There was a lot about the fall of 2020 that was distressing and depressing and generally speaking not good. However, I found out yesterday that there was at least one small silver lining of which I hadn’t been aware. By the close of the year, my debut novel Memento Mori: The Fathomless Shadows had earned out its advance.
This is not monumental or earthshaking news, and maybe it’s really only of interest to me and my publisher, Ross E. Lockhart of Word Horde. This means that the earned royalties from book sales (print and ebook) have exceeded the amount I was paid as an advance on those royalties. I’ll actually be receiving another check!
As of the New Year, there are over 1,000 copies of my book out there in the world, on people’s shelves, and in their tablets. For someone just starting out in publishing, that feels pretty good. It’s a modest milestone that Christina and I will take an opportunity to celebrate this week.
Of course, if you haven’t read Memento Mori, and you’re the kind of person who likes weird fiction, The King in Yellow, underground horror films, Riot Grrrl zines, and general strangeness, then by all means purchase a copy and give it a go. I think you’ll enjoy it.
I also need to give a quick shout out to my publisher, Ross (buy all of his books!), who obviously took a chance on me and the book to begin with, and who is also an excellent person with whom to do business. Small press publishing sounds like a minefield sometimes, but Ross has a well-earned reputation as a stand-up dude who tirelessly promotes his authors and their work.
Finally, this post also comes courtesy of Molly Tanzer (buy all of her books, too!), who graciously invited Memento Mori to be part of the Word Horde StoryBundle in the fall. Without a doubt, it was those sales that pushed the novel over the top.
And if you already bought and/or read, THANK YOU, TOO! (Please consider leaving a rating and/or review on Amazon, GoodReads, etc. They really do help a lot.)