Lori Devoti, paranormal romance and urban fantasy author

I seem to be constantly asked, “How’s the book selling?” My answer? Beats the bejeebers out of me.

The fact that I have no clue how sales are surprises most people. So, I thought I’d share the facts as I know them with all of you. Unless your publisher gifts you with the information early, you have very few ways to estimate sales prior to your first royalty statement which easily may not appear until a year after your book hits the shelves. Eeek, you say? Yeah, eek.

Luckily, our friend technology has given obsessive authors a few ways to drive themselves crazy trying to estimate sales.

1. Ingrams - Ingrams is one of the biggest book distributors in the U.S. According to Hoovers.com They have over 30,000 cutomers and represent 17,000 publishers. However, this is still a small segment of the book selling world. They do though offer crazy authors a way to get a feel for sales. Ingrams has a 1-800 number set up where you can find out how many copies of any given book they have in stock, back orders, quantity shipped this week, last week and year-to-date. However, just because a book has shipped from Ingrams doesn’t mean it is sold. They are a distrbutor so it just means it is now sitting on a bookshelf somewhere - hopefully being slipped into a reader’s bag as we speak, but you can’t know for sure. Anyhoo, the number I have heard is to take the Ingram’s number and multiply it by 20 to get an estimate of how many copies of your book are actually out in the world and not sitting in a warehouse. Obviously this is highly scientific.
2. Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com - these online booksellers quite nicely provide a ranking number. The lower your number the better your sales, however the difference between a ranking of 100,000 and 200,000 is very likely such a small amount as to have no meaning, but authors still check religiously. Also, online sales in total amount to less than 5% of book sales.
3. Bookscan - RWA has a deal with Neilson Bookscan that allows members to see sales for the top 100 romances each week. To make this list you have to on average sell at least 850 copies in one week at the outlets Bookscan surveys. These locations are: B. Dalton, Barnes and Noble (including online), Books-a-Million (statistically weighted), Borders (including Waldenbooks and Borders Express), Deseret Book Co., Hastings, Musicland, Tower Music and Books, General Independents (statistically weighted), Follett College Stores, Amazon, Costco, Target and K Mart. Of course, if you don’t make the list, this is no help whatsoever to you - and there are a few key booksellers missing, you know who?

So, those are the only ways I know of to estimate sales - not too inspiring are they?

Now back to Bookscan. I mentioned they were missing some retailers. How about grocery stores and Walmart? Yep, they are big time in book sales.

Ever thought about how many of each of these stores there are? Here are some rough numbers: Walmart 1,667, Barnes & Noble 647, Borders (including Waldenbooks and Express) 1,250, Books-a-Million 170, Hastings 150, Target 1,330, K-Mart 1,500, Indigo (Canadian bookseller) 300. Not to mention the thousands of grocery stores in the U.S. If each Walmart sold just 3 copies of your book that would be 5,000 copies. Sure, Barnes and Noble and Borders tend to carry more copies of each book, but Walmart carries a ton of power in the book selling world. And nothing in my list accounts for them or the grocers.

So, that is why I have no clue how sales are. Do you? If so, share!

I just got back from a trip to Southern Missouri. I had a great book signing at the Salem Public Library in Salem, Missouri. I spent a lot of time discovering great books there as a child. It was fun to be back as an author.

I also had a GREAT chat at Romance Junkies Thursday night. Thanks to everyone who came.

Unrelated to my travels and appearances, I discovered a great site for pug lovers - pugs.com. It is a forum for pug lovers, a really friendly bunch. In case you are wondering why I am blogging about pugs, Love is All Around features a pug named Pugnacious. She’s one of my favorite characters.

Sticking with the pug theme, here’s a fun site to check out especially if you have kids - Pug Rescue of New England. If you scroll down the page there are three links for “Pug Dress Up with Lily and Rose.” Check it out and consider giving a little something to save a pug!

Here are the top 10 search strings people use and wind up at my site.

1. lori devoti
2. lori
3. 3 seas literary
4. build an arc
5. devoti lori
6. hilary sares picture
7. kathy love
8. blog met online romance
9. cowgirl outfit
10. daisy love

Okay, I’m number one. That’s good, don’t you think? But just Lori? Uh, were you around in the sixties? You know how many of us there are? Oh yeah, you googled it–you must know.

