Thrilled To Be Second!
I know—nobody remembers the second place of anything. You don’t remember who lost the Super Bowl, or who took 2nd place in the World Cup, or who won the Silver metal, but I have to admit, I’m pretty excited about being #2 this time.
First, a little back-story. For the last five years I had been the #1 best-selling author of computer and technology books across all categories (the computer and technology category includes every book about computers of course, but also gaming, photography, the internet, software, and so on).
Well, this year, they (Nielsen, the ratings people who track data on everything from TV viewers to book sales), moved photography books out of the computer category (where they had been all along), into their own separate category (which actually I think is a good thing), but because of that change, my best-selling digital photography book series (The Digital Photography Book Volumes 1, 2, and 3) would no longer be counted toward me being the #1 computer and technology book author.
A Tale Of Two Counties
As it turns out, even without my three Digital Photography books being included in the calculation, according to data collected by Nielsen Bookscan, I was still the #1 bestselling author of all computing and technology books, across all categories for 2009, and as you might imagine, I’m really excited. (Here’s the full press release from my Publisher).
But then, there’s the photography category, and sadly Nielsen revealed that I didn’t take the top spot in sales for 2009. That’s right—-I’m in that forgettable “second place” spot, but I have to admit, I’m not really upset, primarily because of who I lost to:
Ansel Adams.
I can live with that. ;-)
I Owe it All to You
I want to thank you guys—-the readers who buy my books and give me the opportunity to write more books (if your books don’t sell, your book writing career comes to a screeching halt). Your support, and tireless ability to put up with my quirky sense of humor, allows me to continue on as a writer, and I just can’t thank you all enough.
Of course, I couldn’t do any of this without having a kick-butt Book Publisher in Peachpit Press, and I want to thank my Publisher Nancy Reunzel, my Editor Ted Waitt, along with Sarah Jane Todd and Scott Cowlin in Peachpit’s marketing team for all their help, and everybody at Peachpit and Pearson Education—-I’m indebted to them for everything they do to support my books and help them reach the largest audience possible.