have faith that if this is the one, it's the one and if not then it's not and that's OK. God knows what I want and what I need more than I do. He knows me better than I know myself. Want and need are two totally different things and He usually gives us what we need first and foremost. Whether Wayward does as well as I want it to or not, I'll still continue the series and I still love it and will continue to love writing it.

So, happy book birthday Wayward!! I love you and I hope I get to share you with lots of others who love you just as much! 💓

You can get it on Amazon on the kindle and Kindle Unlimited and in paperback HERE.

You can also add it to your Goodreads shelves HERE.

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On another note, I'm also in the middle of revising and editing the first in my Seven Seas Academy trilogy. The cover is in the making but I do have a blurb that I thought I'd share with all of you! I wanted to rush and get this book done as soon as possible, but over the weekend I realized that if I do that then I'm going to end up burning myself out and I can't do that. So, I'm planning for it to be released in October. Probably the end of October. St. Croix Falls #2 will probably be out in November. This is sort of off topic but with writing two series at once and having them published every month I'm starting to realize how much of a job this really is... People don't think writing is a job... well think again. Because it is so much work and can be exhausting and yet you still love it so much. Anyways, that's another post for another time. Maybe next week haha 

In the meantime though, here's the blurb for Seven Seas Academy: 

Cordelia Adara has a secret. Or at least she did, until two representatives from the prestigious Seven Seas Academy showed up at the CD shop she worked at. They've come to tell her that the cat's out of the bag. They know about her mixed heritage: being the only half-human-half-Mer around and they want her to join their school. As if that wasn't bad enough, Cordelia finds out that the birthmark on her arm she's had all her life and never thought twice of? Yeah, that's supposedly a mark mentioned in some ancient Merfolk prophecy. 

Seven Seas Academy is for the kids of the wealthiest and most influential humans and Mer in the world and suddenly Cordelia is the new student. After her semester is up, the school board promised to revisit her situation and hopefully let her off the hook. The last thing Cordelia wants to do is be stuck at Seven Seas Academy as the half-blood freakshow, even if it does have a killer marine biology program. All she wants is to get through this semester and then go back to her normal life where there are no prophecies and where she isn't a chosen one. 

She didn't go to make friends.

And she definitely didn't go to fall for the ridiculously good-looking twin brother of her roommate.

But the more Cordelia sticks around the school, the more she realizes there's more to her sudden acceptance at the academy then anyone's let on. As she searches deeper into these ancient texts and prophecies that are supposedly all about her, secrets come to the surface about herself and her family that she never knew about… and wishes she could forget.

You can add it to your Goodreads shelves HERE.

Have a great rest of the week!!