Hundreds of books sold. 5-star reader reviews on Amazon. Interviews with my hometown paper and an online columnist. Booksigning events in four cities. Reviews on the way from a sci-fi fantasy website and a book review blog. Positive, supportive communities on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and Youtube.
The first 60 days of being published have truly been a whirlwind.
Meeting new people has been amazing; like the freshmen at my alma-mater who aspire to be talent managers, screenwriters, novelists. Or the bartender at my favorite restaurant in the town I grew up who, though not a fan of fantasy, read the prologue and decided to give THE DARK PROVINCE a try. From the woman at the local print shop to new friends across the world I’ve met on Twitter – sharing this novel with people has been like sharing a secret with a friend. For almost seven years these characters have been known only by my wife and I – and now people I’ve never met can refer to them intimately by name.
Then there are the people who I’ve not seen in over a decade. Like my college roommate who was so excited that I’d written a book he immediately took out a laptop and shared it with members of his bowling league. Ten orders were placed. An old football teammate from high school attended my Virginia booksigning event with his fiancé. I had always admired his gifts as an athlete and his social savvy. Here, seventeen years later he shares with me he’d like to write. Still another friend I’d not seen in years shared with me how the book’s premise spoke to him as he’d been spending a lot of time reflecting on how his own faith and religion conflict. I don’t know if I’ve ever been so inspired.
Sure, there have been the detractors. Those who are determined that indie publishing is the greatest waste of a writer’s time and money. Admittedly, being human, I’m not immune to their passionate cries. I’ve been here before. In the past I have started something new and innovative, and have seen initial success but allowed myself to be intimated by the work ahead and convinced by those who might be threatened by my pursuits to slam on the brakes and abandon ship.
Last night just before drifting off to sleep I wrote a pledge in my “positivity journal” – I will not quit. I will not back off. I will not surrender to my or anyone else’s doubts. I will not be intimidated by the greatness of the task ahead. I will pursue this to the end. I’ve come too far, seized too many moments, been touched by too many people to abandon my dream just moments off the launch pad.
Today is the beginning of the next phase of marketing. I leave my virtual small town and head out to a sea of predominantly unfamiliar faces to share my work.
Ironically, similar to novel’s protagonist, I have to make a choice between my own “religious tradition” of doubt and intimidation and my “faith” that I have written a work worth sharing with everyone who enjoys reading fiction.
Today, I choose faith. You’re welcome to hold me to it.
