Is “The Chaos Scenario” a best seller? Well, yes.
OK, it is no “Going Rogue,” that pack of lies offered up by noted ignoramus Sarah Palin. Truth be told, it’s also no “Outliers.” But since its publication it has been a top business book on Amazon.com in each of the advertising, marketing and media categories. It’s been especially strong as a Kindle edition, where at any given time it is in the top 1000, 3000, or 5000 Kindle selections — this out of a pool of about a half million titles. At this writing, we’re at 2,869.
It’s hard to know our overall sales to actual book buyers, because we can’t track sales at retail in brick-and-mortar stores; we can only extrapolate from sales to stores.
Our best guess is that more than 5,000 actual books are in actual readers hands, increasing each month by about 750 copies. Not bad for a book published by a tiny little start-up without a penny spent in advertising.
Granted, 5,000 seems like a kind of pitiful total, until you consider this: the average U.S. book sells only 250 copies a year and less than 3000 in its lifetime. This according “Ten Awful Truths About Book Publishing” by Steve Piersanti, president of Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Irv Mermelstein has made a Comment
Is this Bob Garfield a son of Sonny and Nancy Garfield whom we knew very well.?. Last track was widowed Nancy married Bob Rowen. Is Nancy still alive and well and living someplace near Phoiladelphia?
I’ll buy the book on Kindle especially fi it’s the “kid” we remember as Bobby.
Bob Garfield has made a Comment
Holy Moly! Just found this in a vast stack of comment spam. Yes, I’m Bobby. My mom died about 6 years ago. Bob Rowen died almost two years ago. I’m delighted to see that you are alive and well. Leah? My brother Davey and I were very fond of you both. You and the Zions meant so much to my folks during a very, very difficult part of our lives. When we went back to Philadelphia, your brother was one of the news anchors…WFIL, I think….so there was always a little Mermelstein in our life.
I’m trying to do the math, but you must be approximately 800 years old. Where are you living? I remember you had a college age son in those days. I hope all is well with him and any other offspring I may have forgotten.
Anyway, a big hug from here in Potomac, Md. My email is bobosphere@gmail.com.
All best wishes,
Bobby Garfield