Help the American Economy! Buy My Book....!
Yeah, that's kind of a hard pitch to make right now. In the midst of an economic crisis it's not easy to get people to worry too much about book sales, because in the midst of an economic crisis there are far more important things to worry about. Like everyone else, though, authors feel the pinch of a bad economy. Our ability to contract future books for publication is tied directly to the sales performances of our most recent releases. So, if the economy keeps people from spending money on books, then we suffer as well. This is not a complaint -- lots of people out there have it far worse than my fellow authors and I do. But I do offer it as an explanation for the title of today's post.
Sure, I'm worried. I love what I do, and I don't want to stop. But this is a hard way to make a living in the best of times. In a severe recession... well, let's just say that it's not getting any easier. Publishing companies are cutting back on planned releases, booksellers are ordering fewer books, and people going into stores have less disposable income.
None of us is immune.
So if you happen to be one of the lucky ones -- if you're not hurting right now -- go out and spend some money. Buy my book. Buy someone else's book. Get yourself a new toy -- a phone or a camera or a computer (and be certain to recycle that old one!). Take someone you love out to dinner tonight.
And if you're not one of the lucky ones -- if you are hurting right now, if you or someone you care about has lost a job or health coverage -- you're in my thoughts. It seems trite to say this, but we really are in this together (the 177 Republicans in the House of Representatives notwithstanding). We're going to be hunkered down together for a while. And then we're going to emerge from these troubled times together. Some people get by on faith in God, others get by on faith in themselves. Some of us get by on faith in each other.
None of us is immune. But none of us is truly alone, either.