I just checked amazon.com, and my book is 615th. I’m not sure what to say about this. A few days ago I peaked at, oh, 150ish, which is pretty solid. And, truth be told, most people would be thrilled to sit at 615. But I’ve been spoiled.
Six months ago, my Cowboys book topped at 15th. That was crazy, and it set up unrealistic hopes/expectations. I’ve had two of my first three books become NYT best-seller’s, and I’ll be the first to admit 95% of that is luck and timing and subject matter. Truth is, one never knows how a book will sell—whether it’ll go on fire or merely slink off into the night. Right now, at this very moment, I’m on the fringe of both possibilities.
Thing is, there’s little I can do. I promote and promote and promote, but one can only control his book selling destiny to so far of a degree. I snagged three excerpts, Harper sent out hundreds of review copies, I’ve had insane support from my editors, friends, colleagues, etc. But, at the same time, we’re in the midst of March Madness, the economy has engulfed nearly everything in its path and Roger Clemens was sort of bumped from the back pages by Alex Rodriguez and the face-gnawing monkey. It is what it is.
But I remain proud. I feel good about this book—I really, really do. I’m not one to toot my own horn, and I won’t here. That said, I worked my tail off, and will always feel good about the effort.
* On a side note, American Idol has blown me away thus far. Here are my rankings, most likely to win down to least likely …
1. Danny Gokey—Very strong singer, plus emotional story and oodles of charisma.
2. Adam Lambert—The most talented by a huge margin, but will conservative thinkers vote for the prototype of the kid they made fun of in high school.
3. Allison Iraheta—Joyful, and only 16. But it doesn’t seem like a woman will win this year.
4. Matt Giraud—Timberlake clone is very smooth, but a wee-bit forgettable at times.
5. Kris Allen—Were Kermit a 23-year-old American Idol contestant …
6. Lil Rounds—A bit disappointing. Killer voice, but sorta meh. (Also, there’s definitely a pattern on American Idol where the African-American female belters are dismissed prematurely—and it always infuriates me)
7. Anoop Desai—Smooth voice, nice fella, but not quite good enough.
8. Scott MacIntyre—He is blind, which adds to his impressive package. But he’s pretty mediocre by comparison to the big dogs.
9. Megan Joy—Requisite blonde cutie just doesn’t have what it takes. And what’s with her two-step waddle?
