I hope this isn’t too weird of a question, but from an author’s perspective, do sales on Amazon count the same as from an indie? I do appreciate your foray into social media, because I’m pretty sure IG is how I discovered you. It might be my age (48), but I have zero desire to delve into TikTok. I will ALWAYS favor a nice picture and some thoughtfully written paragraphs over a quick cut reel with no written words. On a side note, I noticed that Deborah Madison’s Greens is being rereleased many years later (I still have the OG). I’m sure her success isn’t due to hastily made videos. Thank you for what you do.
Emily that's not a weird question at all because it's a good one. A sale is a sale but there are differences. For example, there are two (2) sales numbers that we mainly see. One number represents the sale to retailers/wholesalers and special accounts -- people who buy from the publisher. The other number represents when a consumer buys the book from a vendor.
Amazon sales to consumers are visibly tracked for a moment or so through the sales ranking number. That number can swing wildly so as an author, I try not too look too much!
When an individual buys a book from an indie shop, at an event/farmer's market, or maybe through businesses like Anthrophologie, that transaction is not publicly seen (there's no Amazon ranking). If that sale is reported by the retailer, then the sale is recorded on the back end, through a publisher portal in the case of Penguin Random House.
Beyond those two sales figures, you can dive deeper into sales channels to review which vendors purchased the book.
One thing that cheered me as booked toured this year was the amount of community support for independent bookshops. The fact that you and your husband traveled so far to meet me at Now Serving was among the high points.
If I spend too much time on TikTok, my head spins like something in the "Exorcist". But now I've revealed my age (54)!
Hooray that "Greens" is coming back. I loved that book. It taught me so many timeless concepts.
As a tiny niche publisher, book seller, and author: Amazon is not our friend. I am glad you and your publishers are friends with some indies, because I hope Amazon doesn't make it through the current big tech disruption, and then we'll have to rebuild our trades better without it. I hope its demise doesn't disrupt lives too much. Meanwhile, I ordered your book to celebrate a personal milestone. Thank you for creating, writing, and sharing! You rock!
The indie bookshops I have visited and supported are agile and strong. Through the pandemic, people realize the value of brick and mortar businesses and the people who keep them going. We’ll see what happens.
Keep up your self determination. Now more than ever, self publishing holds value. There are many opportunities out there. Thank you for supporting my work and being here.
I really appreciate you writing about this, Andrea. My next book comes out next summer and knowing all this helps - even if we don't know what is really going on, ha. I enjoyed reading more about your journey to publishing your books.
What's in the news are the stories about people who wildly succeed. I just added a link to this week's NYT article by Priya Krishna on TikTok celebs getting big deals and selling super well -- but that's not always the case.
There will be something else but if you write a good book and change lives, that's what is important.
Amazon pricing is seriously weird. Some days, my book is $15. Other days, it's full price! Thank goodness for publishers who take the long game. And thank you for sharing a little behind the scenes.
It's the ultimate roller coaster ride -- controlled by a mathematical formula that will likely remain a mystery forever. You know how I somehow often bring up subjects that people think about but don't want to publicly say! It's the same in my family.
I’m glad you wrote EGV. It has revolutionised how I cook and what I eat and that is worth the full price of a decent book to me. I feel, from a consumer perspective that it’s hard to know whether a cookbook is going to ‘work’ for me and I have a naughty shelf of ones that looked/sounded great but didn’t suit me or my cooking lifestyle. Such a hard ask for any bookseller to enable the prospective customer to assess this, and especially with the dearth of bricks and mortar bookstores.
We never know who will read our words and find them useful. I'm so happy that you and I have connected here and on IG -- where we can cook, joke, and have conversation.
Buying cookbooks is kinda like buying a pair of jeans. When they fit, life is glorious. So glad that EGV didn't end up on your naughty shelf!
The staff at a cookbook shop is the best concierge for cookbooks but there are few of them around. Our local bookstore thankfully has folks who will do "shelf talkers" to recommend cookbooks. I often read those before buying, if I don't already know about a book. Libraries are a good place to check out a book too.
On the other hand, if there's something I don't know about and the price is right on Amazon, I'll purchase it online. It may end up in the naughty shelf/pile/corner but I'm always happy to add a sale to the author's numbers.
