Book sales - or not...

I'm posting early this week as life is hectic when a new book comes out so I thought I'd fit this in now when I have a moment (watching Question Time).
Back in February we read much hype - and some criticism - about World Book Night. I was one of the minority of curmudgeons who failed to understand the benefit to the book industry of giving away a million free books.
“Do they think recipients will respond by putting their hands in their pockets? Of course they won’t! If they aren't already book buyers, those given free books will simply wait for the next free book. It won’t be far behind. Why buy something you can get for free? As for those who already buy books - well, that will be one less sale to them. A double whammy.
World Book Night devalues the concept of books as something authors, editors, publishers, designers, proofreaders, have spent months, in some cases years, planning, researching, writing, revising, discussing and editing. Why wasn’t that time and effort devoted to promoting book sales?”
Those in favour of the initiative were optimistic that this event would improve book sales by increasing interest in books.
So how successful did this venture finally prove in the madness of the contemporary book world?
According to the Office of National Statistics overall retail sales in March 2011 rose by 1.3% compared to March 2010 - yet Bookscan figures showed that in March 2011 UK bookshops takings were nearly £9 million down on takings for March 2010 and volume of sales in bookshops fell by over 12%.
I really wish I'd been proved wrong in this instance - and that another World Book Night hadn't been promised for next year.
Posted by Leigh Russell

An Awkward Position...

I find myself in a slightly awkward position. I'm not referring to my complicated arrangement of balancing my netbook on a box perched on top of a writing slope on a cushion on my knees... (last year I had physio after a neck injury and my wonderful physiotherapist shuddered on hearing how much time I spend at the keyboard) - My netbook hasn't fallen off yet, but you've probably tumbled to the fact that I'm procrastinating. So, back to my topic...
Over the past couple of years I’ve blogged and talked a lot about my passionate support for bookshops and libraries, the ‘real world’ print book outlets. It’s well known that I spend many hours in bookshops and libraries, encouraging other authors to do the same. I’ve also blogged and talked about my concerns that online suppliers are ushering in the demise of the high street bookshop. In the short time since I started writing Borders vanished in the UK, and now Waterstones are closing stores. As if that wasn’t enough, I’ve also expressed my reservations about the wisdom of giving away books for free, not only depriving the publishing industry of potential revenue, but implying that books have no value.
Yet I can’t ignore an email from my publisher urging me to blog about an Amazon promotion of Road Closed…on kindle…for £1.20… or suppress a frisson of pleasure at seeing Road Closed in the Top 100 on amazon kindle. http://tinyurl.com/RoadClosedKindle

The Fun of Being Insignicant!

ROAD CLOSED came out two weeks ago and has already started to sell. Of course, I’m a very small scale operator in a world where the big players expect to sell tens of thousands of books every week. Still, there are only 5 copies of ROAD CLOSED left on amazon.co.uk where it’s had its first amazon review – 5 stars from a Top 50 Reviewer and Vine Voice who concludes the review: “Give Leigh Russell a try - I'm sure you will not be disappointed.”

WH Smith’s Travel selected ROAD CLOSED for a promotion and I just received an email from the books manager one branch where ROAD CLOSED has sold 115 copies in 2 days (OK, I was there signing, but still…) I wonder if book sales are so exciting for the big names? I suspect not, because they must expect their books to sell in huge numbers. I’m still excited when one person buys one of my books.

It’s no secret that I completed the first draft of CUT SHORT in six weeks, and two weeks after I’d sent out the manuscript I received a phone call from a publisher who offered me a three book deal. After editing, rewriting and research, my first book hit the shelves and sold out so fast that it was reprinted three times in under a year. Following that success, ROAD CLOSED has just been published ahead of schedule as WH Smith’s Travel selected it for a promotion. It’s been a thrilling rollercoaster but my publishing deal turned up so suddenly and unexpectedly that I still can’t believe this wildly exciting experience is really happening to me.

I only discovered my passion for writing three years ago when an idea for a story popped into my head and I began to write it down. Since then, I haven’t been able to stop writing. As Eugene Ionesco said, “A writer never has a vacation. For a writer, life consists of either writing or thinking about writing.”

I’ve heard it said that finding a publisher is like climbing a high mountain. Once you reach the summit, you see an even higher mountain ahead – book sales. This week is half term so I’m doing four book signings, giving a talk, appearing on a panel of bestselling crime writers, and completing the first draft of my third book. I enjoy giving talks and going to book signings, getting out and about meeting readers, but all this promotion is another demand on my time.

Sometimes I think I must be slightly insane… but I love writing and everything associated with it, and the pressure of limited time seems to help my creativity almost as much as a deadline from my publisher! Another benefit of being so busy is that I have no time to stress about how my second book will be received, and no time to worry about “writer’s block”. If I have a free hour or two, that’s it – I’m writing!

So my really exciting news is that I’ve just sent the COMPLETED first draft of DEAD END to my agent. Watch out for it in 2011 and, in the meantime, here are the links for CUT SHORT and ROAD CLOSED in case you want to take a look.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cut-Short-DI-Geraldine-Steel/dp/1842432710
http://www.amazon.com/Cut-Short-Geraldine-Steel-No/dp/1842432710/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Road-Closed-Leigh-Russell/dp/184243344X/
http://www.amazon.com/Road-Closed-DI-Geraldine-Steel/dp/184243344X/