I’ve sold out. Well, in Sheffield I have. There is not a single copy of The Secret War available to buy in my home town – the last three copies were sold yesterday at Waterstones, Orchard Square. That’s not bad going for four weeks in print (and at least 10 copies in stock at Waterstones – not including the 80 copies sold there on Launch day).
And trade is still brisk on Amazon. My ranking was at the heady heights of 1,755 this lunch time. Though I’m fully aware the Amazon ranking is purely “interesting” rather than mirroring sales.
Before anyone asks how the book is doing elsewhere – I really don’t know. I can only go by anecdotal stuff that says it is selling nicely, for example, in London (it has sold out in a couple of London bookshops apparently).
If there are any interesting numbers in this game, they will appear later in the year with my first ever royalty cheque. I guess then those figures will become a reality.
And I’ll know whether or not The Secret War has remained just a “secret”.
Onto more serious matters
And so we come to the end of my first month as a published author. It’s been a fantastic experience so far – from the subdued opening to the on-going excitement of publicity and mindlessly watching the ol’ Amazon ranking!!
But more serious writing matters must now intervene.
The publicity and the sales for The Secret War have their own momentum, and even though I’ll be keeping an eye on them in case either stalls, I must now concentrate on writing the 2nd draft of The Secret of Mhorrer, and this blog will in future reflect that. This weekend Sarah is working and despite the prospect of sunshine, I too will have my head down, finishing chapter 7 of the new book and working straight on with chapter 8. The book is being revised every moment of every day – from the physical typing on the laptop to the musings on the bus and the changes concluded in my thoughts before I commit them to screen.
Writing a first draft is fun.
But redrafting can be exhilarating and torture in equal amounts!
Postscript:
The reprints have just arrived at Waterstones in Sheffield... and they look quite different to the first editions. The paper's a bit thicker and there is no longer the bookmark ribbon attached to the spine. The presentation is still impeccable, but I think the first editions may turn out to be collectors items even now... (so yes, I am currently eating my own words from a previous blog).
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