My novel, “Never Smile at Strangers,” hit Amazon’s Bestsellers List yesterday!
As of this writing, it’s sitting at #15 in the Suspense/Thriller category–and I couldn’t be happier. 
This is a novel that I wrote almost 8 years ago!
(That’s how long this journey took me.)
After my literary agent (Emmy-nominated television & film producer Ken Atchity) was unable to sell it to NYC, it sat on my hard drive for a few years before I decided to publish independently.
Right Next to Stephen King!!
Publishing independently (aka “self-publishing”) was a VERY difficult decision, both mentally and emotionally, because for years I hung onto the belief that I needed the validation of the traditional publishing industry… and thought that independently-published authors (of fiction) were simply writers who weren’t very talented… or persistent.
And I hoped I was at least a little of both.
But then I began interviewing huge self-publishing successes like Barry Eisler (who, btw, turned down a $500,000 advance in 2011 in order to publish independently), JA Konrath & HP Mallory… and realized that I needed to muster the courage to do it, too.
My literary agent even encouraged me. (See what he wrote about it on Amazon.) That’s how much he believed in the novel.
So what did I have to lose? All of those years of hard work were just sitting there, untouched and unread.
Wasted.
I owed it to myself. And to the story.
So I did.
Never Smile at Strangers Next to Lee Child's Novel
I was scared and wasn’t sure what to expect, but I knew that after the many thousands of hours I’d invested in the book, I had to at least give it a shot to see how the market would respond.
And I’m SO glad I did.
The market has responded SO favorably–and I’m on cloud 9.
The validation I was searching for? I got it after all.
From the people who TRULY count. The readers.
I’ll write much more in depth about the journey in the coming weeks and months, as well as the marketing/promotion that worked (& didn’t work) for me to get it to where it is today.
Please stay tuned for updates.
Btw, if you decide to check out “Never Smile at Strangers,” and like what you read, please help spread the word!
Just about everyone has at least one social media profile now–and social media is POWERFUL for a book. Especially when it comes from satisfied customers.
Whether it’s Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Delicious, Reddit, the list can go on… it’s POWERFUL.
And it would be greatly appreciated.
Remember this for your own novels.
My GoodReads Profile | My Facebook Profile | My Twitter Profile | “Never Smile at Strangers” on Facebook
“Never Smile at Strangers” on Amazon
I hope that I’m finding you happy & writing–and realizing your own writing dreams.
How to Sell More Books In An Hour and a Half Per Day
Guest Post by Patricia Fry
Do you blog? Do you comment at other blog sites related to your topic/genre? I know all too well how difficult it is to do all of the promotion it takes in order to succeed with a book project.
It’s almost impossible to do everything you should be doing and cover all of your bases.
But it can be done. Here’s an effective strategy you might want to implement:
Continue reading →
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