Look what came in the mail! My advance copies of Sewing Happiness!! As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, that indigo you see on the spine is the fabric that my friend Rachel hand-dyed for the book (Rachel styled most of the book and did a spectacular job).
The countdown has begun. Sewing Happiness launches on April 19th, and in the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing tidbits about the book process (Furoku members got the full-on behind the scenes a couple months back, one of the fun parts of the membership).
My editor gave me an unbound proof copy of the book a couple of weeks ago (from what I understand, this is the copy sent by the printer to the publisher to make sure the colors are right and that there aren’t any printing mistakes). There’s something raw and magical and gratifying to see my book in its many stages from handwritten notes/sketches to final product.
The book is starting to get a little bit of press and the Q & A in the April issue of Seattle Magazine is thrilling to see. As exciting as the feature is, what I loved about it is that the editorial assistant of the magazine contacted me personally to tell me that reading the book inspired her to start sewing again after a long hiatus. That made my week!
You know how marketing and promotions have historically been my Achilles’ heel? I’ve stopped using that as an excuse and am exploring ways to do them better in a way that’s not blood-curdling. I’m so very proud of my book and want it to fly out into the world, to the homes of as many sewing-loving (or future-sewing-loving) people as possible. I do hope you’ll buy a copy from your indie bookstores when it’s released because that’s my favorite type of venue for book-buying and I will forever support independent bookstores. Not everyone has access to a charming neighborhood bookseller, however, and Amazon is the giant in the industry as we all know. And I found out from my publisher that a key factor of helping sales is to get pre-orders on Amazon. It would be wonderful if I could get as many pre-orders as possible and I’m thoroughly open to non-icky suggestions on how to go about doing that!
In addition to press, if you go to Amazon, you’ll see that the book has already gotten some reviews. Horror seized my body when I saw that I’d gotten a very negative one — okay, that’s pretty dramatic but my reaction was intense. I quickly averted my eyes after glimpsing The Very Bad rating and refused to read the review itself. I figured, what good will that do? It would simply make me sad and worried and I’m no use to anyone when I’m sad and worried. I know that you will probably go read it (I would totally read it, if it weren’t my book). It’s a shame because even a single negative review can have such an impact on future reviews and how people experience the book. As much as I would hope that folks will suspend their judgement until they’ve read it themselves, I know that I get influenced by reviews all the time. Every person is, of course, entitled to his or her own opinion.
When Little Kunoichi came out last year, my dentist told me to avoid reading my Amazon reviews at all cost. Yes, my dentist. I really like my dentist; he’s an upstanding guy and runs a tight teeth-cleaning ship. I didn’t follow his sage advice and was upset every time a less-than-flattering review was posted about Little K (thank goodness there weren’t many and the beautiful emails I received from people from around the world more than made up for it), but over this last year I do think I’ve developed a slightly thicker skin. Or at least more willpower not to read the reviews. I clumsily and earnestly poured heart and soul into Sewing Happiness, I feel good about what I’ve done, I’ll give it my all to spread the word and the rest is none of my business. I’m content, with no regrets. I mean, I got to publish two books in two years in two totally different genres! How mind-boggling is that?
The release date is so so soon, my friends! I’ve been working with the publisher to brew up some awesome offerings and have a slew of events in the works, so stay tuned!!!!!
I can’t wait to see this one!
Thank you, Masha! It’s crazy that it’s going to be released so soon!
Worry not about the bad review. That reviewer also shared her thoughts about Vagisil. On Amazon.
Congrats on the upcoming release!
Oh, that’s so funny! Now that’s a word I didn’t expect to see pop up in the comments section! Thank you, Stewart!!
Advance copies – very exciting! Avoiding reviews sounds like a very healthy and sensible thing to do, but having just had a quick look at your reviews I will tell you this: the ‘bad’ review is the exception,an oddball in amongst a bunch of extremely positive reviews praising both the book for its projects and the inclusion of your personal story. So definitely don’t focus on the negative, because there’s a lot of love for you there already 🙂
Thanks much, Marisa!! I’ve gotten a whole lot better with criticism but that one gave me a jolt! I’ve been experimenting with not reading any reviews, positive or negative, though I can’t deny that it’s nice to hear the book is getting some love too :-).
I preordered your book some weeks ago on Amazon since I’m not sure I will find it in a bookstore in Norway but I would have loved to walk into a cute indie store a buy it there instead 🙂 I can’t wait for it to hit my mailbox and if it’s anything like your blog I know it’s going to be great and well worth the wait. Good luck with your marketing! 🙂
Oh thank you so much, Dagbjort (I would love to know how to properly pronounce your name by the way — I know that I’m butchering it in my mind)!! I hope you enjoy the book!
I’ve preordered and am looking forward to when it arrives.
Wonderful, I’m so full of gratitude, Jeannette. I also want to tell you that your writing is beautiful. I love the story about Galileo’s finger!
How exciting that it’s finally (almost) here! I remember reading about your journey to get to this point. Funny I was just doing a bunch of spring cleaning and found a folder with part of your book that I got as a tester. It will be interesting to see what got into the final book. As to reviews, it is always going to be hard. There will be loads of positives and usually a few negatives but we tend to throw ourselves at the negatives and wonder “why oh why what did I do wrong?” All I can think of is how you’ve managed to create this book so soon after Little Kunoichi – I say “Well done!”
