I don’t have a lot to say this week, so I’ll start with a question.

How many books have I sold?

After a successful Kickstarter and many incredibly kind reviews, I launched Marrow and Soul 2.5 months ago. I had no expectations, and I held off on checking my sales stats for as long as I could. I’d hoped that my work over the past year on social media would yield substantial fruit.

Then I checked the numbers.

Between Amazon and IngramSpark (my distributor to B&N, etc.), I’ve sold 32 copies. That’s eBook, paperback, and hardcover. Not including 1,300 or so pages read on Kindle Unlimited, which amounts to a few more books if I’m being generous.

That’s…not a lot.

To be fair, my marketing has been a bit, well, shoddy. And I can list any number of reasons and excuses—algorithms, baby schedule, split focus, etc.—but news of this release has fallen mostly on uninterested ears.

I’m grateful that I even managed to write a book! And I’m amazed by the generosity of Kickstarter backers and of newsletter subscribers like yourselves in bringing this story to life. AND, through it all, I’m not depending on a breakout hit to feed my family. Avocado Tree Press’s editing business is growing, and I’m preparing for some lifestyle shifts to accommodate that.

But, if you’ll indulge my navel-gazing for four more paragraphs, comparison is a clever thief. The very platforms I use to bring readers into Safran’s story is inundated with equal parts success stories and gripes like the one you’re reading now. Everything, everybody is relative, and my self-esteem is vulnerable to the cold, impersonal, numerical rankings that define our online interactions.

What I don’t have can wreck me.

But what I do have—a captivating baby boy, a superheroine for a wife, a passionate compulsion (or compulsive passion?) for churning out thousands of words per week—surpasses every click, view, and purchase. And I refuse to let the things I don’t have shape the life I’m bringing my son into.

So if you want to buy my book or leave a review, I appreciate your support. On a completely unrelated note, though, here’s a faceless picture of Baby H.

April 27: Spellbound Bookstore!

Eight days from now, I’ll have a table at my first bookish event alongside several other talented Florida authors! Come say hi (and no, you don’t have to buy anything, but you’ll probably want to).

Writing Updates

SPOOKY SEQUEL // The edits are done! Theoretically, that is. I’ve worked through all of the manuscript’s major issues (either in my head or on the computer), and I know how I’m going to complete these revisions. Once my editor and I meet to go over these changes, I’ll dive into the second little “revision” tab you see on the Progress Bars image.

SPOOKY THREEQUEL // I’ve written five different character POVs in the past nine days. I should have been doing this the whole time, because it’s so much fun to jump into different characters’ heads. VESPER, whenever I actually start it, will have at least two POVs, which is exciting (for me, at least).

Taking on different POVs at a crucial juncture in the story has resulted in a lot of emotional writing. Each of these characters gets one chapter to face their demons (with mixed results), and it draws out everything they’ve been feeling throughout the preceding 250,000 words of the Vitalian Chronicles.

One POV remains to be drafted. Then we’re back to Safran for the wild, electrifying, staggering, and gut-punching 20,000-word finale to book 3!

Don’t forget about Indie Bookstore Day @ Spellbound Bookstore (if you’re in FL) or purchasing Marrow and Soul at your favorite online retailer!

-Addison