Do Small acheivements still excite you?

531 Views 11 Replies 12 Participants Last post by jillb, Feb 22, 2015

Michael J Elliott

Discussion Starter · Feb 22, 2015

As a newbie writer, I have had great excitment with small acheivements with my first short story. The first was when my cover designer presented me with the final version of my cover. There was MY name on the cover, that, without a word of a lie, sent shivers down my spine. Then when I uploaded my work I sat but and couldn't believe that I could now truly call myself an author and seeing my title on Amazon was one of the most exciting things that has happened to me. When I finally convinced Amazon to price match my story for free I nearly fainted when I saw that from five paid units I had gone to 28 within two days and with smaller unit sales each day after.
I was also blown away from the number of emails in my inbox telling me that people had joined my author site which has only just been created and is quite bare atm. Today I received my second five star review and I was literally jumping up and down.
I'd like to think I will never become blase about my achievements but I'd like to hear from authors who have found both sales and earning success from their works to ask them whether they still get excited over small successes. I realise I have a long way to go but having studied marketing I completely understand that as a writer my name is a brand I have to build. What other small acheivements have thrilled and inspired you to continue?

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1 - 12 of 12 Posts

SB James

· #2 · Feb 22, 2015

I still get excited when someone bought my book 1 and then a few days later buys book 2!
I also still get excited whenever someone adds my books to their Goodreads bookshelves.
As for my website... Yeah, still working on that one.

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scottmarlowe

· #3 · Feb 22, 2015

I get excited over every review (more so when they're good, but still happy someone would take the time), sale, mention on social media, completion of drafts, edits, etc.

If it ever gets to the point where I don't get some level of satisfaction out of each part of the process, then it'll be time to hang it up and move on.

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kathrynoh

· #4 · Feb 22, 2015

Yep. Emails and messages from fans are the best. I mean someone actually took time out of their day to write me a message to say they enjoyed my book. That's mind blowing!

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Kay Bratt

· #5 · Feb 22, 2015

Yes! I've sold a lot of books. But hearing from a new reader that they like my work and want to find more just makes me smile.
I got this review a few days ago (bold is mine):

This review is from: Bitter Winds (Tales of the Scavenger's Daughters Book 3) (Kindle Edition)
I had not heard of this author before this series. I chose the book based on the outline, and embarrassingly on the cover art. Boy was I surprised when the book had believable characters, a great plot, and enough Chinese culture to make it a great read. I have read the books in order, however, this could be a stand alone book. Now this author has me hooked and I must scour the internet for more books written by my new favorite author.

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77071

· #6 · Feb 22, 2015

I'm not gonna lie. It's pretty exciting. I get super jazzed about finishing something, getting a cover, good reviews, etc.

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Carol Davis

· #7 · Feb 22, 2015

Oh, absolutely! My numbers are small enough that each purchase or borrow is REALLY cool. I love the satisfaction of uploading a new book, then the "SQUEE!" when that first purchase shows up. Reviews are wonderful. I wanted all of this to be *fun* after 38 years of working not-fun day jobs, and it does have its moments of disappointment and frustration, but overall... yes, it's definitely exciting!

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Jerri Kay Lincoln

· #8 · Feb 22, 2015

I believe it is important to celebrate every small achievement.

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cinisajoy

· #9 · Feb 22, 2015

Congratulations on the second 5 star review. Now please calm down before you damage your ceiling.

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67499

· #10 · Feb 22, 2015

All my achievements are small and I get outsized pleasure from each of them!

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KL_Phelps

· #11 · Feb 22, 2015

SB James said:
I still get excited when someone bought my book 1 and then a few days later buys book 2!
I also still get excited whenever someone adds my books to their Goodreads bookshelves.
As for my website... Yeah, still working on that one.

I know exactly what you mean. Got a review the other day on Amazon, just one line, something like, 'enjoyed this book so much immediately bought the rest in the series.' And on goodreads just saw that one person is currently reading all three in that series (could be the same person but not sure)

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jillb

· #12 · Feb 22, 2015

I'm still a prawn so every sale/borrow and new book published excites me. Seeing a new book in my sig makes me happy. Right now, I'm also excited with I can turn the greyed out purchase buttons to other platforms live. Going wide has been a learning process but I'm at the point where I can upload pretty fast and it's exciting to see it live outside Amazon as well!