How Amazon Changes Lives

I'm not sure if anyone who isn't an author understands how much it means when you sell a book.  For the last three years, I've tried to make a career out of writing.  When you're barely making a minimum wage salary and you continuously push to get your books in front of someone who might start a chain reaction of support, it's frustrating to say the least when you don't meet your goals. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to stay home as a housewife and work on my love of writing.  But with the youngest of our five children starting school this year, and the books not really moving, I was preparing to re-enter the work force.

Something amazing happened.  We released the book 10 Nights, and for reasons I still don't understand, people started buying it.  Not to say it's not a great book, it's our baby, but we've written other books that in our opinion were just as great.  It was like the Amazon gods had smiled down on us and said, we appreciate all your dedication and it's time for your reward!

In two months I've been able to create an income that I would have never been able to sustain in the outside work force.  Meaning that if not another book sold this month, I've already surpassed what I could have earned and this affords me the opportunity to stay home and continue to write.  As the mother of five, four who are still dependent on our care, this is a huge deal.  I was dreading having to go back to work and not just because I knew it would curtail my time writing.  I like being able to be there when my kids get off the school bus, to know I won't have to miss any of their events, and to be the mom who still can say she's still pulling her weight.  Amazon gave me that opportunity, and since I can't think of any other way to thank them, I wanted to write this post and share how grateful I am.

You'll notice I'm switching tenses in this post, because I'm not the only author.  Mr. Jones and I are both marveling over how successful 10 Nights has become.  It's been amazing to work with Mr. Jones long distance and I know he's just as thrilled as I am on how far we've come.  I can say that we both struggled for years trying to get our work before people and have felt the ups and downs that most self-published authors constantly deal with.  From the bad book reviews, to the lack of support when you go years without making progress, it's a huge investment of time and emotion and until that moment when you can see your name on a bestseller list, you wonder why you do it.  This moment, right now and here, this is why we do it!

To other authors out there that are struggling, I just want to say keep pushing!  Don't give up your dreams because you never know when that dream is going to become a reality.  Support each other, and be the shoulder when things aren't going well and the fan club when things are going great!  We are all after the same goal the number one best seller list, BUT we can also be supportive and not allow negativity to draw us down when we see our peers doing something we desperately long for.  I've been there many times and had to remind myself that they deserved to be in that spotlight.  Every self-published author gives so much of themselves to their craft, and I talk most about the indies because that's what I know.

Thank you so much to all the incredible people who've supported us, we know who you are and we will always be forever grateful.  We will always be Amazon fans because they were the one company that helped to push our book.  Amazon, from the bottom of my heart, I love you! Thank you so much for making a dream come true for a wife, mother, and housewife in Alabama!