So, SHIFT has been out in the world for a week now. People keep congratulating me and asking me how it feels. And I’ll be honest: I don’t actually know.

That’s not to say I’m feeling the flat sense of anti-climax I know a lot of debut authors experience. I’m still excited and positive and hopeful. It’s just that I’m exactly as excited and positive and hopeful as I was the day or the week before SHIFT was published.

I think it’s been made slightly more complex by the fact that I had four sort of launches before the book came out. I did a panel at Blackwells Charing Cross on August 16^th, where the lovely Den Patrick arranged to have copies of my book for sale. That was the first time I got to see my book for sale in a shop (launch 1). I then had the Strange Chemistry launch party on the 23^rd August, followed by a small gathering with my friends and family the day after (launch 2 & 3). And finally, I did a reading and signing in the Book Cellar in Chicago on the 30^th August. All of this before the official publication date (launch 4)! So when the 6^th September came around, I already felt like it was fully launched and out there in the world.

Added to this is the fact that ARCs of Shift have been out with reviewers for months and the idea of a single publication day has blurred.

People have started texting and tweeting me pics when they see Shift in a shop or when it arrives on their doorstep. And that’s never getting old. Neither is signing books for people. It’s only then when it feels real for me. When I see the physical book on a shelf, or in someone’s hand. That’s when the loony grin breaks out.

First copy of Shift spotted in the wild be @daydreamin_star

A year ago, my husband asked me what my measure of success was. Not an easy question to answer, as it can boil down to so many things. For some, success is all about sales. For others, it’s all about awards. Or peer approval. Or reviews. Or a hundred other ways you can measure your goals. (I recommend you ask yourself that question, it can help focus your efforts so you know you’re working towards the right thing.) For me, it was seeing my book in a shop. And last week, that happened – all across the globe.

So how am I feeling? Pretty damn good.