The paperback reprint of my novel Blade Dancer debuted at #4 on the SF paperback bestseller list. At least, I'm assuming fourth place by counting down from #1; whoever typed it up has me and China Mieville starred versus numbered.
I can't account for my excellent showing, other than knowing that the hardcover did very well last year. Even then, Blade Dancer was not given any special promotion that I know of. The publisher bought an ad in Locus and sent out the standard amount of reviewer copies, but I think that was it. Except for an excerpt on my web site, I didn't do any promotion for the hardcover or the paperback in July. I don't make public appearances, don't do readings, booksignings, or go to conventions. I've abandoned all self-promotion except for my web site, and I haven't touched that in a year.
I'm not posting this to smirk at all the writers who do self-promote. I'm just as stumped as everyone else is as to why my SF sells so well when I do nothing but write the books. I'd like to think I'm writing what people want to read, but that can change from one book to the next, and you should never make that assumption. When you're too confident of your readers, you get lazy and self-indulgent. In this industry, every book is a fight for numbers and readers.
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11/2/08: I received an anonymous comment to this post today that accused another author by name of knocking off Blade Dancer. While I appreciate the concern, I have to question why you would post something like that on a public blog and in the comments of an entry that's four years old.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, because you named the author and the work involved, you posted anonymously, and I have no real proof of any copyright violation, I feel it would be inappropriate to post your comment. If you want to pursue this matter further, I suggest you contact my publisher or the publisher of the offending author.