"I pulled today's card and laughed out loud. Of all the days to draw the Page of Swords — the day I'm writing about the writing life. A page. Leave it to the tarot to wink at you."

The Long Game: What It Really Means to Be a Successful Author

On staying the course, setting small goals, and doing the work no one else sees.

The Page of Swords Speaks to Writers

The Page of Swords is a fascinating card to pull on a writing day. In the tarot, this Page is the eternal student — watchful, mentally sharp, and hungry. He stands with sword raised, scanning the horizon, wind in his hair. He is ready for anything, even if he’s still figuring out exactly what “anything” looks like.

This Page doesn’t wait to have all the answers. He gathers information. He watches. He learns. He asks uncomfortable questions and doesn’t shy away from hard truths. Sound familiar? That’s the writer’s life.

Today, the Page of Swords is your spirit animal. He’s the part of you that keeps showing up, keeps learning, keeps adapting — even when the path forward isn’t entirely clear. And if you’re a writer who sometimes wonders whether any of it is “working”… this card has a message for you.

Let’s Talk About What “Success” Actually Means

There’s a myth floating around out there that publishing a book is the finish line. That once you hit “publish” on KDP, readers will come, sales will roll in, and the magic will happen.

I’m here to lovingly bust that myth wide open.

Being a successful published author doesn’t just mean your book is available for purchase on Amazon. It means doing whatever it takes, every single day, to make sure your ideal reader can find your book — and fall in love with it.

That’s a very different job from writing the book. And for many of us, it’s the part nobody warned us about.

Success as an indie author means showing up consistently on social media even when it feels like you’re talking to yourself. It means sending that newsletter even when your open rate makes you wince. It means trying a new marketing angle, A/B testing your book description, experimenting with ads, pitching to bookstagrammers, updating your keywords, writing the next book… and then doing it all over again.

Writing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It might not even be a get-rich-slow scheme. But if you stick with it — using intention and strategy — you will, over time, begin to see the needle move.

The Page’s Gift: The Willingness to Learn and Adapt

Here’s what I love about the Page of Swords in the context of authorship: this card doesn’t promise you success. It promises you readiness. It promises you the mental agility to keep learning, the courage to keep asking hard questions, and the persistence to keep going even when things appear murky.

That might look like:

•  Trying a Facebook ad for the first time, even though it scares you.

•  Taking an online course on book marketing because you’re willing to admit you don’t know everything.

•  Rewriting your book’s back cover blurb for the fourth time because you know it’s not quite right yet.

•  Posting on Instagram even though you only have 47 followers.

•  Pitching your book to a podcast host who might say no.

•  Sitting down to write the next book, even before the first one has found its audience.

None of these things look dramatic. None of them go viral. Most of them feel invisible in the moment. But they are the work. They are the sword the Page carries — the tool you wield every day in service of your dream.

The Magic of Small Goals

One of the biggest mistakes I see writers make is setting goals that are so enormous, so far away, that they can’t see the path between here and there. “I want to be a bestseller.” “I want to make a full-time income from my writing.” “I want a movie deal.”

Those are beautiful dreams. Hold onto them. But in between today and that horizon, you need a trail of smaller markers to follow — stepping stones you can actually reach.

Small goals might look like:

•  Write 500 words today.

•  Add one new book to your Goodreads author profile this week.

•  Reach out to three readers or reviewers this month.

•  Earn your first 10 reviews on Amazon.

•  Publish a new blog post or newsletter every week for 90 days.

•  Finish the first draft of your next chapter by Friday.

Small goals are not small ambitions in disguise. Small goals are the architecture of a large life. Every brick matters, and every step counts. Even the ones that feel like you’re just treading water.

Progress You Can’t Always See

Here’s the hardest truth about the long game: most of the progress you make as an indie author is invisible for a long time.

You build an email list slowly, one subscriber at a time. You grow a social following gradually, post by post. You earn reviews over months and years. You experiment with different marketing approaches, and some of them fail. Some of them plant seeds that don’t bloom for seasons.

This is not failure. This is compound interest.

Every newsletter you send builds trust. Every blog post you write adds a little more of your voice to the world. Every book you publish gives readers one more reason to stay. You may not see the results today, or next month, or even next year. But the work accumulates. The momentum builds. And one day, you’ll look back and realize the avalanche started with a single snowflake.

The Page of Swords trusts the process. Even when he can’t see the full picture yet, he keeps his sword raised, his eyes sharp, and his feet moving.

A Real-Life Example from My Own Author Journey

I want to show you what the long game actually looks like in practice — because I think real numbers are more powerful than pep talks.

This past weekend, I ran a free giveaway promotion on my Jack Mac Paidin Series Box Set (Books 1–3). During that promo, the box set hit #1, #2, and #3 in three different Amazon categories simultaneously. That’s exciting, right? But here’s the part I want you to pay attention to.

Three days later — back at full price, with no active promotion running — that same box set is still holding its rankings:

•  #22 in Magical Fantasy Fiction for Children (Kindle Store)

•  #180 in Children’s Coming of Age Fantasy Books

•  #200 in Children’s Time Travel Books

Some people dismiss free promotions as “fake” wins. And it’s true — I didn’t get rich from a free weekend. But I planted seeds. New readers downloaded the book. The algorithm took notice. And the rankings are holding. That’s not fake. That’s momentum.

Meanwhile, for all of April (with one day still to go as I write this), my total book sales across 8 of my 51 titles came to 61 units sold and 6,544 KENP pages read. Is that a bestseller list? No. Is it proof that consistent work, a growing catalog, and strategic promotions move the needle over time? Absolutely yes.

This is what the long game looks like. Not a single explosive moment — but a slow, steady accumulation of readers, rankings, and trust. Month by month. Book by book. Promotion by promotion.

A Few Words of Encouragement Before You Go

If you’re in a season where nothing seems to be working — I see you. If you’re showing up every day and wondering if any of it matters — it does. If you’re questioning whether the dream is worth the effort — I believe it is.

The stories inside you are worth fighting for. Your readers — the ones who haven’t found you yet, the ones who are going to light up when they discover your books — they need you to stay the course.

So today, take a cue from the Page of Swords. Stay curious. Stay flexible. Stay sharp. Try one new thing. Set one small goal. Write one more page.

And whatever you do — don’t put the sword down.

✨  This Week’s Story Weaver Prompt  ✨

Write for 15 minutes about a character who keeps persistently showing up in your brain. What do they know that others don’t?

Until next Wednesday,

With love and light,

Tracy 🔮