My Weblog: Election Day / Book Release Day

by Leigh Perry

As I type this, it is both Election Day and Release Day for my new book, The Skeleton Makes a Friend. (Insert obligatory book cover illustration here)

With my book fresh on the shelves, I should be full of excitement about it. Which I am. I really enjoy writing about Georgia Thackery and her BFF, Sid the Skeleton. I'm pleased with the plot, I got to play with series characters like Georgia's father and daughter Madison, I introduced some new characters that I really like, I threw in a few real0life issues along with the bone jokes, and I've laid some groundwork for the future of the characters. I'm really very proud of this book, and I think fans of the series will be happy with it, too.

But I'm also very distracted by the elections going on, and the results still being announced because as important as this book is to me, obviously the election is a lot more important to the world at large. So it's hard to do the perky author dance and say, "Hey, buy my book!" just because it's my blog day.

In fact, it occurs to me that Election Day and Release Day have a lot in common:

They're both the culmination of a lot of work. I spent months writing this book, plus the time it took to create the series as a whole. The folks at Diversion Books who edited, copy edited, created the cover, designed the interior, and continue to market and promote it add up to even more work. Plus booksellers! Reviewers! Delivery people! And that's all peanuts compared to the work that goes into the campaign for even a local office, and of course, the poll workers. Political reporters! Canvassers! Phone bank callers! So much work.
Elections and new-release authors all have to wait for results. All over the country, machines are adding up votes, workers are checking the machines, other people are checking the workers. Then the press is getting the word out as fast as they can. But still, by the time you read this, we'll have the vast majority of the results all figured out. For me, on the other hand, the wait is just beginning. Sure, there will be some early indicators like Amazon and Barnes&Noble rankings, but the fact is, I won't have a reliable idea of the book sales for months and months.
It's all about the numbers. Generally speaking, the candidate with the most votes wins. (I'll ignore the Electoral College for the moment.) And in the writing game, the sales numbers determine whether I'll get another contract, how much money I'll make, and where I fall in author pecking order. (Okay, there's not really an author pecking order. Except kind of.)
It's NOT all about the numbers. A well-run campaign can send an important message to the people who actually do win, especially in a close race. The winners might just adjust their attitudes and policy as a result. For me, writing the best book I can is the most important part of the process. Don't get me wrong--I like selling books for all the reasons mentioned in the previous bullet point--but big sales for a book felt was unworthy wouldn't give me the happy glow. If I write a book that gets good reviews, that my fans like, and that I'm satisfied with, then I've won!
There's always next year! Some candidates start planning an election campaign even before the current one ends, because there's always another election looming. And for me, I'm not going to be sitting around waiting to see how this book does. I'm going to start another one. (Which I'm not going to tell you about yet because it's a secret. And because I don't know what it's going to be about yet.)

Anyway, if you took time to vote, thank you. If you bought my new book or borrowed it from the library or reviewed an early copy, thank you. If you did both, you get bony hugs from Sid! (Who did not vote. He stole my sticker while I was distracted.)