A writer’s first thought is usually, “I hope readers like my book.” That ranks high on the list until the book is ready for its release, and then that thought becomes, “I hope readers buy my book!”
As much as every writer wants to see their book on the shelves of every major bookseller in America (okay, let’s be honest, we want our book on the shelves of every bookseller in the world), there is a special exhilaration that comes with watching it rise on the Amazon charts. Maybe it’s because the author can monitor its movement and see how it compares to the other books that are selling that day.
I assure you, there is not a writer alive who isn’t thrilled when their book hits the TOP 100 list on Amazon or has a bestseller “flag” bestowed upon it. That means that readers are buying the book.
When the hardback edition of my Gold Rush novel, CHANGE OF FORTUNE was released in February 2022, it rose quickly, stunning me and my hopeful expectations. By midnight it had made the TOP 100 on Amazon’s list of American Historical Romances, and within twenty-four hours it had reached its height at #30 on the list. I was thrilled! But even more thrilling was when I looked to see how many other hardback books were in that TOP 100 which was crowded with paperback and eBooks. Only four hardcover novels graced the list of top sellers that day, which meant that my novel, CHANGE OF FORTUNE, stood alongside GONE WITH THE WIND, THE GREAT GATSBY, and Janet Daily’s CALDER GRIT. Wow! That’s a moment I will never forget. A writer works long and hard to create a book in hopes that it will someday see success. If we’re lucky, we sometimes get a glimpse of our dream. Those are the moments that can last a writer a lifetime, and keep hope alive that the next one might “hit the big time.”
amazon ranked, Five Star, Hardback books, top 100