Should I Be Concerned?

gothicangel · Oct 16, 2011

I was playing around on Google today and found this:

http://www.thebookseller.com/news/french-and-watson-lead-strong-first-half-debuts.html

Before I Go to Sleep S J Watson Doubleday 22,728
New Beginnings Fern Britton HarperCollins 20,571
A Discovery of Witches Deborah Harkness Headline 17,591
When God Was a Rabbit Sarah Winman Headline 12,377
Sanctus Simon Toyne HarperCollins 12,273
The Hypnotist Lars Kepler Blue Door 11,767
A Tiny Bit Marvellous Dawn French Michael Joseph 10,142
The Tiger's Wife Téa Obreht Weidenfeld 9,008
Vespasian Robert Fabbri Corvus 7,024
Snowdrops A J Miller Atlantic 5,663

This is a list of the top 10 bestselling hardbacks so far this year. Is 7,000 copies for a hardback good, or will this maybe make publishers more wary of historical novels set in the Roman period?

It could be me, I'm not well acquainted with hardback sales [this book was on sale for £7.99 as a hardback and a 99p ebook.] The publisher is Corvus, and I'm starting to think that there might be a fatigue with Roman set novels. Or should I just get the book written, and remind myself my book is different to the current crop of Roman set novels?

scarletpeaches · Oct 16, 2011

If it's good, it'll kick off interest in Roman novels. If it's bad, meh. You can show them how it's done!

Maybe I'm being naive but I don't see how this affects your prospects.

TheRob1 · Oct 16, 2011

I wouldn't worry about it. Until you're an established author w/ a cultivated audience there's really no way to know what the interest in your book will be. Just because you wrote a story in a popular genre doesn't mean that you'll attract a large number of readers from that genre right away. The best thing that we can do as writers is to create the best, most compelling, we can and then sweat and cuss as we send out submission after submission until we've got that deal. Then we listen to our editors to try and hone our work into something that we're both happy with and they think will perform well. Then we say a prayer, cross our fingers, hope for the best, or whatever it is we do when we've done all we can and there are still no guarantees.

Jamesaritchie · Oct 16, 2011

What matters is how those numbers stack up in terms of sales when compared to the bestseller list for all hardcover novels, and how much of a profit the publisher is making off each novel.

Honestly, none of those sales numbers is spectacular.

Debut sales mean only that a writer's first novel is selling better than the first novel of other writers, not that it's selling well when compared to anything else, or that it has even turned much of a profit.

Mr Flibble · Oct 16, 2011

Jamesaritchie said:
Honestly, none of those sales numbers is spectacular.

You may not have noticed but those are UK numbers. Much smaller market than the US, therefore a 'good' sales number will be lower.

I've seen fairly consistently that 5k sales for a debut/newer author is about average for the UK.

timewaster · Oct 16, 2011

IdiotsRUs said:
You may not have noticed but those are UK numbers. Much smaller market than the US, therefore a 'good' sales number will be lower.

I've seen fairly consistently that 5k sales for a debut/newer author is about average for the UK.

I believe it is nearer 2,000 but it depends on genre.

NeuroFizz · Oct 16, 2011

Write the book. Even if you sign a contract with a good publisher right away it will be up to two years before it comes out in print. Who knows what will thrill readers two years from now? Not even publishing professionals know for sure.

LadyDae · Oct 16, 2011

I wouldn't worry about it. Even if it was an indication of what readers are into now or will be into by the time your book is published, if your book is good enough and compelling enough it will set the trend. I say set the trend, don't follow it. That's only if you want to be daring though.

gothicangel · Oct 17, 2011

scarletpeaches said:
If it's good, it'll kick off interest in Roman novels. If it's bad, meh. You can show them how it's done!

Maybe I'm being naive but I don't see how this affects your prospects.

I think it's more of a concern that Roman set novels have reached saturation. If that is true, then I'm hoping it means that novels about the Roman army has reached saturation.

gothicangel · Oct 17, 2011

IdiotsRUs said:
You may not have noticed but those are UK numbers. Much smaller market than the US, therefore a 'good' sales number will be lower.

I've seen fairly consistently that 5k sales for a debut/newer author is about average for the UK.

Thanks for the info, so that means Fabbri's sales are quite good. I think my concern was that I've heard Ian Rankin talking about almost being dumped by his publisher for sales of 10,000 with his early books.

Flicka · Oct 17, 2011

I have a feeling I saw that Ben Kane sold 10,000 hb of his first book and it seemed that he felt that was good. I think he lists his numbers on his website if you're interested.

gothicangel · Oct 17, 2011

Flicka said:
I have a feeling I saw that Ben Kane sold 10,000 hb of his first book and it seemed that he felt that was good. I think he lists his numbers on his website if you're interested.

Thanks.

I just discovered Ben Kane on Twitter last night. This is going to be Evil. :evil

veinglory · Oct 17, 2011

A smaller country and an almost obsolete format.

James D. Macdonald · Oct 17, 2011

Don't worry about it. Those aren't items under your control.

Worry about writing the best novel you can, and submitting it to the best markets. Those items are under your control.

gothicangel · Oct 17, 2011

James D. Macdonald said:
Don't worry about it. Those aren't items under your control.

Worry about writing the best novel you can, and submitting it to the best markets. Those items are under your control.

Thanks.

job · Oct 17, 2011

gothicangel said:
I think it's more of a concern that Roman set novels have reached saturation.

I don't think Roman-set novels are crowding out vampires and technothrillers from the shelves. (Though Roman vampires . . .)

Anyhow, great books with similar settings are the best possible advertisement for your own. Embrace them. Every time they win a reader over to Classical Rome, that reader comes looking for you.

Phaeal · Oct 17, 2011

What may matter most is: How many copies of the Roman novel did the publisher print?

If, say, 5000, and now the book is in its second printing, pretty good. If 50,000, and the book's only sold 7000, ouchies.

Should I Be Concerned?

gothicangel

Toughen up.

scarletpeaches

TheRob1

Trained by the soft master

Jamesaritchie

Mr Flibble

They've been very bad, Mr Flibble

timewaster

present

NeuroFizz

The grad students did it

LadyDae

New AW user. Veteran Writer 8+

gothicangel

Toughen up.

gothicangel

Toughen up.

Flicka

Dull Old Person

gothicangel

Toughen up.

veinglory

volitare nequeo

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

gothicangel

Toughen up.

job

In the end, it's just you and the manuscript

Phaeal

Whatever I did, I didn't do it.