Happy Friday!

The number one question I’ve been asked in the past two weeks is, “How is the book selling?” My always disappointing answer, “I have no clue and won’t know for at least 6 months.”

I understand why people are surprised by that response. With all the technology we have available to us on a daily basis, it would seem like sales statistics would only be a click away. Without getting into things like returns and remainders, it’s safe to say the statistics are bit more complex than most people think. In many ways, I think it’s a good thing we have to wait. Think about how many people tell an author they are going to buy the book as soon as it comes out. Let’s say 100 people tell the author they’ve bought it in the first week. The author figures at least some people who don’t know him/her will also purchase it. On Friday, the author pushes the magic button. If the author sees 1,000 copies sold he/she will be dancing on table tops. What if he/she discovers only 34 copies were sold? Will he/she spend the next few months doubting the word of all 100 people in question? What good can really come from that bit of knowledge? A little space and time can help avoid the second scenario and won’t make the first any less sweet.

So I have no numbers to share, but I will share the highs and lows from the week. You’ll see the highs outran the lows.

Lows:

I have had head banging against the desk technology problems with one of my projects this week. It’s the kind of stuff that make s a project not financially worth taking on and robs me of the my personal writing time.

Highs:

I’ve received some lovely e-mails from readers this week who enjoyed Providence. There is nothing better than hearing kind words.

The woman who manages my IRA called from the bank to tell me she read and loved the book. This was doubly good because when I saw the bank on caller id, I was expecting a – your money is all gone. You will never be able to retire – kind of message. (The technology issue really got to me this week.)

I got an e-mail this week that has me over the moon happy and if they don’t announce it soon, I might self-combust from the excitement!

 

Have a great week all!

Lisa