The Moment

The moment you finish your first manuscript.

The moment you write your first query letter.

The moment you re-write your first query letter.

The moment you get your first rejection.

The moment you get your fifty-second rejection.

The moment you discover who Joe Konrath is.

The moment you delete your query letter.

The moment you learn what KDP stands for.

The moment you discover what formatting means.

The moment you see how much Photoshop cost.

The moment you discover The Passive Voice.

The moment you realize you’ve been lurking on Kboards for thirteen hours straight.

The moment you finish reading your copy of Wool.

The moment you find a cover artist that “gets you”.

The moment you realize you really do need an editor.

The moment you stay home from the party to make your editors changes.

The moment you realize you forgot to eat.

The moment you realize you wrote five thousand words in one sitting.

The moment you have a file ready to publish.

The moment you understand that Select is a noun.

The moment you hover over the publish button.

The moment you click it.

The moment you see your first sale.

The moment you watch someone reading your book for the first time.

The moment when you come back and they’re still reading it.

The moment you get your first review.

The moment you run out of friends and family.

The moment you see a flat red line.

The moment you search for threads about promotion.

The moment you have enough reviews for Bookbub.

The moment you get turned down by Bookbub.

The moment you discover Kris Rush.

The moment you start writing the next book.

The moment you have your first overseas sale.

The moment you attend your first book fair…as an author.

The moment you start your blog.

The moment the spambots find it.

The moment you try building a website.

The moment you research hiring someone to build you a website.

The moment you finish your second book.

The moment PG posts one of your blog posts.

The moment you find an editor you really click with.

The moment your sales pick up.

The moment you get your first fan mail.

The moment you have the courage and knowledge to answer a newbies question on Kboards.

The moment Hugh tweets about something you wrote.

The moment you buy a book about business.

The moment you get a PO Box in the name of your publishing company.

The moment you finish your third book.

The moment you find an accountant who explains that you are not getting “royalties”.

The moment you get accepted by Bookbub.

The moment you make your first book free.

The moment you see the magic of Bookbub.

The moment you wake up with a sore finger from pushing “refresh”.

The moment your book is on a chart.

The moment you get a notice from KDP telling you they are making a deposit into your account.

The moment you withdraw the money and take your wife/husband out to dinner.

The moment books two and three start selling.

The moment you get pirated for the first time.

The moment really start worrying about taxes.

The moment you measure the square footage of your “office”.

The moment you go part time at the day job.

The moment you write an outline on a cocktail napkin.

The moment you list “writer” on forms where it says “occupation”.

The moment you embrace Obamacare.

The moment you quite the day job.

The moment you finish book four and go wide.

The moment you discover a reason to hate Google.

The moment you thank TK.

The moment you get fan mail from overseas.

The moment another author seeks you out for advice.

The moment your kid tells a stranger “My dad’s a writer!”

The moment your new business cards come in the mail.

The moment the local writers club asks you to speak at their meeting.

The moment you think you understand Apple.

The moment you realize that nobody understands Apple.

The moment you can read Shatzkin, understand what he’s trying to say, and laugh.

The moment complete strangers like your Facebook posts.

The moment you get recognized in the airport.

The moment you gift your mom a copy of your next book.

The moment you call Lightning Source and they already know who you are.

The moment the local bookstore stocks one of your books.

The moment Amazon assigns you a rep.

The moment an agent calls and you realize they have nothing to offer you.

The moment you realize the call was from an agent who turned you down once already.

The moment you realize you can tell a good agent from a bad one in three questions or less.

The moment you realize you’ve memorized the exchange rate for lbs vs. dollars.

The moment you realize you’ve been self-employed for over a year.

The moment you stop obsessively worrying about sales.

The moment you kill that laptop that was new only one year ago.

The moment you realize you work more hours now than you did at the day job.

The moment you consider hiring a personal assistant.

The moment KU happened.

The moment you realize that nothing really happened.

The moment you buy your new car with “book money”.

The moment you send off autographed books to fans.

The moment you have to explain to the kids that daddy’s working, not playing on the computer.

The moment every morning when you turn off the phone so you can write.

The moment you wake up to 72 emails.

The moment you tell Konrath he’s wrong about something.

The moment you see a complete stranger reading your book in public.

The moment you get caught staring at them.

The moment everyone asks “When’s the next book is coming out?”

The moment your mailing list reaches four figures.

The moment you help another writer get discovered.

The moment you help another writer avoid Author Solutions.

The moment you realize you don’t know or care what day of the week it is anymore.

The moment you find your own circadian rhythm.

The moment you recognize fellow authors by their pen name.

The moment you show your mom the hardcover addition so she’ll finally call you a real writer.

The moment the waiter recognizes you from your credit card…in front of mom.

The moment your book is surrounded by big-name authors on the charts.

The moment you realize all of your colleagues are people you’ve never met in person.

The moment you hear someone reading your book in an audio audition.

The moment you make a box set.

The moment you’ve paid all the bills and have some book money left over.

The moment you can afford a real vacation.

The moment your wife says she’s not worried about your decision anymore.

The moment you realize everything’s going to be alright and you can do this for the rest of your life.

The moment you realize there will be more moments.

What’s your favorite moment?