My Annual Birthday Wish List

My birthday is this Friday. About a month before, my family starts asking what I want. From a personal perspective, I struggle to answer this question because there's not a lot I want. If I do want something, I usually buy it, which doesn't leave a lot of choices this time of year.

As a writer, I can easily answer this question. If you're one of my longtime readers, you already know the answer, but there's one thing this year that I think it will surprise you.

Okay, so what do I want?

Reviews, I always want reviews of my books. Reviews on Amazon have a direct relationship to how much promotion effort the online retailer does for the book. The more reviews a book has, the more likely it's promoted. I also like seeing reviews. If they're good, they make me happy, make me want to write more. If they're bad, they give me a means to improve my craft.

 Book sales are another great gift idea. Last year, I finally achieved a longtime goal. I became an Amazon best selling author with my m/m romance novel, Going Inksane. Now, I would like to become a NY Times and USA Today best selling author. The only way that happens is through book sales. All of my novels are $3.99 or less. Hopefully, the low price point motivates people to buy.

People taking a moment to promote one of my books on Friday would be a great present. Word of mouth is an effective sales tool. The more people that say they like my books, the more likely it will attract new readers.

Join my Facebook group. That's a new thing I'm trying in my promotion efforts. So far, it's slow going. There are around thirty members. I'm hoping that as I release more books, books that people hopefully like, that more readers will join. I would love to have the level of engagement some of my peers and idols have.

This year, you'll be surprised to hear that I want to be a finalist in the Lambda Literary Awards. For those of you who don't know, the Lammy is an award given to authors of LGBTQ books. Finalists are being announced tomorrow with the winners awarded in June. I entered my novel, The Truth Inside, for consideration in the transgender romance category. This new adult novel tells the story of an up and coming MMA fighter in his first relationship with a woman since his transition. The cover also features transgender activist and model Jeffrey Rubel. Since my birthday is Friday, and finalists are being announced tomorrow, being a finalist would be the best present ever.

There you have it, my annual birthday wish list. It doesn't change much, does it?