Online sales

Blacksburg got walloped with a nine-inch snow on January 17. My daughter Adelyn and I ran outside for a quick snow selfie.

Blacksburg got walloped with a nine-inch snow on January 17. My daughter Adelyn and I ran outside for a quick snow selfie.

Many folks have asked “How is the book doing?” Truth is, I have no idea. CrossBooks, my publisher, doesn’t release data until the end of the quarter, and so I won’t have any idea of that until after March 31.

Online is where it’s at… for now

To date, the book is on most major online retailers. Sites like Amazon, Books A Million, Barnes & Noble, Family Christian Stores, etc. all carry the book. Crossbooks began publicizing the book in their new release catalog sent out to thousands of stores and chains across the nation just a week or so ago, from my understanding. That means that they “buyers” for bookstores, or merchandisers, will have the opportunity to see my book advertised in that publication and then decide if it looks interesting enough to select for in-store sales.

This is one of the reason we’ve peppered the airwaves – or web streams – with promotion about the book and asked people consistently to write reviews. The merchandisers will, many times, check out feedback on online sites that carry the book and see how people are responding to the book there. If they see good reviews and feedback, they will be more motivated to carry the book in stores.

Why is getting the book in stores important when web sales are dominating the market these days?

Great question! One reason is people still love to browse bookstores. I suspect you have done that yourself a time or two. Walking up and down book-laden shelves, a book will often catch your eye that you weren’t even looking for. You may then whip out your smart phone and compare the store price with the online price, but seeing it in the store triggered an interest. (By the way, this digital price comparison is called “show rooming” and is one of the main reasons for Target’s recently announced matching-price policy.)

Soooo… it’s very helpful for the book for you to write a brief review – whether good or constructively critical – and leave it on a site or two. Of course, leave it on the website that you bought it from, and then consider leaving a review on one of these book sites:

For those of you just stepping into the Super Center Savior site, here’s how the book finished up on it’s Buy-Launch Day on Amazon on Saturday, December 22, 2012:

Under Best Sellers:
#5 under Inspiration
#86 under Spirituality
#31 (for Kindle under Inspiration)