About Books

Karma Girl has been out almost two weeks now, and I’ve been trying to figure out how well it’s doing. Mostly by checking my online Amazon and Barnes & Noble rankings every day. Yes, I am that obsessive. 😎

I also got some good news from my editor. Karma Girl was #22 on the B&N trade romance list last week and #36 on the BookScan list.

At least, I think this is good news. I have no idea what those numbers actually mean. Copies sold? Shipped? Returned? Put in a big pile and burned to ash?

Actually, I have no idea what any of the best-seller numbers mean. Why is Publishers Weekly different from the New York Times list? Why are both of those different from USA Today? And those lists don’t count actual copies sold, right? They look at books shipped … or something.

If anyone knows of an article that explains the numbers game, please pass it on. Inquiring minds want to know how well the book is doing …

So, here’s where I’ll be at this Saturday, May 12, for my latest, greatest book signings:

Fron 12:30-2:30 p.m., I’ll be at B Dalton Booksellers in the Bristol Mall in Bristol, Va.

From 4-6 p.m., I’ll be at Books-A-Million in Johnson City, Tenn.

Also, on Monday, May 14, I’ll be guest blogging over at Milday Insanity.

Hope to see you there! 😎

Well, I did three booksignings Saturday and sold a grand total of 40 books. Not too shabby (although I must confess that a lot of those sales were to friends and family members). I’ll try to post some pictures soon.

It was pretty much what I expected. Good, bad, and a little ugly all rolled together. Some of the signings went better than others. I had a lot of interest at my local library and comic book store (and sold more books there). Some folks even wanted to have their picture taken with me, which was really cool.

Not so much interest at Barnes & Noble. I should have just set up a radio, and let it play “Walk on By” for two hours, because that’s what people were doing to me. And, yes, I got the do-you-work-here question more than once. Nobody asked me where the bathroom was, though.

And, of course, I chose this weekend of all weekends to get a head cold. I was not feeling well by the time the day was over with. Ah, well. It’s all part of being an author, I suppose.

I’ve got more stuff set up for this week. On Tuesday, May 8, I’ll be at Madagascar Coffee Co. in Kingsport, Tenn. from 5:30-7:30 p.m. I’ll be signing books, answering questions about writing and publishing, and hopefully doing a reading, if my throat will let me. Hope to see you there!

What about you? What did you think of your first booksignings? Inquiring minds want to know …

Today, I’m guest blogging about my first sale over at Dear Author. The gals over there are also doing a review and a video review today since Karma Girl was their book club pick for May. Thank you, Jane and Jayne!

In related news, I’ll be doing three booksignings Saturday. I’ll try to post some pictures to the blog next week.

From 10 a.m.-noon, I’ll be at the Thomas Memorial Branch Library in Bluff City, Tenn.

From 1-3 p.m., I’ll be at Barnes & Noble in Johnson City, Tenn.

From 4-6 p.m., I’ll be at Mountain Empire Comics in Bristol, Tenn.

Hope to see you there! 😎