3 Seas Literary is easy. I hosted the Write Touch web site and Michelle Grajkowski was a guest. Makes sense to me.

Build an ARC. Somehow I think these people were sadly disappointed when they got my article on making your own Advanced Reader Copies for reveiwers.

Now is where it gets fun. Hilary Sares is my editor, but in case anyone thinks I might have some good blackmail-type buy-my-book inducing photos on my site–well, don’t you think I’d be using them myself? Oops, maybe you think I did.

Kathy Love? KATHY LOVE?? Okay, I luv you Kathy, but could you stay out of my search strings? ;-)

Blog. Romance. Check - the met online part? Maybe someone else is researching a romance, ya think?

Cowgirl outfit.

And finally Daisy Love - not as catchy as puppy love, but I’ll take it.

Lori

p.s. Don’t forget my blog contest.

Just in case any of you are extremely bored and looking for things to do, I thought I’d post a blatant plug for the events I’m doing this week. :)

First, Wednesday night at 7 central, I am speaking at the Alicia Ashman branch of the Madison, Wisconsin public library. Then Thursday night at 8 central (9 eastern) I’m doing a chat at Romance Junkies (I’m giving away stuff too.) Finally, Saturday I’ll be doing a book signing the Salem Public Library in Salem, Missouri. (I’m sure a ton of you will be able to stop by that one. )

Anyway, that’s where I will be–stop by if you can. In other news, my first blog contest is still going on–don’t forget to enter. And finally, I got reviewed at All About Romance. You know it can’t be bad if I am mentioning it here–I got a B-.

Let’s play a game. You know the routine. I write down a few totally value-free questions and you answer. Fun and another way to avoid writing, laundry or you day job. And in honor of this being my first ever game on my blog, there will be a prize too! In two weeks I will have a panel of impartial judges read your answers and pick their favorite—based upon no certain criteria whatsoever.

1. Super power you most wish you had…
2. Last concert you attended…(Barney counts)
3. Historical figure deserving of a smack upside the head…(talking did something stupid here, not Hitleresque)
4. Book you wish you wrote…(if you say DaVinci Code we will all know you are a greedy little devil)
5. Book someone close to you loves that you just don’t get…

I’ll put my answers in the comments, cause I know you will all copy otherwise. ;-)

Oh, and the prize??? Your choice of one of the following books (all by Romance Unleashed authors and all autographed) Somebody to Love by Kate Rothwell, Prince of Frogs by Barbara Plum, Unlaced by Kristina Cook, or Get Bunny Love by Kathleen Long. Now get answering!

It’s Friday night. I was going to wait until Saturday to post this so you wouldn’t all know what a horrible slouch I have been today that I was able to post here THREE times, but well, I never could keep my mouth shut. :)

Just finished watching the second Bridget Jones Diary movie - I loved it. As I said on Marty’s blog the other day, I have very chick flick taste in movies, but I think anyone struggling with internal conflict and pinpointing an antoginist should watch this movie.

Okay, the movie broke some rules–(shocking I know)–the biggest being that the “big mis” was a major factor throughout, but it is a grand example that rules don’t mean diddly. The main thing I loved about the movie is that while there were some misunderstandings the real thing keeping Bridget and Mark Darcy apart was Bridget herself. Just like in the first movie/book, she was struggling with her own bad habits and insecurities. This aspect of her personality was the antagonist. I love a good woman against self story. I mean isn’t that the biggest struggle most of us have to face?

I was actually criticized by a reviewer for not having a strong enough external conflict in Love is All Around, and to be honest, all I could think at the time was phtt! (my attempt at a typed raspberry) I much prefer a story that doesn’t depend on external factors for the conflict - although I agree pulling off a story with only internal conflict is a difficult feat, and maybe the reviewer in question didn’t think I managed it. That I can take, but to just criticize a book for not depending on a big external conflict? phtt!

Anyway, if you are looking for a great example of internal conflict and an internal antagonist, check this movie out. :)

Eeek, I am posting twice in one day. This is a major symptom of publishitis. Normally, I am a very self-motivated (read obnoxiously driven) person. But for some reason since I sold and was told I could just write 3 chapters and a synopsis, I have lost focus. I currently have three proposals with my agent–three!! Seems good to me, but what do I do in the mean time? Start another proposal? Keep writing on one of the projects I turned in? I just can’t decide.

