Gratitude

 I started writing my books seven years ago this month.  It took a while to finish any of them, and I finally published the first two in July 2018.  My historical novel was published in February 2019.  My next book, January 2020.  And then my longest stretch without publishing.  August 2021, and October 2021.

I have never sold a lot of books.  My best numbers were from free book giveaways.  From July 2018 until December 2021, I sold 54 ebooks, 125 paperbacks, and 8 hardcover books.  I gave away 170 ebooks, and I have not counted the author copies I have purchased and given away to family and friends.  My books are available through Kindle Unlimited, and I had 6068 pages read in that same time period.

I have no idea what happened in January 2022, but as of January 24, I had sold 9 books this month, and had 692 Kindle pages read.  I posted a celebration post on Facebook, thanking whoever it was that made this remarkable month possible.  Since that post, I have sold three more books.

Is gratitude what I have been missing?  Have I been too focused on how many books I haven't sold?  How many ratings and reviews I haven't gotten?

I have no idea if this sales month is a freak thing, or if my sales will start to pick up.  I will continue working on the two novels in progress, and will continue planning the next novel in my head and eventually will start to write it. 

I never thought I would make money from my books, but I did hope I would bring light and joy into the world.  I have allowed myself to become disappointed, though, when it seemed so few people were interested in reading my work.

This month has turned me around.  I need to maintain my focus on the people who do enjoy my work.  I need to focus on writing my stories, and continue to believe that they bring light and hope and joy to the people who read them.

I need to remember to be grateful that I can write my stories.  And that God continues to guide my work, and provide inspiration.

I also need to give this blog more attention, so the people that read my books can keep up with what I am doing and thinking between books.

Thank you.  Thank you to my readers.  Thank you to the people that took time to leave a rating on Amazon.  And a special huge thank you to those who took the time to leave a review.

You will never know how much your support lifts me up.