Setting Expectations

It’s been a little over a month since my debut novel was published.  I will be honest and say my book is not flying off the shelves—more like a soft flutter.  But that’s okay.  I’m very new at this writing thing, no one knows me except my friends and family, so I can see where it might be hard to decide if someone you never heard of is any good at this.  It can be very easy to see only the negatives and start to doubt yourself.  I did for a little while, but I decided I’m not going to stay there.  It’s probably going to take me a couple of years and many more novels before I can say I’m an established writer.  It could even take longer.  I’m not setting any time frames regarding how well known I might become.  I love to write, to tell a story, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. 

I do feel it is an absolute must to have a Facebook page dedicated to your writing and/or blogging.  I have noticed I am getting a lot of “likes” on my various posts, a few comments here and there, and I’m up to almost 200 likes of my page.  That tells me that people might not necessarily be buying my book, but they are taking a look at who I am.  You never know but that some will come back often to get to know me and take a chance my stories might make for a good read. 

I wasn’t  sure if I was going to proceed with writing a trilogy.  In researching for my second novel, I’m finding out a lot about my maternal grandparents and a few bits and pieces about their three daughters, so while their story might not have all the ups and downs of my mom’s story, there’s still going to be a lot I can show my readers that they had a pretty remarkable life together, having known each other since they were babies, and ultimately being married for over 59 years.  It would seem that long marriages are fast becoming a thing of the past, so my hope is that their story will show that when things do get difficult, you don’t just throw up your hands and walk away.

But I’m getting a little off topic here.  Today’s post will be short and sweet (at least short for me), in that I want to make the point if you are a new writer, don’t set your expectations so high that you see nothing but disappointment.  I almost did that before I stopped to realize it’s only been a few short weeks that my novel has been out there.  I’m now actually excited about moving forward, getting the next novel done, and the next one after that and on and on.  I already have little ideas here and there for future writings and only wish I could type about 1000 words a minute to get it all down! 

If you are new to my blog, be sure to read the post below that includes chapter 1 of A Life Unplanned.  If you ever have questions or comments, I’m always happy to help where I can.  Enjoy your weekend and happy reading!