Monday, October 25, 2010

Some things prove whether a person is an optimist or a pessimist

Royalty watching... In my case it has nothing to do with whether the prince is going to marry what's-her-name (she's hot, but what IS her name?) in England.

In my case Royalty watching is becoming an unhealthy thing. I want to know if any of my Kindle books, eBooks, paperback, or hardcover books have sold. It's a matter of checking websites and looking at reports.

I fall on the side of optimism every time. I'm not disappointed when the sales figures haven't changed. I look at them and enjoy the little numbers with the hope (knowledge... I'll call it faith) that I'm looking at the small figures of a career in its infancy. I believe in my books. They're good books and with time they'll grow legs and start bringing home the bacon to the guy who's working on the next book.

I think a pessimist in a similar situation would go nuts, and maybe even give up.

Not me. I'm going to do what I do, and that is write. I'm not going to sit idly by and wait for sales--there is a fair amount of marketing that has to happen--but long experience with reports and numbers tells me that staring at reports (though I do cheer when someone buys a book) won't do anything.

2 comments:

Jeffrey Miller said...

What's the old adage, a watched book never sells?

I know exactly how you feel. I do the same thing when I post a link to a story and then check back and see how many people have read it. I know it's quite different than seeing if you have made a sale, but it does come down to sharing something we have written.

I will be doing the same in two weeks!

David J. Steele said...

"A watched book never sells?" Nah. It, like the proverbial watched pot, will sell. It just seems like it never will.

I get a rush out of a new sale. The times when no copies have sold don't bother me. I won't let that bother me. Call it a personality flaw, but I'll concentrate on being happy when someone buys a copy.

That in no way means I don't wish/hope/pray to find a sudden surge in sales... Every time I look at a report I feel a rush that maybe, just maybe, 100+ copies will have sold. It could happen! It just won't ruin my day when it hasn't happened yet.