So Much To Update, But Where To Start?

Hello! I just checked the date of my last blog post and I am overdue for an update!

So much has been going on since I have been back "online". My novel is going very well. I have been on a self-marketing learning curve via tiktok and am gaining true readership. It is a slow-growth model that I have created ad hoc for genuine interest in my writing. So far, I think it is working and I know zero about marketing. I didn't even think my tactic would even gain me one follower. But I had an idea, I tried it out, and I have been consistently gaining between 2-5 new followers a day. This is crazy, but in such an amazing way. In addition to gaining a following on TikTok for my debut novel, I also talk a bit about my work as a Geographer, although the platform is mainly for my novel. The next phase of growth and self-marketing began over a week ago with the launch of my first author newsletter! It is a monthly newsletter with exclusive looks at the novel that you will not find on social media, first look at the title announcement & cover art, and more! I am extremely happy to report that this newsletter list has been curated from followers on TikTok as well as from author and reader groups on other platforms. I am really proud at how I went about doing this and I think it will create an even more successful book launch and cultivate a strong readership following. I did my research, and the email list is solely in my possession. That means, it is a private database that only I have access to. So, if something happens to any of the subsequent social media platforms, my newsletter list remains and my readers still have direct access to my novel(s) updates. This is an extremely savvy way to maintain and cultivate readership following. My success is not at the invisible hands of social media, but rather, in my own hands. And, not everyone is going to want to follow along with everything. Some people just want the short blurbs on TikTok, and some prefer the longer narratives from a newsletter. In a world of busy, busy, busy, most people only have time for a quick snipped video to engage them. That is also why I am very happy to report that of this combined effort of over 130 followers, I have  around 50 people who have signed up for my newsletter list! This is amazing!! I can only project that of this readership following, my book will have at least 50 sales. Hopefully more if my methods continue to grow genuine readership. As an indie author, even one sale is celebratory. I truly hope that people are captivated by my stories and authorship. I don't want to put something out just to do it, I want it to be a well-written story that pulls you in and takes you on a journey of Sapphic romance and magic. 

If you would like to be part of my Newsletter list, just let me know and I will add your email and send over the first one:) I would love to have you join my debut novel journey!

Since this process is still a hobby (i.e. I am not getting paid for anything yet), I have set up a donation link to support the novel. Please do not feel obligated to donate, but if you would like to contribute something financially, please click here.  

In other news, I have accepted a job offer for a GIS Specialist position and will be starting next week! I am SO happy with this pairing. It is an immense opportunity for me with the potential for serious growth and longevity if I continue to work diligently at my GIS craft. I managed to do this the way I was taught about the career process way before social media networking. It was personable, genuine, and relied on my own ability to self-market my experience and skills. I had lost hope that these days were still around. With job openings flooding LinkedIn and other social media networking sites that have a very small return rate for employment offers, I was disheartened after sending out numerous applications for GIS jobs and only getting a minimal amount of interest. I decided to do things the way my mentors had taught me before LinkedIn existed. I reached out directly. I sent my resume. I engaged in conversation, and found a fit that is exactly what I was looking for. I don't know how I managed to find exactly what I was hoping to find. My goal was that I would be able to secure a job, but my hope was that I find a place where I could create a GIS department from the ground up, building my job security and career growth to lead to a GIS Manager position over time. This is exactly what I found. I am ecstatic to say that I am spearheading a GIS department for a company that does not yet have anyone doing this work. I get to lead the creation of this department. This is exactly what I was looking for at the very top of everything. I only hoped I could find this. I never thought it would happen. All the processes, all the work flows, all the database configurations and organization, all the map outputs will be my creation. In time, if I can do this is the way I think everyone wants, I can grow the department into something more robust and take on a managerial role. This is something, from my work experience, that most likely wouldn't happen in an established GIS department. There is so much opportunity for me to cultivate something of extreme value within this company that, starting next week, I will officially be a working part of!! 

I must be doing things right, despite all the difficulties that I have overcome. Things feel normal for me again. For a while, my intuition was off kilter, nothing was working out the way it usually did. I can only boil it down to lessons in my karmic contract, and those lessons have been learned. I wouldn't be succeeding right now, or feeling secure in my self again if it was not the case. My energy has shifted back to normal. My intuition has returned. Things are working out in the ways that I am used to by following the karmic rules that I have grown up by. I am no longer expecting the other shoe to drop, where for some years now, I was. That is finally over. My life is back to the path I was on. My karmic lessons have been learned and karmic contracts have expired. I can now return to my regularly scheduled human existence. The human incarnation is about soul growth and experience. I am of this Earth. My soul has walked this soil for a long time, in many incarnations. I choose this planet time and time again. It is my home.
And now, I am ready for the success that comes from hard work with my career!
I am so happy to be where I am right now. Thank you for being part of this with me <3

~Amanda