The Courtney Project

I had to come update you guys here!! Fall I Want is officially a USA Today Bestseller! 😭🥹

3 months ago | [YT] | 110

The Courtney Project

FOUR DAYS! Ahhh!! It’s been an time and I can’t believe it’s almost here. ✨😭

4 months ago | [YT] | 91

The Courtney Project

Y'all! I'm so honored and excited to FINALLY make the announcement that I've been holding onto for a few months!

Fall I Want has been acquired by Harper Collins/Avon!
This is a dream come true!!! The fact that it's my fall book is so special to me because I AM THE FALL QUEEN! Now, I will officially accept my crown, bwahahaha! 🎃👑 But seriously, I've always loved fall so much so this book being picked up makes it so much sweeter.

Back in 2013, when I first started writing romance, I made a literary bucket list item of 13 things I wanted to accomplish. Becoming a hybrid author with a big 5 and seeing my books in bookstores in the US/World was number 2-4 on that list!

I've been working so hard and staying in my lane writing the books my heart wants to write. My comeback era has been incredible, and I'm so excited to see what else the universe is bringing my way. We're just getting started, y'all! MAGIC IS HAPPENING! ✨

I’ll come back and make a video soonish! Just busy AF but had to share this news with y’all!

1 year ago | [YT] | 163

The Courtney Project

Hiiii! I always try to check in with y’all, even if it’s just a simple community tab to tell you how things are going!

I released book number 13 yesterday (56th release total) and this is what the rank is before I’m going to bed. 🤗✨

I’ve been testing a lot of things when it comes to my releases, between wide and KU, different covers, and blurbs. It’s allowed me to confirm that I have the very best package before launch.

I use the same practices for my releases that I have in my cover review videos. If you haven’t checked those out, even though they’re old at this point, I think they’re still worth a watch to understand the process to know if your cover can compete in today’s market.

I really wanted to share, mainly to document, because making top 1000 on release day was a bucket list item for me. It’s the first time this has happened for me since starting over.

Rebuilding my brand has been so rewarding and has also made me realize how important it is to have the ability to pivot when you haven’t broken out yet. Please, I don’t want anyone to assume I started from zero, I had a solid foundation when I started over that I’ve been building since 2014. However, to readers I’m new even if I feel like a self-publishing grandma.

I just want you to know it’s possible to do this.

Also, for transparency, I did not pay for this rank. I do have some ads going on FB for $100. That’s it. It’s my readers sharing it with everyone because they loved the book so much. Word of mouth is powerful! ❤️

Anyway, I hope y’all have been well. I’m still in release mode and will be for a little while (IYKYK) but when things calm down I’ll be back to check in. 🤗

Thank you for letting me use my community tab section like a diary. If it drops below 500 or lower, I’ll update y’all.

I think one day this will be fun to come back and read these posts.

….To the stars ✨

1 year ago | [YT] | 118

The Courtney Project

I know I’ve been MIA! Eek. I’ve missed so much or at least it feels like I have. I know I keep promising to return, and I will.

It just feels awkward because it’s been so long, plus so much has happened that I’m not sure where to begin. As soon as I figure that out, I’ll be back.

If you didn’t know, I went back to solo writing last year and have been pivoting and testing A LOT within my own brand. I’ve been having so much fun. Lots of things are happening behind the scenes, too. I’ve even negotiated contracts myself and have been invited to speak somewhere in 2025! News of all that soon.

I’ve tested things over the past 9 months as a newbie author would. I’ve tried different marketing strategies: some which has worked incredibly and others that were a waste of time and money. But at the end of the day, the most important part of our job is writing. So that’s what I’ve been focusing on.

Writing builds backlist.
Backlist is king.
Backlist fuels everything.

Writing has been an escape, and I feel like I’ve written some of the best words of my life recently. Sometimes I fear that I’ll peak or forget what I’m doing halfway through until I write the end again. (Yes, that’s after publishing 55 books).

I just came to hello and remember, you’ve got this. You’re talented. You’re smart. And there is someone out there who wants the words only YOU can write.

I’m happy to fail upward, because eventually we’ll reach the stars! ✨

Hope you’ve been well. I think about y’all often. And if you’re on 4thewords, come write with me. I’m there almost every day, mostly late at night!

❤️ Court

1 year ago | [YT] | 180

The Courtney Project

When you love audible and ACX and they love you back! ❤️

1 year ago | [YT] | 92

The Courtney Project

I don’t remember if I shared this or not, but I think it’s a good watch! ❤️❤️

1 year ago | [YT] | 20

The Courtney Project

Lookie what I received today! I have so much to shareeeee! ❤️

2 years ago | [YT] | 126

The Courtney Project

Smarterqueue is having a huge Black Friday sale right now. This is where you can schedule your posts and make them evergreen so you can set it and forget it.

Once it gets to the end of your “category” it will start back up at the top. I essentially have some posts scheduled until 2025 on my page. It does instagram, Facebook, X, and others. TikTok is coming in January, which I think will be incredible for reposts.

I’ve had a viral post using it so I don’t believe it suppresses your posts when you use it. Anyway, I thought I would share. It’s made my life easy. I made a little YouTube video on it too over the summer. Anyway, it’s 40% off, which is a steal, haha and I wish I could sign up for this price!

smarterqueue.com/?afmc=1u2

*yes this is an affiliate link

2 years ago | [YT] | 14

The Courtney Project

Quick little update! ❤️ This is 9 days after release with a holiday + Black Friday thrown in there. But excited to announce that it’s officially a Top 500 book out of MILLIONS that are out there! (This is the actual lowest I’ve seen!) 🫶✨ And no matter what happens, I’m happy. Even before this, I was happy!

Don’t give up on your releases after the first week. It’s not over until you’re ready for it to be. You can get a second boost once word of mouth kicks in. The Amazon algorithm rewards consistent downloads over a period of time instead of a bunch in one day. I personally tested this with my marketing efforts for this book (was very strategic with my newsletter/social) which is why it’s been a slow and steady drop (I prefer this!)

Was I on social media during the holiday? Heck no. I got some weird flu and stayed home/slept for three days. I’m just now coming out of it. It wasn’t the C-word. 🤣

Have I been rank watching? No. Because it doesn’t represent my worth. It’s easy to let it control you especially when rank = visibility in the store. A rank does NOT = your worth. I will continue to remind you (and myself) of that fact until I’m a grandma.

The accountant in me looks at sales data/expenses more than ranks.

Yesterday was my biggest royalty day other than release (which surprised me) but kinda didn’t because a lot of readers go straight to the holiday books the day after Thanksgiving. I’ve seen this trend for a few years and knew this was the case. But fun fact: people start reading Christmas books as early as August!

It’s been a fun experiment. I’ll keep y’all updated if it goes below 250!

I came here to say, for years I didn’t celebrate a lot of my successes. When I look back at that now, going into my decade of being self-published, I ask myself why?

You broke 10,000 rank for the first time? Celebrate!

You got 25 reviews on release day? Celebrate!

If it matters to you, then it’s worth 🎉 Who cares what anyone else thinks. It’s why I congratulate people when I see their posts because believing in yourself and recognizing what you’ve accomplished compared to where YOU were is important.

Learn to celebrate your successes…even if they’re small to you! ❤️ Timing is important. Having the proper packaging/branding and writing a good book is required. Study your market. And go out there and conquer!

You can do this. I believe in you!

✨Court

2 years ago | [YT] | 102