Journey to Success - in a Clown Car

The Associated Press had a great article yesterday on Monica Drake, the author of the novel Clown Girl. The intro on a project that took about a decade to get recognition was fine, but the really amusing part came in the time line - one agent after another, one rejection after another, one odd meeting after another, becoming friends with Chuck Palahniuk, who eventually touts her novel on his site, after which the first edition sells out.

This looks like another title to add to the reading list. Just what I needed. I think my shelf has become the clown car, with more spilling off of it than ever could fit on in the first place.

Fatal Feminine Sales - When Buzz Doesn't Bump Book Buying

The New York Times had an interesting story about the lack of sales on either side of the work outside the house/stay at home mothering debate. At the heart of the article is the premise that although they get tremendous media attention, "these so-called mommy books fail to transform their talk-show and blogosphere buzz into book sales." Instead of reading, women debate the titles based on summaries or excerpts but don't buy copies.

That may seem odd, but it's really not. As many businesses learn, getting press doesn't necessarily turn into sales. Eventually, if people are going to shell out money for something, they have to feel that they're going to get something from it. With a topic that gets so polarizing, those who agree might not buy because they already "know" they're right, and those who disagree are just as sure that the book will be wrong, so why bother? I suspect that many of the nasty political books only do well because they dish the dirt on someone, which is almost irrestible to most people.