The Adventure Begins

So, the adventure begins.  After writing close to fifty agent query letters, receiving multiple rejections from overworked agents, and growing impatient with the remaining 20ish agents, I have decided to throw off the bonds of Big Books and venture into the anarchy of self-publishing.  In light of the fact that eBooks took nearly 10% of the market from their antiquated paper brethren in 2010, it seemed a rational choice to throw my lot in with my new favorite publishing website, Smashwords.  Their store makes distribution a cinch.  Add to that the quaint little marketing tools of Facebook and Twitter, and I'm thinking it just might be possible to end up with a decent audience for my debut release.  The biggest problem with "selling" my book, in my opinion, is the "selling" part.  How do I try to convince people to read what I've written without sounding either egotistical or cheesy?  Alas.  I'm hoping that people will take the promo spots and see through them to the fun and sincerity of my works.  I love to write.  For me, it's fun, it's therapeutic, and it's thought-provoking.  Exactly the reactions I want my books to elicit in their readers as well.  I'm in a good place.  My life does not depend on the success or failure of these books that I've written.  Unlike many, I have too much on my plate that requires my uncompromising attention for my personal happiness to hinge upon acceptance or rejection by the masses.  Narcissism is not my goal.  Instead, I hope that my readers will draw inspiration from the heart of my books; that they will see that life is about redemption, and that it is available to all. -Cari