Okay, I admit it. I check my unit sales/downloads on Amazon and Smashwordsfar too much. At first, I found the information interesting and exciting."Wow, people are reading my work!"

It slowly has morphed into an obsession...

As soon as I get on the computer, I check to see how my books are doing. Icheer when things were up and whimper when things were down. (My worthiness asan author seems to be tied to the data.)

That is one hazard of being an indie author. You don't have an agent orpublisher telling you how great you are, nor do you have them there to explainwhat is to be expected and completely normal. You are in charge of it all.I, Red Phoenix, am not knowledgeable about marketing. I do not know what anaverage number of sales are for a new author, or how many reviews to expect perx amount of books purchased, etc. I am learning on the fly and evaluating basedon my own experience.

I freely acknowledge that I check the data more than I should because of mydesire to validate myself as an author. I do not think I am alone in this.While it is true that an author needs to be sensitive to sales, it is foolishto base one's worth as a writer simply on whether you made substantial salesover one particular hour/day/week. The roller coaster I put myself on is of myown design.

Struggling with the same addictionor have some advice? Please share!