Drumroll please….
Last Thursday I got an email and found out that The Six Train to Wisconsin is a 2013 USA Best Book Awards Finalist in the cross-genre fiction category!
I was so happy, I danced around my desk and kissed Emerson. He tolerated it.
Then I fired off a bunch of emails to get the image above and send it to my cover designer to add to the book cover. I drafted a press release and sent it to several local papers. And I let everyone on FB know about it.
This means that the USA Book News website will keep Six Train visible on their website for 10 more months! That’s incredible visibility for an indie author.
And I owe a big big thank you to Carrie Rubin. Her novel, The Seneca Scourge, was an 2012 USA Best Book Awards Winner for the fiction ebook category and she inspired me to enter Six Train in this contest.
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Now onto some sales stats. All sales numbers are in for October. I sold 80 copies of Six Train. Woohoo.
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I’m scheduled to do a book club chat via Skype on Tuesday night at 11:45 pm for another LA book club. I’m so excited because the hostess is cooking Austrian food and it sounds like an epically awesome night.
I’m also judging declamations at Chase Collegiate on Friday morning.
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I’ve been working on the outline for Six Train’s sequel. Researching stuff and touching base with experts who can help me.
I got to chat with the awesome Terry Brennan about Brennan’s Green Brier in Butternut. So so great that he could find time to share an insider’s perspective. And he totally sparked my imagination for that scene. Thanks Terry!
Kourtney, this is so exciting! Although in my opinion, nobody is more deserving of the honor. You’ve worked incredibly hard to not only produce a great story, but to get your work in front of readers. Your journey has been inspirational, and I’m excited to hear about a sequel in the works. I recently finished reading the Seneca Scourge, also a great book with a jaw-dropping twist I never saw coming! Proof that you’re in good company with this award.
If you want to update your swag with the award image before sending me a pile, let me know. Congrats on a fantastic honor.
Thanks Gwen! I’m excited to be outlining. I missed these characters. Though we’ve been close all year as I talk about the book and try to spread the word. It’s good to hang out with them in my head again. Carrie’s book was exactly the kind of ending I enjoy. 😉 Aw thanks. I can’t update the swag. It’s was all ordered a while back, so I’m sending out what I have. I will be updating the book cover and will be adding the sticker to the copies I have here to sell though. 🙂
O!M!G! Doing the happy dance for you. That totally rocks!! Sending you a HUGE and well-deserved congrats! 🙂
Thanks Mae! It’s still sinking in. 🙂 Hugs, K
What exciting news, Kourtney! Congratulations! I’m sure Emerson is so proud! 🙂
Thanks. 🙂 I’m not sure he cares that he’s now sleeping with an award winning author. LOL. But I like to pretend it matters to him. 😉
Wow! What awesome news! Congratulations!
Your book was already 2nd on my list to read, but it’s now rocketed right to the top! Now I just can’t wait!
Thanks! That’s great to hear. 🙂 I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Fantastic News Kourtney. I’m so pleased for you. Fingers crossed it’s a winner and your sales increase a lot now.
xxx Cwtch xxx
Thanks David. 🙂 Hoping it helps increase holiday sales a bit. I’m easing off the marketing machine to write more. 🙂
Congratulations!
Thanks so much! 🙂
Congratulations again on your finalist win. I’m really happy for you and feel it’s well deserved! And thanks so much for the mention. 🙂 Good luck with your Skype chat!
Thanks Carrie! I would never have known about the contest without your win last year. So thank you! Looking forward to chatting with the book club. Hope Skype is well behaved and not glitchy. 🙂
Congratulations! That’s so exciting! Thanks for sharing all of this with us.
Thanks Christi! It’s been such a crazy journey. I’m glad to be able to share it with my blog buddies. 😉
You go girl so happy
Thanks Jeannie! It wouldn’t be nearly as awesome without my buddies in Butternut to share it with! 🙂
Kourtney, this is brilliant news,Life is sure getting exciting 🙂 xxx
Thanks Sue! It’s so awesome and unexpected when your work gets recognized. I’m really excited to put those stickers on my book. 😉
I bet. but well deserved Kourtney, you have put your heart and soul into them 🙂
Thanks Sue. I’ve never worked harder for anyone or anything. 🙂 But I’ve never been happier working so hard for something I believe in. 🙂
Congratulations, Kourtney! This is a wonderful achievement. I have my fingers crossed for you!
