In addition to being a celebration of the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on 5 May 1862âwhich has morphed into a popular celebration of Mexican culture and food–Cinco de Mayo was my first anniversary of being a published author.
For some reason, Amazon lists the publication date as April but THE HIDDEN LIGHT OF MEXICO CITY was officially released 5 May 2012. Hereâs the press release.
Was it only a year ago
The week that it was published I texted myself a wishlist of what I would consider to be success as a published author after 1 year. Â Â Written on the trusty notepad feature of my antique Blackberry here is the complete text:
Success as a writer after a year:
- Sold 100 copies of  HIDDEN LIGHT
- 2 books listed on amazon.com
- 100 visitors to my blog
- Got published on Huffpost
- Got mentioned in a blog or other online venue I donât own
Reality Isn’t so bad
So how does reality stack up?
- Sold nearly 400 copies of  HIDDEN LIGHT (and received real checks!)
- 2 books, HIDDEN LIGHT and CLIFF DIVER, are listed on Amazon. Thenext book, HAT DANCE, is scheduled for a late July release
- This blog has received some 6000 visitors
- Iâve done guest posts and interviews which are listed here
- Every reviewer on amazon has given my books a 4 or 5 star rating and 61 percent of CLIFF DIVER reviewers said they wanted to read more in the series.
Sadly, I have not been published on Huffpost but I also didnât submit anything except a short story last week for Rita Wilsonâs project to see what women over 50 are writing. I assume my effort is lost in the slush pile but it was good incentive to write an Emilia Cruz story which I’ll soon make available from this website as a free download.
What I Learned Along The Way
So have I been a huge commercial success in my first year of being a published author? Of course not. This is a marathon, not a sprint. But here is what I did do:
- Exceeded expectations that I thought a year ago were virtually unachievable
- Recognized that my goals should be those that I can control and  reasonable for the resources available to me
- Embraced the fact that I am engaged in a massive learning process to master new skills (blog design, marketing, etc) because there is more to this author business than just writing
- Realized that I am providing readers with both a quality entertainment experience and a learning experience, just as I had always intended to do
Related post: Why Read a Book About Mexico
Related post: Be Angry and Pray Hard
Looking Ahead
So what will my second year as a published author bring? Hereâs the next wishlist. Weâll check the progress on 5 May 1014. In the meantime, wish me luck!
- 5 books listed on amazon (yes, 5)
- Redesigned website with free download of Emilia Cruz mini-anthology
- Re-release of HIDDEN LIGHT with new cover, lower price, and at least 1 promotion
Are you a goal-setter too? Let me know what your goals are and how you stick to them.
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CARMEN AMATO
Mystery and thriller author. Retired Central Intelligence Agency intel officer. Dog mom to Hazel and Dutch. Recovering Italian handbag addict.
Great post đ let me know if you still need a cover artist for Hidden Light đ
I’ll keep your offer in mind. Thanks for reading!
Woo-hoo, woo-hoo. Cheering you from Bethany Beach, where the fish are biting and the wine is good. You go girl!
Virtual toast! Could not have come this far without your moral support!
Well done, Carmen, on achieving your goals, and I wish you success for this next year.
Thank you so much!