2010 BY THE NUMBERS

You may recall that every year I choose one little word to be my focal point. I'm not sure yet what my word will be for 2011, but I can tell you that 2010's word was "celebrate."

And celebrate I did!

Delivering a debut novel to the world has been a grand adventure. I've learned so much about myself and met so many wonderful people I would never have known otherwise. I am so grateful.

Here's the hard data an intense look at my calendar revealed:

100 + formal presentations
11 states
30 schools
16 bookstores
13 libraries
9 conferences
3 quilt guilds
3 Skype visits
2 book festivals

and

10,000 + miles on my van!

So many fantastic moments... some heartbreakers, too. Ups and downs and all-arounds.

Was it worth it?

This came up on the Class of 2k10 listsrv recently, because book promotion is such a confusing world to navigate, and because we live in a culture that is driven by the one number I didn't list above: number of books sold.

I'm curious about how many books have sold (and how my efforts affect that number), and I look forward to my next royalty statement. But that's not how I measure worth. It is simply ONE indicator of success.

Writing and sharing stories with others, making those human connections-- that's my purpose. And while I don't expect/plan to live another year quite like 2010, I am proud and pleased that I spent so much time these past months in celebration of what I love. Ultimately the measure of worth has to come from within. Only you can answer that question for yourself.

My answer: YES

And THAT is something to celebrate.