The Gentle Let Down.

I feel like my book is pretty successful. I mean, I'm no Stephenie Meyer, and I doubt I ever will be. Let's be honest for a second: I don't want to be her. Even though there is a ton of Twilight Love (myself included), there is a whole stinkin' lot of Twilight hate! I wouldn't want to hear all that bad stuff about my work.

Moving on.

Even though I sell a few copies of The Gifted every month, both Kindle and paper copy, I feel like there is no where to go but up. Being published on Amazon gives me access to readers across the world! In fact, I got my first international payment today, and that felt pretty darn good.

Even though readers practically everywhere can get their metaphorical hands on The Gifted, I still feel like there is so much potential that I'm missing out on by not having my book in stores. Namely Deseret Book, Costco, Seagull Book, Border's, etc.

So, just print off some books and drop them off, right?

Wrong.

Most big name book stores get their inventory from a distributor. The distributor has a contract with the book store, they take care of inventory and pricing and whatever. It's easier that way for everyone.

I sent in my book to a distributor that a lot of authors had personally recommended. I felt like this was it. I didn't even bother shopping around because I just knew this company would read The Gifted and know I was their next best-seller.

After seven weeks of silence on their end, I finally broke the rule and called. You never call! But I called. I should have just known before I called that the answer would be no.

It was a polite no, but it was still a no. They tried to make me feel good about it, but the sting of rejection didn't care how "successful I am on my own."

Now I feel like I'm back to square one. It's OK. I'm just disappointed. I will be moving on though and trying to find a distributor. If I don't find one, I'll just keep writing and maybe someday someone will say, "Hey, this is pretty good. We ought to put this in our store."

Wouldn't that be the dream?

I keep reminding myself that I don't write to make money and become famous (though my neighbor says I'm a celebrity at their house). I write because I have stories that deserve to be told. Pin It