I am not here today to humble brag. I'm here to outright squee. Earlier this month Let's Get Naughty, an anthology I have a story in, hit the USA Today Bestseller list. And I couldn't be happier.
I know, however, that there've been some authors lately who've voiced the opinion that Bestseller status shouldn't count if the book's an anthology, or if multiple authors are involved, or if the price is too low. Honestly? I think that's nonsense. Even more honestly? I really don't care.
Did it take a group effort to make the list this way? Absolutely it did. It also took a fabulous cover, a perfect title, a lot of strategizing, marketing, advertising, a seemingly endless amount of promotion, and everyone involved working in tandem to achieve our goal. In other words, not all that different from what it would take for any book to hit a list.
I think most authors tend to see themselves as lone wolves. There's a sense that we produce our best, most creative work when we lock out the rest of the world and self-isolate ourselves. And I know that for myself and my fellow introverts, that's very true. There's also the fact that, while you can outsource everything else, no one else can write the book but you.
BUT... there's writing the book, and then there's publishing, marketing, promoting and selling the book. And most of those aren't even possible to achieve in isolation. It takes a village to publish and successfully market a book.
That sense of community is something I've missed. I liked being traditionally published. I liked the camaraderie, the sense that I was part of a team. I liked knowing that my editor had faith in my book, that I wasn't the only one who liked it. I liked that there were other professionals involved, that other people--with knowledge and skills that I lack--were taking some of the weight, making some of the decisions, taking a lot of the profit...well, I didn't love that, of course, but it felt like an okay trade-off at the time. I liked not having to do everything myself. In part because doing All The Things takes away from the time I can spend writing. And in part because no one is going to be good at everything.
I think it's silly to (and not a little entitled) to suggest that success only counts if A) someone else (a publisher) is footing all the bills, or if B) your pockets happen to be deep enough that you can afford to pay for everything yourself.
There is another way. You can join forces with other authors and work together to achieve success. And frankly, to me, that seems like the best of both worlds.
I've been published for quite a while now; long enough to know that there will always be someone questioning someone else's success and the route they followed to get there. Everyone's got an opinion--and you probably know how the rest of that quote goes.
First they said ebooks weren't real books. Then it was, indie publishing isn't real publishing. Then, you're only successful if you make a certain amount of money from a single book.
The rules to making a bestseller list are simple and arbitrary. It's a race. You have to sell a lot of books in a set period of time (Monday through Sunday) across multiple platforms. How many books? That's impossible to say. Just like it's impossible to say how fast you have to run, on any given day, in order to win a marathon. That depends, in large part, on who's running against you and what kind of race they're having.
In the week leading up to November 9th, out of all the books out there, only 85 books sold more copies (in the USA) than Let's Get Naughty did. We didn't make the rules of the game, but we played by them and won. And that feels very freaking cool.
So thank you to everyone who bought a copy. I hope you enjoy it. Obviously, I especially hope you enjoy my contribution, Christmasing With You. I had a lot of fun writing it. I had (very surprisingly) a lot of fun marketing and promoting the anthology. And if you're interested in seeing what we come up with next year, Volume Two is already available for pre-order. Woo-hoo!
Let's Get Naughty 2:
A Limited-Edition Romance Anthology
If you think it's too soon to get on Santa's naughty list...think again. It's time for volume 2!
Cancel your plans and spend this holiday season with 26 romance authors who have teamed up to bring you a delicious holiday treat.
Releases October 23, 2023. Available for pre-order now!
https://books2read.com/letsgetnaughty2/
Includes my story, Last Room at the Inn which features April and Zach from Love, from A to Z.
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