See, I’m also very pratical, and unfortunately, I’ve seen people write the whole book without it being sold and then guess what, it doesn’t sell. We’ve all been there done that - why do it if you don’t have to? But starting project after project make me feel schizophrenic.

I know quit whining. At least I have the choice - just proposal or write the whole book. (sigh)

On another note, the Internet is such a strange thing. I was checking the referring urls to my site today and discovered some of you are out there discussing me. So weird to see yourself being talked about. I don’t think there was anything bad–just weird.

Hmm. Maybe I am schizophrenic - inability to focus and now I hear (okay, read) voices.

Naw, I’m just a writer.

Red Pen Diaries had a entry that reflected my problem with RWA contests, as I discussed during my last RTB post. Meh manuscripts - that’s what strict following of all the rules will get you. A manuscript that conquers all the little boxes on our score sheets, but quite possibly misses completely on the Wow factor.

Okay, I’m done. Guess you can tell I’m not a fan of contests. Wonder if anyone will still want me to judge…

What is up with this attitude we writers seem to have? Okay, I am not exactly wet behind the ears, but even though I have been out and about for a while, I never came across this attitude anywhere quite as severely as I have in writer world.

I was actually thinking about this anyway because I had just left my local conference. Seems like anytime you bring a bunch of writers together you get to hear stories of how mean we are to each other. Then I bopped over to Romancing the Blog and got a gander at Karen Gillespie’s article. Now I respect that Karen voiced her opinion and she is completely within her rights to have it, but here’s the deal…why do so many of us feel this way? Why do we have to have someone who we can look down on and say “I’m better than you are.” ?

Being an honest person, I have to admit I had a similar reaction under similar circumstances as what Karen describes. A few months ago a local magazine had a self-pubbed author on their cover. Then I walk into big box book retailer and see posters of said author annoucing a book signing. My petty ugly side came out–I am human. But I quickly realized I was JEALOUS, yep, jealous. This woman had the gall to do a better job of promoting herself than I did. Exactly who did she think she was?? Petty, ugly side of me was instantly smacked down to hopefully not be heard from again for a long time.

So what is up with authors feeling the need to rank everybody? I have heard way more horror stories about this than I care to know. Some of my e-pubbed friends were dressed down in the elevator one year at RWA National. Told something like, “You know you aren’t as good as us. So why don’t you quit pretending?” not an exact quote, but you get the drift. On a loop last month an author pubbed by one of the smaller NY houses said that bigger houses looked down on authors pubbed by the smaller houses–she actually said they thought we reeked of dog doo. Now I really doubt the big houses give a rat’s ass if you are published by a small house if they think they can sell a bunch of your books, but I have no doubt there are authors are out there who like to look down their noses at anyone published at a smaller house than them.

I find the whole thing sad. There are great books out there self-pubbed, e-pubbed and not pubbed at all, and if a poorly written book gets published by any means–how does that hurt me? It isn’t like the house next door to me has a car up on blocks in their front yard. It isn’t going to lower the value of my writing. But then what do I know? I’m dog doo, and what can dog doo afford to look down on –maybe worm doo?

First Hi! I’ve been at the Wisconsin RWA annual conference. I was the chair this year. Yahoo! It is over. It was a great conference, but it is such a relief to have it behind me. Waves to anyone who was there. :)

Today I was reading the new issue of Writer’s Digest and they had a short piece on the importance of even minor characters–how too often writers let the guy who pours the main character a drink be just a cardboard replica filling a line or two.

When I was about 3/4 of the way through with Love is All Around I went to a book signing by Jenifer Crusies (next year’s speaker at the WisRWA conference by the way). She said she gives even the guy pouring a drink a goal, motive and conflict. She doesn’t spell it out and the reader most often doesn’t even know what it is–but she knows it. So when she is writing that scene she has in her mind what that character’s state of mind is and what he did that day. Why is this a brilliant idea?

Because it adds texture. That little something extra that makes the people in your book come to life, and it is fun! I think getting into your characters’ minds is the absolute best part of writing. So, is that bartender going through a divorce? Did his wife toss his vintage copies of Hustler onto a bon fire last night? Or did he just win a mountain bike at his church’s raffle? Maybe he’s got tickets to The Rolling Stones for a concert that starts in twenty minutes.

See how with each different set up, him pouring that drink might be different? How about how your main character reacts to him, and even what he/she does after the interaction?

So, spent any time in your minor characters’ heads today?