Well, it’s been two years since I started this blog, “A Writer Begins.” On July 20, 2012 I wrote my very first post. Here it is, in its entirety:
My New Novel
[Jul 20 by dariusjones]
Well, here goes nothing.
My first novel has just been published. It’s on the Amazon Kindle store here. It’s also on Goodreads.
Please take the time to leave a review. And a big thank you to all of you who have already got it and are reading it.
,D
“Well, here goes nothing”??? Wow. I’ve come a long way since then. Here are some of the best things that have happened in my past two years of writing:
- I sold at least 200 copies of The Library of Lost Books (haven’t counted sales in over a year).
- I gave away at least 1,600 copies of The Library of Lost Books.
- Fiction Vortex published my short story, “The Hatchlings.” And it won 3rd place in their Reader’s Choice Award for that month.
- Self-published an historical novella: The Man Who Ran from God.
- Finished and submitted a new comedy-horror novella. (Let’s hope the publisher likes it!)
- Wrote and submitted and submitted and submitted a historical horror fiction piece, “The Ghul of Yazd.” I believe in the Ghul and know he will find a home someday…
- Written 107 blog posts and had 1,500 views of the blog.
- Watched followers for this blog grow from 0 to 96.
- Connected with over 500 Twitter followers. Really loving the interaction with readers and fellow writers over there.
- Went to my first Con, RavenCon, where I attended all the writing panels I could and a writing workshop. I plan to be their next year in April. It’s totally kickass, so you should go. Just look for me in the writing panels, I should be there.
- Switched my writing strategy from purely self-publishing to writing mostly for traditionally-published markets. This means I’m writing my stuff and submitting it to magazines instead of putting it up on Kindle.
I want you to know that I’ve done all of this while keeping down a full-time, pretty stressful job. I write mostly on the weekends (on Sundays) and do the business and blog end of stuff at night when I can. The reason I’m telling you this is not to pat myself on the back, but to make all you guys out there stuck in a 40-hour (or more) a-week job, know that you can do it. You can write in your spare time and make real progress. I know, I’ve done it. The trick is having the discipline and self-confidence to stick to it.
So, I keep writing and you guys keep reading my stuff and supporting me.
In my darkest hours, at those times I’ve wanted to quit, to give up the writing gig entirely…There’s been one thing that has kept me going—the fans. I can count a number of times when a glowing review, an enthusiastic note or a kind comment struck me and shook me to the core. So, thank you. Your encouragement counts for more than you’ll ever know.
Giveaway
As a small sign of appreciation I’m celebrating by running a giveaway this weekend. I’m doing a 2-day (July 19 and 20) giveaway of The Man Who Ran from God and “The Truck Stop” on the Amazon Kindle. So, if you haven’t had a chance to get them, grab them while you can.
As for the future, well, one can never tell. But I’m going to keep writing and giving my best every weekend. There’s lots more to come, so stay tuned.
And once again—thank you all for keeping the faith.
Darius
Inside the Writer's Mind 