One Year Anniversary of How to Stop Wildfire!
Well, it's been a crazy ride. It has been one full year since How to Stop Wildfire was originally published. This is the one year anniversary of How to Stop Wildfire. One whole year. Wow. It doesn't feel that long at all.
So much has happened and the time blew by pretty quickly. What exactly happened? Well, I'm going to list off what I can remember. I think it is good to do retrospectives sometimes to see how far we've come and all that jazz. So that's what's going to happen.
So April 22, 2015, I released How to Stop Wildfire as my first published work. The cover was originally this crap:
Please forgive me for it. It is terrible and I knew it at the time but I was so excited to get HTSW out there and to the world that I didn't pay attention to covers and stuff. I just wanted to show off my book to the world and I did.
I spoke about my work. Blogged. I didn't get any attention.
So I started thinking maybe I should re-do the cover and re-brand it. Make it look nicer and slicker. Also do a print copy. But I needed a better cover.
So I got my crap together and made a better cover:
A much needed improvement from the crappy original. Praise it, for it is wonderful in comparison.
With the new cover, I began to send out How to Stop Wildfire to reviewers, stabbing in the dark basically. I didn't really get anywhere with that. I got like one reviewer from that process. Better than nothing. Was working slowly on Harmonic Waves while earnestly trying to market How to Stop Wildfire and stuff. I finally made a print copy, of course. That was a huge moment for me. I could hold my accomplishment in my hands and feel it.
But, me being me, perfectionist and all, at some point I decided to make the cover better, again. So I got advice. I tweaked. I reworked. And we have the current cover:
It is awesome now. I love it. Super sleek and effective. I started posting stuff on twitter, blogging, using Medium in full earnest, and everything. Then on September 9th, 2015, I released Harmonic Waves, but that isn't the point of this point. It is about How to Stop Wildfire! The sweet, maybe clunky, first book in my endless saga of glory and awesomeness.
A few times along the road I did a few book blast-events and had great success. Picked up a couple reviews along the way. Got some fans! Spread my wings, so to speak. Began to establish myself as a legitimate indie author.
How to Stop Wildfire really didn't change much on the inside during this time. I re-uploaded it a few times to correct some minor typos, but nothing major shifted in its content.
The end of 2015 came, slowly and surely and completely expected and unexpected. I wasn't thinking of how much I had accomplished, just where I wanted to go. Finishing book three, Threads that Bind the Tempest, and keeping on along the path.
And here I am.
April 22nd, 2016, one year from the start of this amazing journey.
Where did How to Stop Wildfire end up? For the sake of transparency, I'm going to release my sales information, because I am not afraid. They are what they are and I am proud of myself.
| 2015 | 2016 | |
| Sold | 14 | 4 |
| Free | 217 | 17 |
So there it is. I hoped for better, but I am happy where I ended up. Better off than others. Better than nothing and I am proud.
I've learned so much throughout this process. I've written over three books. That is huge. I've made my dreams possible and I'm not stopping. The sky is the limit and I'm reaching for it and climbing up there.
Been a great one year. To all the next years, may they be even better.
Related/Recent Posts
How to Stop Wildfire Ninth Anniversary
Nine years gone. I’m at the precipice of a decade since How to Stop Wildfire. I feel like I’ve done enough yet haven’t done enough for it. The ten year mark coming up feels like a big milestone that deserves more to show for, but I don’t think there’s any amount of things where I’d think I’d done enough for it. So I’m just going to keep carrying on and doing what feels right. That’s all I can really do...
How to Stop Wildfire Eighth Anniversary
I find myself here, eight years on, without too much to say or reflect on in anything particular. Over this year, I’ve written things outside my domain and written more in it (including finishing The Lost). I’ve felt free to explore other ideas and random projects. Not much has come from it, realistically, but it has felt good and fun. I wonder if part of me is avoiding focusing too much on book 11—because it’s starting a big new part...