Oops.

Uh, my finger slipped.

No, not on the highway. Nooo, not at the news. Not even at a political rally.

My finger slipped on my keyboard.

No, not on the numbers: I really was, at one time, sixty six thousand, one hundred and ninetieth best selling author out of the over six hundred and eighty thousand. Proud of that, still. I'll be even prouder to get into the top ten thousand best selling authors; yup, that's my goal.

Where was my finger slip? Well, I hit 'publish' before I meant too.

Hope you enjoyed the short blog missive. Now, here's the rest of my mind's meandering.

The numbers...what am I to do with these numbers? I could be disheartened, especially if I look 'up' at all the authors 'above me'. I could be encouraged if I look 'down' and see 'how far I've climbed'. This one's not likely. I'm not sure, but pretty confident, that 'all the authors' means all the authors who've ever been. In that case, I may literally not be among the living.

But that's okay. I've started. And, as I've heard at writers' conferences, and read on blogs and alliance publications, and been lectured to by my editor and friends and strangers, 'it's not a competition'.

Which is true. What is also true is that I like my little stories, and I think they are good enough for adults as well as children. And, I'd like people to read them. Even more, I'd love to hear feedback: how they can be improved, what doesn't seem right about them, what thoughts they've stimulated, if there's any idea or concept that delights or inspires or causes one to pause and take thought.

How to do make that happen? Well, it's the one aspect of this endeavor that is lowest on my 'prefer to do' list. Marketing. Ugh. I have to get a new name for it (suggestions, anyone?). Maybe, Invitations! I could do invitations. In fact, I'm gonna ponder that, and jot my thoughts on another post.

For now, the numbers. It is not a competition. But the numbers do tell me something--my stories are not shared by many, not read by many, because so few people know about them. So, the most important aspect of my number--66,190th out of over 680,000+--is, I have a lot of inviting to do.

Hope you have a good week. Let's all envy Canada, as it's officially Autumn, and the weather is officially Summer.