Awhile back, I got a friend request via GoodReads. This happens a couple times a week, and I never say no.

In fact, after I accept, I always click on “compare books.” Have you ever done this? It’s fun to see what others are reading, and how full their shelves are (people: full shelves are GOOD things!).

This person’s books surprised me. Two were anthologies I’ve got pieces in — With Love — Indie Authors United, and 25 Years in the Rearview Mirror, a compilation of guest blog posts to accompany Stacy Juba’s novel, 25 Years Ago.

And the third book on the list? Something I’d edited. I’m still sad that client moved on. Her work was so fresh, so haunting… but you can’t please ‘em all, I guess.

So what’s the point here for the writer to take home? Simple.

Get yourself out there. Interact with the community. Jump into an anthology or three if you can. The Indie Authors Unite anthology wasn’t juried; it was a group of us who wanted to put out a book and direct the royalties to Doctors without Borders. We wanted to make a difference in the world.

25 Years in the Rearview Mirror originally began as a series of blog posts. Stacy took them and turned them into a book. I believe it’s a free download; the Amazon page says “Pricing not available.”

Sometimes, it’s that easy to get your name out there. There may not be payment involved, but let me tell you: the thrill of seeing something you helped create show up on someone else’s GoodReads list is worth it.

Go on. Get yourself out there. See where you wind up.

It was the damndest thing. Before heading to a luncheon on Friday, I checked my sales over at Amazon, figuring I was doing nothing more than wasting time. Sure enough, nothing had changed since the morning.

This is why I usually only check in once a week.

But it’s Rocktober, and all the books are on sale and if there’s one thing all these cats have taught me, it’s that hope springs eternal.

I had a great luncheon. Think I’ll put in an application to the program it was introducing us to.

Less than three hours later, I got home and … yeah, I know. I shouldn’t have. I checked my sales numbers.

They’d gone up by 11.

What? My numbers NEVER rise that much in such a short period of time.

I checked again. It was a mistake, some glitch. Maybe Amazon had been slow to report during the week, and were now catching up.

13.

The day went like that, the numbers escalating wildly, until they’d increased by 50.

I never have days like this. Ever. Not even on release days. This is new territory.

Twenty more showed up overnight, before things slowed down. Like whatever promo I’d been an unwitting part of had ended. Yup, about 24 hours of dream come true…

If you know anything about this, fill me in on what happened, will you please?

And to all the people who’ve taken advantage of the Rocktober specials, thank you. A lot. Just remember… when you read something you like, be it my book or someone else’s, why not leave a few words in review?