Thanks Naomi! 🙂 Aw, I really appreciate it. So thrilled that Six Train is getting noticed. You do your best but it’s good to have someone say it’s your best. 🙂
Whoopity doo dah!!! So pleased for you! I’m genuinely looking forward to reading Six Train when I finish my studies and can get back to reading fiction again. (And not just because of this, I was looking forward to reading it anyway!).
That is the best response yet. 🙂 Thank you! Thanks for having it in your TBR pile. LOL. Glad to hear that. My pile is so out of control. Every time I want to read, I think I should write or promote or read a writing magazine. And reading fiction falls to the bottom of the list again.
Congratulations, Kourtney! I am realy impressed how much off-line stuff you are doing. You go girl!
Thanks Catherine. 🙂 I’ve been trying to do a mix of everything but as the budget runs low I’m shifting to doing more online promotional stuff. 🙂
Mazel! Way to go Kourtney!! 😀
Thanks! I’m so thrilled Six Train made it to finalist! 🙂
SOOO exciting! Fingers crossed, again. 😉
Appreciate it! Sometimes it’s just about putting your work out there and seeing what the world thinks. 🙂 I’ve been lucky that these judges responded so well to it!
Woo Woo. Kudos To you
Thanks! 🙂 And the award winning author just wrapped up two loads of laundry and fed the dogs. Planning to play with emerson next for a little bit.
Judging declamations? That sounds fun to me if it is about judging speeches given by students, unless they are speeches in Latin (I think the latter is unlikely, since that’s probably something that would only have occurred at the prep schools of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s day).
It is the former. 🙂 7th and 8th graders. Looking forward to it.
Congratulations again, Kourtney! 🙂 I think you’re winding up 2013 with some great momentum to spark your Muse for 2014!!
Thanks JM! It’s funny how you lay groundwork in the spring and you reap the harvest in the fall. I entered a few contests back in May/June. They slid off my radar for a while and then a few delighted me with finalist wins. 🙂 Definitely closing the year on a high note as I cut back on promo time and ease into outlining mode.
That is fantastic news Kourtney, congratulations! And well done on the sales – also an incredible achievement. Onwards & upwards!
Thanks Gemma. 🙂 It’s been a very good year for Six Train. 🙂 This birthday I looked back and was proud of all I did in a year. 🙂
I can imagine – in this industry, 1 sales is an achievement let alone 80 in a month!
Yes, especially for an indie. It’s all on my shoulders to generate sales. So I celebrate each and every one. 🙂
Congrats Kourtney, how exciting and good luck!
Thanks Victoria! 🙂
2013 is your year, that’s for sure. Great news, Kourtney. Those lit agents don’t know what they missed! Or, maybe they do now, lol. 🙂
LOL. It certainly feels way way better than 2012 or 2011. 🙂 I think from their perspective they were right. This isn’t a book that sold 10,000 in a week or a month. So it wasn’t the moneymaker they were looking for. But it was the story I wanted to tell. Go Indie!
Congratulations! Very exciting and I’m proud to have so many award-winning and finalist friends out there! You deserve it after all the work you’ve put into your book. Now make sure to relax and celebrate!
Thanks Sheila. 🙂 LOL. I am trying to go back to a 5.5 day workweek. But there is always so much to do to keep every project moving forward. The time I’m not putting into promoting is going into outlining. 😉
That’s brilliant Kourtney, many congratulations!
Aw thanks Andrea! 🙂 Truly appreciate your support. 🙂
Awesome, Kourtney! Congratulations! 😀
Thanks Mayumi! 🙂
To be a finalist is a winner in its own right, and that you entered Six Train makes you a star – Carrie too. I’m just so impressed with what you’ve accomplished not only as an Indie author but publisher, marketer, promoter, event manager… as well 🙂
Thanks EllaDee. 🙂 That means so much. I do my best with each one. Sometimes I’m busier at one than the other and sometimes one has to be put on hold. It’s the biggest time management challenge I’ve ever faced. 🙂
Congratulations, Kourtney! You’re hard work is paying off.
Thanks Lori! Lots and lots of groundwork laying months ago. Sometimes you get a cool win and sometimes not. But the wins make the loses easier. 🙂
Congratulations, Kourtney!!!
Thanks Coleen. 🙂
Many congratulations. Great to have some recognition for your work. Well done!
Thanks. It really does help. Especially if one happens to receive a one star review around that time. 😉