Final Update (for now): 5:00 PM PST
Hi all! I realized people were wondering why I wasn’t updating. It wasn’t that I was out celebrating (though I will be soon), but that the book ranking has held steady at #29 on Amazon for hours (which, in itself is amazing) so I didn’t have crazy stats to update you on. I will say though that we ended the day as #1 in Movers and Shakers, #9 in Hot New Releases (whoa, right), and #1 and #2 in weddings (paper, and Kindle). Let’s hope that’s the beginning of a sea change in how weddings are thrown in this country, no?
It’s been overwhelming and crazy and thrilling, and I hope it matters for more than today. I hope it matters in how we all think about community, support, and economies, and I hope it matters a bit for weddings. Because to quote the Caitlin Moran interview I was watching last night, to calm myself the f*ck down, “I do, a bit, want to totally change the world.”
But before we call it a night, Other Meg, she of La Vie En Rose Events in New York (brand new APW sponsor) would like to give four of you who couldn’t afford the book copies. She says:
The spirit of the APW community is so effing inspiring every day and even more so today! I can’t tell you how many times as a wedding planner I have reiterated APW wisdom to my clients (or pissy mothers). Or how many times I’ve referred to APW to reassure myself that I’m not the only one who thinks this way (we can’t all be batshit crazypants, right?).
So, in the combined spirits of gratitude & paying it forward while indulging my shopaholic tendencies, WHO NEEDS A BOOK? I’ve been a budgeted to the pennies bride to be, so I know there must be folks out there dying to break their spending embargoes. So, I want to buy 4 more copies for the first 4 people to email me shipping info to laverevents (at) gmail.
So clearly, take her up on that, now!
And the darling and emotional A Girl, one of the ladies who held my hand through all of this, had this to say (she burst into tears in the UK when the book hit #29):
As this day winds to a close I’m left feeling somewhat drained, but exhilarated, heart bursting with pride for this new, best-selling creation and the friend who conceived it and willed it into being over many long months. As part of the extended APW sisterhood, I’d like to believe that if ever it was possible for a book to have a bevy of doting aunties, it would be this one, and then how incredibly honoured would I be to feel part of the awe-inspiring community that helps to raise it.
I don’t have anything more coherent to add at this juncture, though I’ll try to put things into words somewhat properly tomorrow afternoon, when I write about the eleventh month of self employment. Till then, I leave you with a heart full of love, and a deeply marvelous Wedding Graduate coming your way in the morning. Because doing our job, that’s how we roll…
And please, don’t get me wrong. If you want to buy the book and haven’t yet, please do. For all that this feels like the end of something big, it’s just the beginning. The book isn’t even OUT yet! So, onward and upward.
Now, off to drink a whole lot of expensive tequila.
Love, love, and more love,
Meg
Update #5: 2:00 PM PST
Um, it turns out, A Practical Wedding: Creative Solutions for Planning a Beautiful, Affordable, and Meaningful Celebration is now a top thirty book on Amazon. We just hit #29. The real reason this is mindblowing, not only given that it’s the holidays and 3/4ths of the books bought this year will be bought this month… or something totally crazy like that… But. Once you get into the top levels of the Best Seller list, headwinds are against you. They give weight to sales over the past month, not just sales over the past day, and the numbers sold get really, really high.
That said, we’re nine slots away from being on the front page of the Amazon Best Seller List. Which? Is crazy. Is totally, totally, totally crazy for a first time author without any mainstream press clout. It currently looks like this:
I, for one, am totally shell shocked. And getting close to ready to break out the champagne. I’m so grateful and overwhelmed, I’m not even sure how to process this. But I’m going to try. Thank you guys, again.
Update #4: 1:15 PM PST
You guys! Things are happening so fast that I’m literally forgetting to update everyone because I’m so boggled. We hit 34 on Amazon. THIRTY F*CKING FOUR. Do you know how hard that is? OVER THE HOLIDAYS? Then I found out we hit #82 on Amazon in Canada. That’s the top 100 IN TWO COUNTRIES. I know. Then my wonderful editor called from New York, sounding totally giddy.
And a special shout out to David Malki of Wondermark, whom I’ve known so long I don’t know how long it’s been (elementary school sometime), from whom we blatantly stold the APW book buy idea, for being awesome, and tweeting about it.
