Published
Last month, on Nov. 15, 2023, my first book, Salvation and Doom: The Cathardi Prophecy, officially went on sale (Long Journey’s End – Moving from Writer to Author). It is currently available on both Amazon.com, https://www.amazon.com/, and BarnesandNoble.com, Online Bookstore: Books, NOOK ebooks, Music, Movies & Toys | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com). I will include the links to the book pages below since I don’t have enough sales or reviews to rate very high on the Amazon algorithm. As of this morning, I have sold 15 copies of the book. As an unknown author who self-published, I assume it is to be expected that early sales will be limited to my friends and family. This does nothing to allay the fear that people won’t like my book. I am continuing to work on a new novel and have started the outline for a follow-up novel to Salvation and Doom, but I need the encouragement of book sales and positive reviews from readers.
With the book’s slow sales after release, I was struggling with the fear that I had spent a lot of money for no reason. I did not expect a profit from the book, but I hoped to at least come close to breaking even. That may be a pipe dream since most of what I have read says an author needs multiple books available before sales increase enough to be profitable. I guess there is still hope.
Reviews
On the positive side, I received my first review for the book on Goodreads, Salvation and Doom: The Cathardi Prophecy by C. Buck Jones | Goodreads, a five-star rating with some encouraging comments. Then I had lunch with a former coworker who asked me to sign the book he had bought. He said he really enjoyed it and took it to show to other people in the plant where I had worked and told them it was very good. Now I know there is an audience for the book if they can find it.
I have been working so hard on getting Salvation and Doom released, I haven’t spent much time working on either of my new books. The last few days I have spent editing my portal fantasy book, tentatively titled Portal to Almirosia. I intend to have the book ready to be published next year, and I have received some encouraging feedback and specific areas for improvement from my beta readers. Wish me luck.
Book Links
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/book/1144380920?ean=9798989049813
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