Indie Life: Celebrating a Milestone

Every second Wednesday of the month, indie writers band together to post a little inspiration for the journey.

This month, I write to celebrate a milestone. On January 11th, 2014, my first novel, Of Sun & Moon, rocketed to #1 on the Amazon U.S. Top Free eBook list in two categories: Teen & YA Supernatural Mystery and Teen & YA Romantic Mystery. It also grabbed #2 Teen & YA Time Travel, #3 Teen Mystery, #7 Teen Sci-fi, and #10 Teen Paranormal. Later in the month, it reached the same #1 in supernatural and romantic mystery categories at Amazon U.K.

I don’t really think of myself as someone with low self-esteem (just skeptical), so I didn’t expect it to last the hour, much less the day, the weekend, or the week. However, a month later, I’m pleased to report that in the U.S. OSM still stands within the Top 5 in its categories in the free book realm: #4 Teen/YA Time Travel, #4 Teen/YA Romantic Mystery, and #5 Teen/YA Supernatural Mystery, and a respectable #13 in the Teen/YA Mystery category. In the UK ranking even better holding at #1 in Teen/YA Romantic Mystery, #2 Teen/YA Time Travel, and #3 Teen/YA Supernatural Mystery. 

What makes this inspiring to other indie authors? I wrote OSM in 2010 and released it in March 2011. Yep, three years ago! I’ve released four other books since. I thought OSM had long reached its peak. The novel’s rank before the #1 was sad…super sad…beyond pathetic. The sales rank chart looks pretty much like a vertical line to #1.

So, bottom line…

If I can do it. You can do it.

For more of the specifics and lessons learned from Of Sun & Moon‘s journey to #1, check out the article I recently wrote for Phoenix Author Ink. Also, indie authors (of the young adult genre) wishing to network for collaboration and cross-promotion, should check out my group, The Society of YA Storytellers. 

Note: Current rankings listed in posting is as of 2/9/14