I wanted to share a quick little story to encourage anyone who is striving forward. KEEP AT IT! Sometimes, it may seem like everything is going wrong but you need to hang in there.
When I first published Girl Jacked, I was so excited waiting to get my first review. I kept checking Amazon using my phone and saw that I had finally gotten my 1st review. I closed my eyes and prayed that it was a good one. With trembling hands, my fingers clutched my phone and I read:
"This book is a quick read with characters that suck"
WHAT!?!? NO!!! I was so devastated I just stood there and read the words over and over again. "Characters that suck." "SUCK."
Well, I set my jaw, straightened up and decided to read the rest of the review. In any endeavor, you need to have thick skin and I was determined to read on and see what this person thought. I clicked on the review and saw the WHOLE review:
"This book is a quick read with characters that suck you in."
WHAT!?!?! My phone cut the sentence off. YEAH!!! SUCK YOU IN. The reviewer said SUCK YOU IN not just SUCK. YEAH!!!! Stupid smart phone!
Honestly, for a first review it was at first a kick in the head. I'm human. I hurt, bleed and cry. It's funny how quickly I jumped on the oh-no-we're-screwed train. I wanted to share the story to encourage you to not punch that ticket.
The other lesson I learned from my first review? God has a sense of humor... I laughed like crazy once I started breathing again and I laugh every time I think of it.