B is for Bestseller - Insecure Writers Support Group

The first Wednesday of the month is devoted to an article about the writing life for the Insecure Writers Support Group. In also keeping with the A-Z Challenge,  today’s letter is B, for Bestseller.

I recently became a bestselling author. No, I didn’t make any of the “lists.” When authors say “bestseller list,” they generally mean the New York Times and USA Today. Hitting those lists and being able to put that designation on your books is like grabbing the brass ring. It’s a great goal to reach for and it’s a mark of success that’s recognized in the writing world.

But as writers, we too often despair of making those lists, and beat ourselves up if we don’t. Goals are good, but we also need to stop and pat ourselves on the back occasionally for reaching other important milestones. For me, “bestselling” meant that in March I had my best selling month ever and reached a personal milestone of selling more books in one month than ever before. Some authors sell more than my number in 3 minutes. But where I might lament selling so “few”, I was quickly reminded by another author, also just starting out, like me, that she would KILL to sell that many.

Writers tend to be their own worst critics and we set high standards for ourselves. We need to remember to celebrate the journey as well. Celebrate all the small steps that lead to making those lists. Finishing a chapter. Finishing a book. Surviving a tough round of revisions. Publishing a book. Making sales, no matter how many. 

 

Let’s chat: If you’re a writer, is making a bestseller list one of your goals (or have you already made it?) Do you celebrate milestones, and if so, how (mine always includes cake!)? If you’re a reader, does “bestselling author” on the cover impact what you buy? Do you check the bestseller lists for new books?

Our theme this month is favorite books and authors. Today's "B" list:


L.B. Beckett: Guild of Spies: A fantastical Victorian-feeling adventure with steampunk elements in an almost real place, in an almost real time.
 

Byron: star of the Cassa novels by Alex J,Cavanaugh, sci fi military space opera action!

 

Steve Berry: Action thrillers with a good dose of history and exotic locations, for fans of Dan Brown

 

Lisa Brackmann: Thrillers with wonderfully gritty realism, complex characters, and exotic locations.

Trophy image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Teapots, Chicken Bog and PJs

My guest today is USA Bestselling author,Catherine Mann. She shares some thoughts that aren't new to any of us in today's world. Seems like we all have too much to do and not enough time to do it all. Catherine also shares an excerpt of her newest series on Elite Forces.

Raise your hand if you’re overworked, stressed, maxed out and need a vacation?

Okay, I’m confident hands are shooting up fast. Mine sure has been raised especially high this week. Already exhausted and irritable, I raced through chores tonight while desperately searching for an idea for this blog that’s supposed to promote my new pararescue (PJ) series.

One of my kids walked by with a question – and I shushed her as I changed over laundry loads, needing to get back to the meal cooking on the stove. She did hush (probably because of the steam blasting from my ears as hot as the pan threatening to boil over!) As she walked away with her head down, my gaze gravitated to my teapot with four angel faces.

The laundry fell out of my hands and my eyes filled with tears.

To backtrack, I have over a dozen teapots, each with a story about how it came into my life. But the angel teapot… well, it’s special.

On the surface, it means a lot to me because my husband bought it for Mother’s Day, the four angel faces representing our four children.

However, the teapot has an even deeper significance. If you’ll notice in the photo, the teapot doesn’t have a lid. And it never will again.

Years ago, a dear friend of mine – Jeri - was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. Determined to stay active as long as possible, once she became wheelchair bound, she took pottery classes. Jeri asked a mutual pal of ours to sneak the lid from the angel teapot out of my house so she could make matching teacups. Jeri wanted to thank me for the chicken bog (a Southern recipe) that I often made for her, the one food she could stomach after chemo and radiation.

Jeri’s health faded faster than expected. She wasn’t able to make the cups.
As I went to see her in the hospital for the last time, on my way I mailed a manuscript to my agent. Usually when I sent off a manuscript, I would anxiously wait to hear back, wishing away the weeks, craving that sale call. But when I mailed the manuscript that day, I vowed to myself I would never again wish away time when Jeri would give anything for one more day with her husband and children.

Later, our friend who’d snuck the teapot lid from my house called to arrange to return the lid. I told her to please keep it. And I would keep the teapot open as a reminder of Jeri and the importance of cherishing each moment.

Tonight, the pot on my stove is full of chicken bog again for another family friend with cancer, the wife of my kids’ coach. My angel teapot is open. The laundry still isn’t finished. But I hugged my teenage daughter and listened to the song she wanted to share with me.

Then, I came downstairs to write this blog. And as I thought about Jeri, I also recalled the book I dedicated to her years ago, one of my early Wingmen Warriors books – FULLY ENGAGED. It features a breast cancer survivor heroine/pilot who falls for… a PJ. A pararescueman/parajumper. (http://www.catherinemann.com/fully-engaged/ )

Life came full circle for me in that moment as I thought about that PJ hero and how I’m now in the middle of launching an entire series about PJs. There it was. My blog topic – I needed to write about angel baby teapots, chicken bog for friends, PJ stories that celebrate heroes. How life weaves itself together if we take the time to celebrate each thread, each moment.

So right now, I’m celebrating the chance to blog (I do love to write!) I’m also grateful to have teenagers who do want to talk to me – most of the time. And I’m grateful for each of you who came over to read what I had to share today. Thank you. Truly.

• What is something or someone you’re grateful for this week?

~*~*~

COVER ME BY CATHERINE MANN—IN STORES JULY 2011

It should have been a simple mission…


Pararescuman Wade Rocha fast ropes from the back of a helicopter into a blizzard to save a climber stranded on an Aleutian Island, but Sunny Foster insists she can take care of herself just fine…

But when it comes to passion, nothing is ever simple…

With the snowstorm kicking into overdrive, Sunny and Wade hunker down in a cave and barely resist the urge to keep each other warm… until they discover the frozen remains of a horrific crime…

Unable to trust the local police force, Sunny and Wade investigate, while their irresistible passion for each other gets them more and more dangerously entangled… Excerpt (bottom of website page) Book Trailer

BUY: In stores or online and print or e-book.  Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books A Million

~*~*~*~

USA Today bestseller Catherine Mann has over two million books in print in more than twenty-five countries.  A RITA Award winner, she resides in the Florida panhandle with her military flyboy husband, their four children, and an ever-growing menagerie of pets.  Find Catherine on Facebook at Catherine Mann (Author) and Twitter @CatherineMann1.  Or check out her website at: http://www.catherinemann.com/.