Used Bookstore Sales

At what point do we seriously consider the impact used book sales have on your bottom line?

I think this is a nerve-racking issue. Anyone else?

When Your New Book Is Coming Out

Are all authors as obsessive as I? I have a new book (ONE GOLDEN RING) set to be released Oct. 1, and I've been checking my "numbers" at amazon and B&N.com several times a day -- even though B&N (whose numbers also include in-store sales) doesn't change its numbers throughout the day like amazon does. I got really excited on Sept. 20 because my B&N ranking went down to 409 -- which is fabulous. My book was listed as one of the Top 100 sellers that day. Two days before that, I was number 711 on amazon. I thought -- since my book hadn't even been released yet -- that this book was going to zoom onto those bestseller lists, which is something I've never done before.
I told myself this is the best book I've ever written, and the reviews seem to have borne this out. Romance Designs (historicalromancewriter) gave it a Perfect 10, Huntress Reviews gave it 5 stars, as did Harriet Klausner. AND Sue Grimshaw, the head buyer for the Borders, Waldens, Bretanno chain, e-mailed to tell me it was the best book she'd read in a long while.
Well, my book has been shipped. It should be shelved Saturday, and . . . no great big splash. No bestseller lists. No show on Neilsen's BookScan.
I keep asking myself if there's anything I can do now to up the all-important numbers. And, of course, I can't.
I know everyone says "Write the best book you can" and success will follow. But it ain't always so.
Last time I checked today, my book was 7,199 on B&N. Woe is me.
This book is my first Christmas book, and I've been told they sell really well. Has this been the case for those of you who've penned Christmas books?
Grasping and gasping for great numbers . . .

In The Mood

Lately, it seems I'm not in the mood to read as much romance as I used to. Oh, I still read it (and enjoy it when I do. The SEP book we got at the conference I couldn't quit reading and totally marveled at, wishing I was half as good at characterization. And I loved Debbie Macomber's first yarn store book enough that I immediately read the second of the series.) but in bookstores or in my TBR pile, I often feel inclined to pick up something else. Since I've always loved romance and usually read other stuff when I don't have a romance at my fingertips, the reverse amazes me. Anyone else? I've wondered if romance sells are down because everyone else is going through the same thing I've been going through, though what that is, I don't know. Or maybe it's me and the specific time in my life? And since most of the books we got at the RWA conference--including the two mentioned above--weren't strictly romance, maybe that has something to do with the difference. Perhaps the continual disasterous news? (But that's always affected me the opposite way. When I'm in the mood to be cheered up and uplifted, usually I automatically reach for a romance.) So go ahead. Analyze me 'cause I find this extremely curious.

wandering in the dark

Well, I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing here on this blog. I have a nasty little habit of never reading directions so I flounder around, trying various things, growing more frustrated and feeling stupid. Sometimes, out of sheer luck, I stumble across the right thing to do but then I can't do it again.... But at least I've heard of blogging. I saw on the Drudge report this morning that 70% of all Brittish people who were polled had never heard of blogging. In fact, they thought the poll taker meant "dogging it," which apparently means watching other people engage in intimate acts. That was more than I needed to know, especially this early in the morning...

Books to be read . . .

What a great idea!! Thanks for inviting me to play!! I'm madly finishing my own book, but have Joshilyn Jackson's gods in Alabama, a new Nancy Cohen mystery, and Diana Gabaldon's new one in my own two-feet-tall TBR pile for my reward! What about you - what's in your TBR pile?
Alesia Holliday

Hi all

Welcome. Help me fine tune.

Alfie