Writer Unboxed

So about ten months ago, when the hardcover of Time of My Life hit the New York Times best-seller list, I posed the question: just what does becoming a bestseller really do for you? I wasn’t sure, but thought, because I didn’t see much of a difference in, well, much of anything, after it hit the list other than a lot of people congratulating me (which, hey, I didn’t mind), that the payoff might come for the paperback release. And, with said release just three weeks out, yes, I wanted to report back that indeed, becoming a best-seller does change the trajectory of your book and perhaps your career, albeit with delayed gratification.

Here’s what I know now: I see a pretty huge difference between the release of this paperback and the release of my first book’s paperback. With the ammunition of that fabulous New York Times Best Seller blurb on the cover, I’ve landed a big order from Target, which, according to those in the know, is a very, very good thing for my book. I’ve got a PR budget, a marketing/advertising budget, and I’ve been granted a very ample print-run. Did any of these things happen for my first book? Ahem, no. Would they have happened if it hadn’t landed on the list? Well, who knows? Maybe sales would have been healthy enough that my (fabulous) publisher would have set aside a budget anyway, but maybe not.

One thing I am pretty certain of is that hitting the list ensured strong orders from booksellers. From these orders comes my print run. And from the print run size, I have a said allocated budget. (Again, because I’m not behind the scenes, I don’t know if this is exactly how it works, but it’s all linked together like this somehow.) Because the book has been well-received by booksellers, my publisher is likelier to pour money into it. The fact that it hit the list means that somewhere, somehow, readers have responded to it, and well, as crazy and non-sensical as this industry can be, that’s one thing that everyone agrees on: getting books that have positive word of mouth into the hands of readers is the bottom line.

So, it’s been an interesting lesson. I guess I thought, back in October 2008, that everything would be different once I hit the list. Not at all. At first, to be honest, I was a little demoralized – I mean, what the heck is the point of the euphoria I felt upon being named a New York Times Best Seller, if not to receive, what? I don’t know. A billboard in Times Square? A full-page ad in the book review section? Okay, maybe not those, but…something. It turns out that I am getting something, a lot, actually, albeit ten months later. Which actually is pretty great by me. I’m thrilled at the prospects of what the paperback can do, and am hopeful that the little New York Times Best Seller blurb on the cover of the paperback will propel it even farther. Stay tuned. I’ll keep you updated.

Allison Winn Scotch

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