I hope this isn’t too weird of a question, but from an author’s perspective, do sales on Amazon count the same as from an indie? I do appreciate your foray into social media, because I’m pretty sure IG is how I discovered you. It might be my age (48), but I have zero desire to delve into TikTok. I will ALWAYS favor a nice picture and some thoughtfully written paragraphs over a quick cut reel with no written words. On a side note, I noticed that Deborah Madison’s Greens is being rereleased many years later (I still have the OG). I’m sure her success isn’t due to hastily made videos. Thank you for what you do.
Emily that's not a weird question at all because it's a good one. A sale is a sale but there are differences. For example, there are two (2) sales numbers that we mainly see. One number represents the sale to retailers/wholesalers and special accounts -- people who buy from the publisher. The other number represents when a consumer buys the book from a vendor.
Amazon sales to consumers are visibly tracked for a moment or so through the sales ranking number. That number can swing wildly so as an author, I try not too look too much!
When an individual buys a book from an indie shop, at an event/farmer's market, or maybe through businesses like Anthrophologie, that transaction is not publicly seen (there's no Amazon ranking). If that sale is reported by the retailer, then the sale is recorded on the back end, through a publisher portal in the case of Penguin Random House.
Beyond those two sales figures, you can dive deeper into sales channels to review which vendors purchased the book.
One thing that cheered me as booked toured this year was the amount of community support for independent bookshops. The fact that you and your husband traveled so far to meet me at Now Serving was among the high points.
If I spend too much time on TikTok, my head spins like something in the "Exorcist". But now I've revealed my age (54)!
Hooray that "Greens" is coming back. I loved that book. It taught me so many timeless concepts.
Thank you for the thoughtful reply. Meeting you was very special for me, and when I was in Now Serving I felt like I was “home.”
As a tiny niche publisher, book seller, and author: Amazon is not our friend. I am glad you and your publishers are friends with some indies, because I hope Amazon doesn't make it through the current big tech disruption, and then we'll have to rebuild our trades better without it. I hope its demise doesn't disrupt lives too much. Meanwhile, I ordered your book to celebrate a personal milestone. Thank you for creating, writing, and sharing! You rock!
The indie bookshops I have visited and supported are agile and strong. Through the pandemic, people realize the value of brick and mortar businesses and the people who keep them going. We’ll see what happens.
Keep up your self determination. Now more than ever, self publishing holds value. There are many opportunities out there. Thank you for supporting my work and being here.
I really appreciate you writing about this, Andrea. My next book comes out next summer and knowing all this helps - even if we don't know what is really going on, ha. I enjoyed reading more about your journey to publishing your books.
What's in the news are the stories about people who wildly succeed. I just added a link to this week's NYT article by Priya Krishna on TikTok celebs getting big deals and selling super well -- but that's not always the case.
There will be something else but if you write a good book and change lives, that's what is important.
Thank you - and that was the follow-up question I felt was a bit too impertinent to ask...
It's not as if you asked if you could make this with say, kale!
True.
Hi, would this also work with frozen corn?
I think it may. I'd use 1 1/2 to 2 cups of frozen sweet corn.
Amazon pricing is seriously weird. Some days, my book is $15. Other days, it's full price! Thank goodness for publishers who take the long game. And thank you for sharing a little behind the scenes.
It's the ultimate roller coaster ride -- controlled by a mathematical formula that will likely remain a mystery forever. You know how I somehow often bring up subjects that people think about but don't want to publicly say! It's the same in my family.
I’m glad you wrote EGV. It has revolutionised how I cook and what I eat and that is worth the full price of a decent book to me. I feel, from a consumer perspective that it’s hard to know whether a cookbook is going to ‘work’ for me and I have a naughty shelf of ones that looked/sounded great but didn’t suit me or my cooking lifestyle. Such a hard ask for any bookseller to enable the prospective customer to assess this, and especially with the dearth of bricks and mortar bookstores.
We never know who will read our words and find them useful. I'm so happy that you and I have connected here and on IG -- where we can cook, joke, and have conversation.
Buying cookbooks is kinda like buying a pair of jeans. When they fit, life is glorious. So glad that EGV didn't end up on your naughty shelf!
The staff at a cookbook shop is the best concierge for cookbooks but there are few of them around. Our local bookstore thankfully has folks who will do "shelf talkers" to recommend cookbooks. I often read those before buying, if I don't already know about a book. Libraries are a good place to check out a book too.
On the other hand, if there's something I don't know about and the price is right on Amazon, I'll purchase it online. It may end up in the naughty shelf/pile/corner but I'm always happy to add a sale to the author's numbers.