Kevin's Watch

The crucial point is this: pre-orders from Amazon “count” for bestseller lists. In fact, all pre-orders are included as “first-day sales”. As I’ve explained elsewhere in this interview, being a “bestseller” measures the immediate speed with which a book sells, not the ultimate quantity of sales. Therefore one might be inclined to consider ultimate quantity more important than immediate speed. However, “bestsellerdom” has an undeniable perceptual power. On an intangible level, a book which touches, say, #14 on the NY Times list is considered to be an entire order of magnitude more successful than a book which touches #16. And on a tangible level, bookstores will stock more copies of bestsellers, and will stock those copies longer, than any book which does not achieve bestsellerdom. The results are akin to a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more copies a bookstore stocks, and the longer those copies are stocked, the greater the likelihood (duh) that some significant percentage of those copies will actually sell. Which has a direct bearing on ultimate quantity. In practice, being a bestseller tends to be self-perpetuating. Sadly, *not* being a bestseller *also* tends to be self-perpetuating. Hence the (otherwise irrational) emphasis that publishers--and reviewers--and bookstores--place on bestsellers.

When my agent first began trying to find a publisher for “The Runes of the Earth,” I was horrified to learn that most US publishers considered me a “has-been” simply because nothing that I’ve written since “White Gold Wielder” has been on the NY Times bestseller list. Enough pre-orders for “Fatal Revenant” could give my professional career a real boost.

(04/04/2007)

Above quote is taken from Mr. Donaldson's Gradual Interview.

Please consider pre-ordering your copy of Fatal Revenant.

Thanks.
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