Catholic blogger/author/speaker Amy Welborn posted the following today, and now it’s all I can do not to crawl back into bed, armed with a bottle and a novel, and quietly sob the day away. (Well, not really. A wife and four children puts a real damper on that kind of weepy, self-pitying indulgence):
“Some of you are under the delusion that I’m really famous and well-paid. Well, I’m neither. Who cares, right, but my point is that while I’m glad my work impacts the people it does, the field is still wide open. For example, to satisfy the curiosity of some (who sometimes post snide comments about my “lucrative” book writing career) I might pull in about $14,000 on book royalties this year – total. Sounds great? That’s on 12 books in print. Do the math. Second point – and this is what actually inspired this post. Someone encountered a diocesan director of youth ministry over the weekend. The fellow had never heard of me, never heard of any of my books – not the Prove Its, not Here.Now, all of which were specifically written for his constituents. Evidently the crack marketing powers of Catholic publishing have struck again.”
Hence the new button on the left, under “Links for Your Enjoyment.” One of the reasons I stayed with Loyola Press for Book Two was because nobody else in their right mind would publish me, er, that is, because they did very well by me in terms of design and marketing. If Swimming with Scapulars sinks without a trace, I won’t be tempted to blame them. They understand the enormous role that marketing plays in making a book a success, and they’ve paid attention to me in ways that a larger publisher might not. So, they’re stuck with me for this second effort.
Naturally, I would like to see them become the publishing juggernaut of the Catholic world, and to that end, I’m directing y’all to SpiritedTalk.org. It’s an attempt to utilize the interactive qualities of the Interweb on behalf of the publishing world – that is, it’s a great way for readers to give feedback and provide direction. Please do give it a look.
Matthew,
Sorry to come along so late in my thanks for your kind words on the Wisconsin visit: busyness is my business of late (as you witnessed on a grand scale during your visit).
But I have only to say by way of response to your prose-paean: IT WAS ALL WORTH IT! And I speak for my wife in saying this: in fact, these are her words. We pulled something from somewhere to make that all happen, and I have married Wonder Woman (yes, she has the lasso-of-truth and you can only IMAGINE what she does with it…) – considering that two of the three Johnson Graces (I’ve even assigned each a mythio-poeic “art” – they are the goddesses of meat, sides and baking) were mostly out of commission during the visit.
I think I will have another baby now…
Effusively uxorious,
JOB
If word of mouth helps my pastor sold not a few of your books to my parish. He read it and then told everyone who would listen how much he liked it. A bunch of them went out and bought it.
They all trust his judgement when it comes to books, his library is impressive.
Maggue
*sigh* But I’ve made sure your book was facing out and prominently displayed in each of the 3 mega-chain bookstores I’ve visited in the scenic San Antonio area in the past days! Surely that has to count for something.
Warm hellos to you and yours,
Pauline
Pauline,
It counts for plenty. How’s San Antonio? Thanks much.
Angelmeg,
Thanks much to you as well, and to your pastor. The marketing push/media thing is cooling fast – word of mouth is about all I’ve got left. Unless something changes.
Joseph,
So glad it was worth it. We’ll remember it for a long, long time.