Monday, November 28, 2011

WORDS CAN'T EXPRESS

I'm a writer. However, I can't find the words to adequately express how grateful I am to everyone who celebrated my book release with me.
You guys and gals are the best ever. Ever. The best.

Friday, the Underwater Web War was awesome! So many of you blogged about it, chose a team of sea creatures, and tweeted about it. I saw so many comments from people who hadn't heard of Tangled Tides before reading your posts. I even saw some people commenting that they hadn't heard of selkies until reading about the war. I gained about fifteen new supporters in three days. Thank you so much.

Many of you retweeted about my contests, my updates, and all kinds of other supportive information. The #TangledTides hashtag flooded the Twitterverse and it warmed my heart to see it each and every time. Thank you so much.

The Twitter contest was such a hit that I ended up doing a second contest. The second one hit like a tidal wave and I ended up choosing two more winners to receive signed books. I gained about twenty-five new followers and met some amazing people because of it. Thank you so much.

Saturday, my paperback climbed the Amazon charts to a ranking of 36,790. I could hardly believe it.
Sunday, my ebook climbed the Amazon Kindle ranking to 8,668. (The lower the number, the better.) I almost passed out.
So many of you rewteeted the link to Amazon, or people ended up buying my book because of your blog posts and support. Thank you so so much.

Some of you posted reviews on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and/or Goodreads. I made so many new Goodreads friends that I wanted to have a party. It was beyond exciting. Thank you so much.

But here's the thing I'm most thankful for: THE BEFORE.

So many of you have been blogging with me for months, some for years. We knew each other (even if only virtually) before I ever had a book deal. I read your posts, you read my posts. We laughed together, stressed together, struggled together, celebrated together, and LEARNED together. Sometimes we apologized for being too busy to read posts and comment (goodness knows I haven't been visiting and commenting as much as I'd like to lately.) But when my big day came, it meant the world to me to have so many of you there with me.

I am here because of you.

You have taught me, inspired me, encouraged me, comforted me, strengthened me, and humbled me. Writing, and the journey to publishing, is an emotional roller coaster. What fun is a roller coaster ride if you're on the coaster alone? Thank you for riding with me.
And please, don't jump off anytime soon. So many climbs and drops, and screams and laughs are still up ahead for all of us. It's way more fun if we ride together.

The success I had on my launch day was because of you.
I am well aware of that. I am grateful for that. I am grateful for you.

I am not a big-name author. I'm not on any Best Seller list. But some day, by some miracle, if I ever become somewhat big time, or if I ever make it onto an important list, I will not forget where I cam from.

I will remember how I got there.
I will remember all of the friends and supporters who helped me along the way.


Seriously, thank you so much. My gratitude is deeper than the oceans.


(I promise to post stats of the Underwater Web War soon. There are a lot of votes to tally!)

17 comments:

  1. WOW--I'm so glad the release went so well. So so deserved--and I can say that for a fact as someone who's part of the "before." I just realized I've been following your blog for over two years. SO glad I stumbled across you though the Internets, and I can't wait to watch wherever else your journey takes you. <3!

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  2. Aw, congratulations on the great response that you've received!:)

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  3. I'm with Shannon: you totally deserve it. :) I'm not entirely sure when I stumbled upon your blog, but I know it's been a while and I'm certainly happy I did. Here's to all the things to come! :D

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  4. Yay for Karen!!!

    And I'm not going anywhere. I'm here for you and CANNOT wait for the next installment!

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  5. Ah, this is wonderful news. I'm so glad your book did well. It's been fun riding the waves with you for a couple of years now. I'm looking forward to seeing what the future holds.

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  6. CONGRATULATIONS KAREN! Can't wait to see more from you. Way awesome.

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  7. Congratulations, love!! I know you've got nothing but even further success in your future <3 <3<3

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  8. This is an amazing tribute post! :)
    CONGRATS.

    And I'm certain the people who've been with you even before the book deal are very proud of you. G'luck on the rest of your journey.

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  9. THANK YOU, Karen, for being such a wonderful friend and writer! :)

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  10. TANGLED TIDES is the first time I've ever been in the acknowledgments for a book! I won't ever forget that. <3

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  11. congrats! I just popped on over here from Jessica Love's site. Your book looks and sounds great--just added it to my amazon wish list!

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  12. Thanks so so much, everyone. <3 :) *hugs all around*

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  13. YAY KAREN! I'm so thrilled for you...and I know you have tons of success waiting for you in the future. :-D

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  14. Such a sweet post. I am so happy for you and wish continued success for your book. I know I can't wait to read it!

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  15. That's right, someday we'll be saying "I remember Karen back when we were both just bumbling (me mostly) bloggers." It can happen! :)

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  16. You deserve all of this, girl.

    Love and miss you.

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  17. I am unable to read articles online very often, but I’m glad I did today. This is very well written and your points are well-expressed. Please, don’t ever stop writing.
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