Numbers game …

• Posted in About Books, On Writing

Karma Girl has been out almost two weeks now, and I’ve been trying to figure out how well it’s doing. Mostly by checking my online Amazon and Barnes & Noble rankings every day. Yes, I am that obsessive. 😎

I also got some good news from my editor. Karma Girl was #22 on the B&N trade romance list last week and #36 on the BookScan list.

At least, I think this is good news. I have no idea what those numbers actually mean. Copies sold? Shipped? Returned? Put in a big pile and burned to ash?

Actually, I have no idea what any of the best-seller numbers mean. Why is Publishers Weekly different from the New York Times list? Why are both of those different from USA Today? And those lists don’t count actual copies sold, right? They look at books shipped … or something.

If anyone knows of an article that explains the numbers game, please pass it on. Inquiring minds want to know how well the book is doing …

8 Responses to “Numbers game …”

  2. ellie says:

    Congrats on Karma Girl. Looks fabulous and intriguing. Best on all your future endeavors.

  3. Jennifer Estep says:

    Hi, Amy. Super Librarian to the rescue! Thanks for the article. Evidently, book sales are nationally guarded secrets and nobody really knows how accurate the lists are. Ah well. 😀

    Thanks, Ellie! I hope you enjoy the book. 😎

  4. Brian says:

    I hope I picked up most of the pop culture items in Karma Girl.

    I’m sure the Fearless Five have a red stripe down the side of their black van. I didn’t think you could put out your first book without an A-Team reference.

    I do wonder if the first conversation between Sam and Carmen is a play on a scene from the Batman movie.

    Also I wonder if your use of “ubervillain” is a Buffy reference, and I think using one of Spike’s favorite lines three times was great.

  5. pearl says:

    Your new release, Karma Girl is so appealing. Love your website. Congrats on this wonderful book.

  6. Jennifer Estep says:

    Hi, Pearl. Thanks for the nice words. I appreciate them. Hope you enjoy the book. 🙂

    Hi, Brian. The F5 van *might* have a red stripe down the side. I do love my A-Team. 😀

    Are you talking about when she confronts him in her apartment? I don’t recall anything like that in the Batman movies. Which Batman are you referencing?

    Ubervillain is a loose homage to Buffy’s ubervamp. I also used it because Marvel and DC already used supervillain.

    Spike had a favorite line? And I used it? What is it? Forgive me. I haven’t looked at Karma Girl since December, and I’ve worked on three books since then. My brain is fried.

    Actually, the whole book is really a comic book spoof, so I used lots of genre conventions — the alliterative names, the billionaire with a secret identity, the superhero team …

  7. Brian says:

    I must have read way too much into your book. If you watch the 1989 Batman movie the first time Bruce Wayne and Vicki Vale met put me in mind of when Sam and Carmen first meet on pages 134-136 of your book.
    “I roamed into a room devoted to medieval weapons and suits of armor.”

    Vicki Vale roamed into a room that was filled with something similar and then Bruce Wayne came into the room. Also both meetings took place at a benefit.

    “Bloody Hell” Carmen says it twice and I think Fiona says it once.

  8. Jennifer Estep says:

    Ahh, I see. No, that’s not an homage to Batman. That scene was inspired by a trip to the Cleveland Museum of Art. They have an enormous room devoted to swords, armor, and more. It’s really cool. 😎

    I finally remembered that “bloody hell” was one of Spike’s catchphrases. I didn’t use it because of that. I just thought it sounded cool.

    Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed the book.

Back to Top