Thanks for the encouraging words, Melissa! That’s right — the good old testing phase! Your feedback was so helpful!
Negative reviews are the worst, I react the same way with things like that. It’s particularly annoying with reviewing sites online because everyone feels the need to give their strong opinion, even when it’s not justified at all. I see that on Yelp all the time- stores and shops that are completely (and unfairly) torn apart with negative reviews and it’s like, really? Person on the internet, this may not affect you at all but for that business, it’s life or death! Even if they did have a bad experience, I feel like people need to be more understanding of how much work things like books, restaurants, music, etc. takes to create and run.
My point is- a lot of negative reviews are unjustified 99% of the time and a lot of people out there (including myself) realize that so don’t be worried about it. I’m still totally buying this!
Thank you, Haylee! Wise words, my friend 🙂 It’s so interesting how people react and review things. I’m always curious to find out how the negative reviewers would act in person, you know?
Hello Sanae! I just placed my pre-order for the book thru Amazon. I will write an AMAZING review for you, and if I have anything less-than-stellar to say, I will not share it on the Amazon review LOL But, I read the preview available at Sasquatch and I dunno what it is (the full moon? hormones?), but as I read your story and what led you to creating/sewing, I became teary thinking of everything you’ve accomplished and also had to overcome. How courageous of you to share your powerful story! I wish you a successful launch!
Oh, you’re fabulous, Jeannie! It’s somewhat of an out-of-body experience to think about the past few years. When I was down and out, all I wanted was to just feel a little healthier, just enough so that I didn’t hack up a lung each time I tried to talk. My life looks and feels SO different now and in many ways it keeps getting better and better! Thank you for your enthusiasm!!
Congratulations on being so close! I have just checked online and interested Australian readers can pre-order through readings.com.au – supporting an independent local bookstore. And just in time for Australian mothers’ day too!
This is such great information, thank you Hannah! Funny you should mention Mother’s Day because it’s the reason the publisher wanted to release it in the spring — they’re confident that this is a good mother’s gift and as a mom myself, I agree! 🙂
Oh Sanae! That’s wonderful! Congratulations! So close now! I’m so excited for you.
I’m no marketing guru, so am sure others could reality check my few ideas, but what about sending copies to people to review? Are there independent sewing stores where you will be doing launches? I came across your blog via the tessuti blog (the Australian fabric store/online store).
I can’t wait to go and order my copy and to read it. Such a precious thing, to be telling your story with sewing.
xxx
Thank you so very much Jenny! I’m open to any and all ideas as long as they’re ethical :-). Your suggestions are spot on, and we’ve sent out quite a few review copies and my launch party will be at my favorite independent fabric store here in Seattle. It’s all very exciting!! We’re even doing a little pre-launch community sewing project with another local fabric store. I’m in complete project management mode right now, and I’m brainstorming like crazy!
Sanae, Congratulations! This is wonderful news. I tried to preorder, but apparently amazon.in doesn’t allow one to do that. So I will be buying it on 19th April!
Oh! I didn’t even think about the various Amazon sites. Thank you for trying, Asmita – sending tons of gratitude your way! xo
So wonderful to hear your book is nearly here! I was thinking about what you said about reviews and comments….I really love brene Browns take on this, she talks about not listening to the feedback of people who are not “in the arena”, who are not really putting themselves and their work out there too. You probably have heard of brene by now, or seen her ted talks (amazing!) but I find every time I come across her work, I find something newer and deeper. I listened to this interview just now, and at about 41 or 42 minutes brene talks about this very thing, it’s very inspiring! And helps me with the confidence to share my work ? good luck, I hope the book launching goes beautifully and brings you much joy and satisfaction ? https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd3DYvBGyFs
I love Brene Brown! That’s such a good interview, thanks so much for reminding me about it, Jasha! I’m ramping up for the launch and have adopted the “What have I got to lose?” attitude these days :-).
I don’t know how it works but I often read bloggers saying they are in the Amazon affiliates programme. Perhaps approaching them to review the book would mean that if they link to it, any Amazon sales that come from it also support small, home craft businesses. People seem to be pretty straight about these things and their readership and yours is probably pretty clued up and on message about shopping local and indie where they can, so it might help with the feeling of balance in there. I’m so pleased about your book. It’s so funny (familiar, understandable, amusingly like so many of us) that you clearly don’t see yourself as the whirlwind and megastar the rest of us see. I hope it brings you stacks of joy x
As one of my friends says whenever she is abashed by compliments, “Oh you.” I too am part of the Amazon affiliate program but I use it sparingly and only for products that I completely endorse. Then again, I often forget about it altogether. 🙂 But yes, I think that’s an excellent selling point and I’ll see if there are any takers, thank you for the suggestion, Janome Gnome!!
My copy has been on pre-order for months and I’ve been excitedly counting down the days to its release! Oh, and that book spine? Stunning! Just what I would expect from a book authored by you:) Happy waiting!
<3 Thank you so so much, Lucinda!! Second time around is as surreal as ever!!!
So exciting!
Thank you, Eva Maria!! It’s so very exciting, I can’t believe it’s happening!!
Congratulations!!!! this is very exciting. I preordered it , although here in the UK will be available only until may!…then I will wait patiently. I’m so happy for you!!!