Sales, Wordcounts and the NYT Bestseller List

July was a wild, effing ride!

The not-so-great news first? I was shooting for 50K words on Blood Sacrifice. I made it to 24,608. So what was the problem?

There were several, my own headspace being the biggest. I didn't realize how much writing this blog relaxes me before I start on the day's fiction writing. So, I'm definitely going back to my MWFSa schedule.

Also, I usually have my research done and ready long before I start writing. This time I kept coming up with questions I hadn't thought to ask my Peruvian expert until I hit the necessary point in the story.

Then there's the issue of Blood Sacrifice being the first novel I've written since I finished the first draft of Zombie Wedding in February of 2010. Oh, I've written in the last two and a half years, but it's been eight novellas and short stories or novel rewrites. I need to get back in the long form groove, which I finally managed during the last full week of the July.

All-in-all, July was a major learning experience for me as a professional writer. Therefore, I don't regret my problems as long as I don't repeat the mistakes that caused them.

The EXCELLENT news is that I SOLD 587 books. And no, that number does NOT include the four hundred-plus copies of Zombie Confidential I gave away (still waiting on final numbers from the Smashwords distribution retailers).

The BEST news was not mine, but my friend's. Erotic romance author Lyla Sinclair is the person who nudged and prodded and shoved me to try indie publishing nearly two years ago. We don't always see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, but I know she has my best interests at heart.

Well, last week, Lyla hit #26 on the NYT Ebook Bestsellers' List with her latest Training Tessa. Today, she's at #17. I'm SO excited for her. This is a woman who works damn hard at her craft and still has time for noobs like me. If you love fun, flirty erotica, check out Lyla's website! And, Lyla, if you're reading this, I'm so damn happy for you!