When 4th July rolls around, rather than thinking of hotdogs, baseball, deep fried cheese and lassoing cattle, I now think about my book babies. Why? Well, as luck (or lack of it, depending on how full your glass is) would have it, I've had two books published on 4th July. This makes it somewhat hard to promote the shiny new texts on release day because instead of buying and reading books, my transatlantic readers are busy scoffing mashmallows and meat while trying not to murder their extended family.
Anyway that's a rather longwinded route to this fact: my most recent novel, "Bucket List" has been out in the world for a year. And I thought it might be interesting to share this experience with you, because "Bucket List" is my first non-SFF novel with a traditional publisher. The tides of publication can be mysterious and often deadly if you stray too close to the rocks, so let's take a peek at the last 12 months...
In the beginning...
All the edits were done (with thankfully not too many rounds), the cover was selected, we were primed for launch! I had been hoping that the novel was going to be highlighted as a Book of the Month with a major book retailer, but unfortunately this didn't happen despite moving the publication date so it would be eligible. So, we're already on the back foot: a delayed release on American Independence Day, and no lovely accolade despite our best efforts.
But hells, it was out! And people seemed to be enjoying it. You always have to take the early reviews with a shake of salt, though, because I tend to see three kinds of early reviews:
1) Very positive, often from friends and family who may or may not have actually read the book
2) Very negative, often from online bots or book reviewers who like to pretend they have better taste than everybody else
3) If you're lucky, some genuine reviews! If you're even luckier, they like your book!
Early reviews, a nice fat 4.8
Thankfully "Bucket List" was landing well over all. I also had a great time visiting a bunch of bookshops around Edinburgh (and later, Glasgow) to sign copies with the Portal Books / Birlinn Books promo and marketing team. I gave specially-made cakes to the booksellers and very subtly (or so I thought) hinted that the book would look fantastic in the shop window and/or on the main tables. Why did I make such wily recommendations? Well there are a lot of books in a book shop, and positioning your book so people can see the cover is a big deal if you want it to be picked up by readers. Publishers sometimes pay a lot of money for that kind of positioning. But a kind word and a cupcake might also help, as well as giving a little treat to bookshop staff (who are almost unanimously awesome, by the way).
Cakes for booksellers
A little later...
The bookshops around Edinburgh were very supportive and some even placed it on their holy "3 for 2 summer reads" tables. And so it was time to give birth to "Bucket List" more officially with an in-person launch. Usually I'd aim for publication day or the week after to keep up the momentum surrounding the book, but various delays meant that a month or so passed until we were able to host an event. In the meantime I was diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure, which was fun. I'll write another post about that soon -- woohoo!
My launch eventually arrived though, and we had the best backdrop: Edinburgh castle! It was even a sunny day, which is about as rare as a unicorn carrying a four-leaf clover. Tendai Huchu chaired, and the man is pure charisma. The shop was busy with friends and new faces, we had a good old chat, cakes were eaten (not by me, remember the diabetes??) and books were bought. For me, the in-person launch is the most celebratory time of a book's life, because the things that happen either side can feel a bit deflating. Nobody really cares that much about the official publication day, and books can soon be forgotten unless they win some big prizes. I know a lot of authors struggle with the lack of excitement around their book coming out, possibly because it's such a big event for the creator and we build it up in our minds. Reality can't compete, and it's easy to fall into a malaise. Time to work on the next book, my friend...
I was interviewed on BBC Radio Scotland and on Shetland Radio, I wrote an article on the loneliness epidemic and the need for hope in hard times. I sent a copy to Miriam Margolyes in the hopes she might read it and tell her agent, "I simply MUST play Dot [the main character], get the huge multi-million-pounds contracts ready!" It was well reviewed in places like The Herald (which is nice, but I don't think it really improves sales) and we garnered some great quotes such as "the ultimate feel-good novel". And... well, that was about it!
Me and Tendai "The Charisma" Huchu at the book launch
Much later...
No grounds were broken, no great accolades were given, Holywood didn't knock down my door to offer me a movie deal and a steak dinner, I was not awarded the key to the city. But the first print sold out and it was reprinted and continued to sell well. We're not talking hundreds of thousands of copies here, but very few books manage that. In fact there was some report a few years ago that said many books from a major publisher sold under 100 copies and a significant number sold under 1000. So, relatively speaking, "Bucket List" is storming it.
And just as important to me, some readers really connected with the book. Probably my favourite parts of publishing a book is seeing reviews or receiving messages from readers who tell me how it affected them. One online reviewer said they were going to call their dad afterwards, as they hadn't spoken in a while. Another said it reminded them of their gran, and that they were going to visit her grave. Several readers mentioned that the book gave them hope and made them feel better about life. A bunch of people said it made them cry, which is one of my main aims as a writer. Weep, mortal! Muwhahaah. I can't ask for much more than that! One of my favourite reviews said:
And of course, there were negative reviews too. I know a lot of readers advise against reading reviews of their books, it can hurt to know that some people think your baby is ugly and stinks. But I love reading all my reviews, even the negative ones. Sometimes, especially the negative ones if they're ridiculous. I've learned to laugh at them, to accept that not every book is ideal for every person. If you're a writer who's upset about bad reviews, I highly recommend looking at the reviews of your all-time favourite novels, and filtering it to show the 1-stars. Even the books you consider "the greatest of all time" are hated by some people. Join the club! Enjoy it!
What's next...
Who knows. I'd love for "Bucket List" to be adapted for screen because I think it would work really well as a 3-part TV show or a movie. But the chances of such things are practically zilch. I'd love it to be translated too, which is more likely but not yet happening. So, time to keep plodding on with other books in the hope that all the pieces fall into place. I'm taking up digital art too and focussing on my business to not place so many eggs in one tempramental basket. Maybe I'll celebrate "Bucket List" with some deep fried cheese and fist fight with a racist uncle. Or like Dot would, with a slice of cake. Oh damn, the diabetes...
Russell Jones
