The Dopamine Machine:
Somedays call for charcuterie, wine, and a book boyfriend.
By Thio Isobel Moss
Early in this publishing adventure, I compared running promos to playing slot machines. You schedule the sale, buy a promo, crank the handle, and sit there whispering, “Come on, big sales, big sales, big sales,” like the algorithm might hear you if you’re sincere enough.
The comparison is more accurate than I’d like.
Recently, I ran a promo and noticed a habit that crept in so quietly I almost missed it: I become glued to my KDP reports and Amazon rankings. Refresh. Refresh again. Maybe something changed in the last twelve seconds.
At first glance, that doesn’t sound alarming. Monitoring performance seems responsible, even professional. In practice, it twists my emotions into knots. I’ve created a private benchmark for success that reality never hits fast enough — or hard enough — so every sale and every Kindle Unlimited page read becomes a tiny dopamine hit. And once that cycle starts, I want the next hit.
I’m not a fan of this version of me.
It’s the version that ends up under a pile of blankets, binging billionaire romances while dramatically mourning numbers that, objectively speaking, are encouraging. There’s nothing wrong with a good reading binge — but spiraling over stats is not how I want to spend my creative energy.
The strangest part is the selective amnesia. In those moments, I forget real milestones: my first reader, a librarian, nominating Blind Spot for LibraryReads. The thousand copies that are in circulation. The day I saw 923 Kindle Unlimited pages read. These aren’t headline-grabbing achievements, but they’re meaningful wins — especially for someone only a couple months into building a career from scratch.
That disconnect is what pushed me to develop my Author Ascendancy game and what I call my Promo Care Kit. The goal isn’t to ignore sales entirely — they’re still a metric — but to anchor my sense of progress in things I can actively do. When promo anxiety hits, I pivot to short writing exercises, designing ad graphics, making comics or memes, or simply reading. Conveniently, my favorite hobby doubles as legitimate work.
So far, productivity has been the most reliable antidote to the dopamine machine. My most recent pity-party day ended with two reviews written and posted. I indulged the mood without surrendering the whole day — and even earned a point in my Ascendancy campaign. That felt far better and healthier than another anxious refresh.
Going forward, I’m experimenting with a new rule: no checking reports or rankings until the sale is over. It’s going to be a steep uphill climb. But I firmly believe that if I’m enjoying the process, that energy carries into the work. And if I’m not having fun, it shows just as clearly.
While this post is rooted in writing, the pattern applies almost anywhere. Chasing numbers is easy. Building sustainable habits is harder — and far more rewarding. I’m currently adjusting my Ascendancy scoring to better support work-life balance, because consistency feels like the real milestone. Whether that bumps me from Level 1 — Visibility — to Level 2 — Conversion this week remains to be seen, but I’m close enough to feel proud either way.
Whatever you’re building — a career, a hobby, or something in between — be kind to yourself. Sustainable progress beats dopamine spikes every time.
Happy reading, and Happy Valentine’s Day.
