Happy Birthday, Spin the Golden Light Bulb!
I couldn’t pass up the chance to shout out my debut novels’ 5th publishing birthday. So here I am, thinking back to January 9, 2018, and after all this time, doing my best to let this milestone sink in. Getting published is a huge accomplishment and to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever let myself feel proud of it. Not really.
Holding your published book in your hand, comes with a lot of expectations. And in my experience from that time, most of the expectations were ones that I put on myself. I had such high hopes for this book, like ridiculously high. Nothing short of best-seller status would be a success. That wasn’t because I thought Spin the Golden Light Bulb was the best middle grade book ever written. It was because I was naïve. I had no real idea what to expect and therefore I wasn’t able to manage my expectations very well. As a result, I stressed over sales too much and always thought I should be doing more to help market the book.
The problem with that, among other things, is that I wasn’t living in the moment. I wasn’t enjoying the fact that Spin the Golden Light Bulb was actually published! Sure, I was proud of myself. Of course, I was. I was happy and thrilled on pub day. We had a book launch of my dreams with my family, friends, writing group, and critique partners all around me to celebrate. It was a wonderful blur—a night I will never ever forget.
But in the days and months that followed, I never took time to let it all sink in. I let publishing worries get in the way. So today, five years later, I’m taking a moment to revel in this milestone and share my gratitude. Kids are reading my book and that’s truly all I ever wanted. And even better, they’re reading the whole series, following Kia Krumpet and her imaginative team on their global adventures and have been for five years! My heart is full just thinking about that.
So today, I’m drinking my coffee out of this cute mug…another reminder that I really am a published author and that dreams really do come true.
As always, thanks for sharing this journey with me and don’t forget to stop back on Wednesday. I have a new post for you, waiting in the wings.
swirl and spark 