The Magic of Discovery, or Not...

The magic of discovery, or not. Or, my place as an author on the totem pole of the best seller list.
Aaahh, where to start? Yeah, I know the old joke...at the beginning. Nah, I’m not going back that far! It would be tons o’ pages, and this is just a blog.
Okay, deep breath...let me dive in here, and hope I make sense, or I write clearly enough to be understood. While I luv things by the numbers, as in numerology, I’m not nearly so enamored about stats, the down and dirty numbers which supposedly evaluate performance.
Unless...and that’s a big unless...they’re in my favor. For example, if I was a NY Times best selling author, well, part of me would be *squeeing* with utter delight, and I’d probably be jumping up and down like Tom Cruise on Oprah’s couch. Then again, another part of me would recognize the grim truth. My novel, or novels (dream on, right!) aren’t really better or that much better than lots of authors who might never have the opportunity to be on the NY Times best-selling list.
So, is that really something to celebrate?
Yep, I’m deeply conflicted over this one.
On the one hand I would be very proud of me and my baby novel. And I would know the blood, sweat, tears and persistence it took to gain that position...not to mention I’d be eternally grateful for every reader’s purchase. On the other hand, there’s that grim truth again. I’m certain the other authors put in tons of time and effort, too. But didn’t make that particular grade. This time around.
Okay, discovering your numbers as an author. Or your stats, and where you rank on the best seller totem pole. No, not me, baby! I'm not hanging around or dancing around that pole.
Of course, I want to know if they’re good numbers. I’m giddy as a kitty knowing that WHEN A GOOD ANGEL hit #3 and then #2 on BookStrand’s top sellers list, these past few days. And, yesterday, ‘angel’ ranked #17 out of 20 for the past fourteen days...yay! But I didn’t go check out the stats. I found out inadvertently from two Google Alerts and then from Lee Silver, BookStrand author of THE TWIST...if yer partial to suspense, erotic romance and the weird twists of life...check her book out...and it did hit the prized #1 spot.
Trouble is ‘Angel’ could reach #1 and I might never know it. Then again, I don’t have the emotional torture of being disappointed if ‘it’ doesn’t perform. And, best of all, I can keep penning away in a state of ignorance is bliss. Without an elephant’s worth of performance anxieties hitting me like poison pygmy darts.
The other thing I know about myself ~ being an Aries I can get into that hyper competitive mode. Great! If you’re playing tackle football like I did when I was a teenager. Not so great if you’re spending your time like an obsessed Cyber Gamer looking for all the stats, all the possible reviews, and tracking them down on the hour, every hour. All the while planning strategies ferociously, and staring at the screen without blinking...with your brain spinning like a quantum top as you consider ways to write that surefire bestseller...all for the possible rush of watching your novel’s meteoric rise to the top.
Nope, can’t go there.
Not if I want to keep writing, which I do.
Truth is, I love writing and being an author much more than I care about discovering the stats, or cat-clawing my way to the top just for the sake of being top dog. Make that a top selling female dog.
On the other paw, I will pay attention to what novels readers are buying. Because, I can use those numbers to write stories that fit those stats. Absolutely, yes, since it gives me the opportunity to write the novel of my heart and soul, while hopefully giving readers the romance books they yearn for. A win-win scenario.
So, each of us an individual would react and respond differently to discovering our performance or author’s stats. What’s your personal works-best-for-you approach for looking at the numbers in your life?
Yesterday, to continue the theme of discovery, I found this from Lindsay Townsend, our Friday guest blogger, in my e-mail. It’s also on the BookStrand blogspot ~ http://sirenbookstrand.blogspot.com ~
O happy is this author! Excuse me while I kiss the sky...I don’t think Jimi Hendrix will mind if I rip him off here.
Author Discovery: When A Good Angel Falls.
I read 'When a Good Angel Falls' by Savanna Kougar and was hooked from the very start, pulled instantly into a mesmerising, original story. The post apocalypse world of 2012, where books are illegal, corpses line the streets, and where even the stars are obscured by ash, is powerfully evoked. The beautiful, red-haired heroine Sedona is a healing, powerful heroine. The cherubic hero - who looks like Tom Cruise and who whimsically uses Old Spice - is wonderfully appealing.
With ultimate high stakes - the fate of the earth itself - Sedona is key to the planet's survival.
There is also powerful, erotic romance in "When a Good Angel Falls", eroticism as a life-giving, life-enhancing force that is vital to the story and the earth. The love-play between Sedona and her younger hero lover is highly charged from the very beginning and is both playful and deliciously sensual. The hero is to die for: considerate, playful, seductive and hot!
This is a fast-paced ride of an adventure, beautifully written, about an older woman who is an incarnated angel discovering her true powers. It is a marvellous, empowering read with a spine-tingling climax. And I love Aru, the sly musical references and the spirit animals, especially the wolves!
By Lindsay Townsend, author of FLAVIA’S SECRET ~ How far dare you trust your lover? Especially when your lover is also your master..... ~ available at BookStrand ~ http://bookstrand.com ~ & author of A KNIGHT’S VOW ~ available at Kensington Books

Savanna

Savanna Kougar ~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance ~ http://savannakougar.com ~
When a Good Angel Falls ~ 2012 adventure fantasy romance ~ available from BookStrand ~
http://www.bookstrand.com/authors/savannakougar/wagaf.asp ~ http://www.bookstrand.com/