I took a shower, and then all this happened, and now I need to get dressed. And maybe eat. IT IS CRAZY AROUND HERE TODAY.
I love you guys. This is all you.
Update #3: 11:50 AM PST
You guys. We’re THE MOVER AND SHAKER (link fixed!) on Amazon. For all of Amazon. As my friend Marie-Eve just said, “Never underestimate the power of community.”
Update #2: 11:30 AM PST
You guys, we have cracked the Amazon Bestseller list, with the APW book coming in at #96. No wait, I am updating this as I’m typing it…. A Practical Wedding: Creative Solutions for Planning a Beautiful, Affordable, and Meaningful Celebration is at #63. WHAT? Do you have any idea how hard that is to do in the holiday season? Lemmie just clear that up for you: it’s hard. The book is also #17 in Hot New Releases (I sh*t you not, I just beat Bill Clinton’s book. That is possibly the single craziest fact in my day so far, as a die hard political junkie), #1 Craft/Hobbies/Home (getting married is a craft!), and #1 in wedding releases. YOU GUYS DID THIS.
Because good news tends to follow good news, I got a call from my publisher, while I was at the gym, a minute before I found out that we’d broken through to the bestseller list to find out good news about not one, but TWO stops of the APW book tour. More on that when… there is more on that… but good things are finally happening in an area of promotion, that I was worried about.
So, all you afternoon readers of APW, of which there are many of you… it’s up to you to push this thing over the top. (Is it even possible to push it over the top from here? I honestly don’t even know.) But it’s up to you, if we want to try. If you’re just getting a break in your day, or have been pondering placing an order today but were not totally sure… you can make this thing happen.
Nothing but gratitude. Now I should probably get out of my gym clothes…. off to do that.
Update #1: 7:40 AM PST
Good morning you guys! Last week, A Practical Wedding: Creative Solutions for Planning a Beautiful, Affordable, and Meaningful Celebration (whatever, I can say my own full book title as often as I want, no??) was number 233,000 on Amazon. Last night we were 30,000 (which means people-who-were-not-you-guys were buying it this week, eeep).
As of right now, early on this west coast morning, we’re number 659 on Amazon. And that’s even in Holiday book buy season! Profound heartfelt thanks to those of you that ordered it this morning, and to those of you who haven’t yet… EEEP! I think we can push this book to the top 100 list, and you get to be the ones that do it.
I’m overwhelmed and excited. I’m going to go gallop a mile or so to get it all out, and then I’ll report back.
DOIN’ IT,
MEG
****
Here We Go…
This is happening… NOW. The goal for the day is to all pitch in together (Including me! I’m totally playing! If you write a book, it makes the best Christmas present, right?) and push A Practical Wedding: Creative Solutions for Planning a Beautiful, Affordable, and Meaningful Celebration up the Amazon Best Seller list for a day (hint: also, the wedding bestseller list is right here if you want to peek at that).
For the uninitiated, the book will hold your hand through wedding planning from start to finish, in a logical this-is-the-plan way that the blog can’t. Plus you can hand this to your mother (or partner, or best girlfriend, or dad) to get her to understand where you’re coming from. If you’re already married, it’s a great gift for your engaged girlfriends… or you can just buy it to support the site. (Fun fact: If this book does well, my chances of writing a post-wedding book are exponentially increased. And we all want that, amiright?)
So, while we’re focusing on Amazon today, please feel free to pre-order it from your preferred seller:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Indie Bound (which helps support brick and mortar bookstores near you)
A few thoughts for the worriers:
- While the book is on pre-order, and its technical publication date is January, it shipped from the publisher’s warehouse yesterday. If you order it now, you should get it in one and a half or two weeks, in time for Christmas gifts.
- The way Amazon counts, we probably only have a chance of pushing the paper version of the book up the Amazon US Best Seller list (though, I suppose you never know).
- But: what really matters to me over the long run is that you buy the book, read it, like it, tell your friends about it, tell your local indie bookstore about it, review it online, and generally enjoy it. Pushing the book up a best seller list will last for a day or so, but you buying and loving the book is what lasts forever. So, buy the book the way you want to buy the book. (Kindle! Indie book store! In the UK!) I’ll be super grateful that you did.
Picture: The book dedication. Personal for A Practical Wedding.
