Become Intimate with your Readers

Nicole Seitz, artist and author of the The Spirit of Sweetgrass and Trouble the Water[releases in March 08] stops by Christian Fiction today to participate in our 1Question Author Interview Series.

The question: What did you do for your spiritual life in '07 that also improved your writing?

I allowed myself to fully connect with others in 2007. This writing business is often a solitary undertaking. Hours and hours behind a screen, talking to no one, seeing no one. My debut novel, The Spirit of Sweetgrass, came out in 2007, and I found myself promoting the book at signings, conferences, festivals. With each talk, I became more open. With each new reader, I realized the impact my writing had. With each new author I met, I connected on an intimate level. Oftentimes perfect strangers touched me in a profound spiritual way by the words they said about the words God wrote through me. In essence, in 2007 I opened myself up to allow others to come into my heart, something I've guarded for much of my life. This new openness of spirit has made me a more empathetic writer, one who truly cares about her readers, about her fellow man, about her characters. I can only be a better writer by feeding my heart in such a way.

Don't want to miss your favorite author's response, subscribe to CFB. If you are an author and would love to participate in this series, please contact me.

Holiday 2007 Book Sales Questionable

According to RetailMetrics...Barnes & Noble, Borders Group and Books-A-Million offered holiday sales reports with mixed news. At B&N, comp-store sales fell, and the company had to revise earnings downward, leading to a 19.1% drop in its stock price. In Borders's case, comp-store sales rose 2.4%, a healthy figure this season, but profits were hurt by discounting. BAM had flat comp-store sales. Still, book sales at the trio were relatively solid...

In a statement, BAM president and CEO Sandra B. Cochran said, "The sales environment for the holiday season proved challenging as we confronted softening economic conditions and a value-conscious consumer. Nonetheless, we saw good results in a number of our core book categories as well as strong performances in bargain books and the gift department. Bestsellers for the season included James Patterson's Double Cross, Tony Dungy's Quiet Strength, Glenn Beck's Inconvenient Book and Jan Karon's Home to Holly Springs."

Source: ShelfAwareness.

I see the stats, but I wonder how well did online bookselling do? My Amazon conversation rate tripled during the Holiday Season with no charge backs.

Question: Did any other book bloggers sales increase in 2007?