👀 Spotted! Hope
📘 Where's Waldo?
“Spotted at 5th Ave. Barnes & Noble!” my friend Dorie texted on Saturday night.
She and her wonderful fiancé Alexis (both OG Doh patrons) were meandering back home to FiDi after seeing The Great Gatsby on Broadway. I blinked twice with blurry morning vision when I read her text first thing the next day. From my pillow, I replied:
Even though I’m three books in, there’s still a special thrill to seeing one in the wild. It has become rarer with each book, as fewer indie bookstores exist and as the chain stores focus mostly on stocking new releases, mainstream bestsellers, and/or previous years’ megahits. All of my books are now considered backlist—still in print, but out for longer than one year.
In perfect timing, my friend , who I moved to New York City with thirteen years ago (as mentioned in the last post describing the very-hard-rock-and-very-hard-place I find myself in regarding the cost of living), happened to be in the city for work this week. I would meet her for coffee and a walk in Midtown the next day.
After catching up in the big leather recliners at my favorite Broadway-adjacent indie, The Drama Book Shop, we wound our way through the Times Square crowds then Bryant Park, ending up at Fifth and Forty-Sixth.
THERE IT IS!! I practically squealed after entering the store, beelining for the bottom row shown in Dorie’s photo in the “B” shelf of the Business section.
Normally, when I ask store employees if they carry one of my books, I’m too embarrassed to tell them that I’m the author (and therefore asking not to buy, but simply out of selfish curiosity).
Sometimes others—mostly my dad—will do the embarrassing for me: “Do you carry Pivot by Jenny Blake?” He’ll ask proudly. After the team member types away into their look-up system and points us to the corresponding section of the store, he’ll add, “Did you know that the author is here right now? This is Jenny Blake!” That’s my cue to turn tomato red.
But this time was different.
It had been two and a half years since Free Time launched in March 2022. I published independently, without the clout of one of the Big Five traditional publishers seeding it amongst their sales reps throughout the country.1
Even though Ideapress did a brilliant job of securing distribution across national bookstores, and I paid for it to be displayed in airport Hudson bookstores for the first three launch months, I had yet to see it on shelves myself.
Others would send photos spotting it in bookstores around the world—from Denver to the Taj Hotel in India (!) to Toronto to Beirut—but for some strange reason, those sightings eluded me, and the few New York City stores I pitched in-store signings with politely declined.
Once I saw the book with my own two eyes, I gathered the courage to approach the nearest Barnes & Noble team member who was busy re-shelving a few others in that section.
“Excuse me,” I said softly, clearing my throat. “Um, that’s my book right there on the bottom shelf, and I was wondering—is it okay with you if I sign it? Do you do that sort of thing?”
Well, dear Dohnuts, you know how I love serendipity stories. The person I asked happens to manage the social media accounts for Barnes & Noble Fifth Avenue.
“Sure!” Kydiesia said, “And I run our socials—would it be okay for me to take some photos? We could even shoot a video for our stories if you have the time?”
I fainted. (On the inside.) Did I have the time?! How fast and high can I jump?!
So right then and there, with bestie filming the inaugural Free Time sign-in-store moment—with no makeup on and no pre-planned fancy outfit, merely meeting a friend for morning walk-and-talk vibes—I signed that special copy, then filmed a thirty-second greeting addressing the book-loving audience of one of the most iconic locations in the country.2
Although I don’t aspire to make it to Broadway in the triple-threat sort of way, landing this feature in one of Barnes & Noble’s flagship stores smack in the center of my soul city, well, it gave me something far greater than I expected.
It gave me hope.
Most authors obsess over launch week, myself included. It feels like a monumental window to give an enormous project its best chance of success, and it is. Make a splash! Make the lists! Sprint through the finish while also starting the marketing marathon!
After crashing and burning (out) three weeks before my first book launched in 2011, my friend MBS taught me to plan book launches in at least five-year intervals.3 When I wrote Pivot, the publisher told me they only reviewed the P&L after three years. Not only does Dorie teach this approach in her latest book, The Long Game, she lives it daily with each of the small steps she takes toward her mission of getting one or more of her brilliant musicals on Broadway.4
Ryan Holiday captured this sentiment in his 2017 book, Perennial Seller:
“Art is the kind of marathon where you cross the finish line and instead of getting a medal placed around your neck, the volunteers roughly grab you by the shoulders and walk you over to the starting line of another marathon.”
Seeing Free Time in the wild for the first time, with such serendipitous good energy surrounding it, gave me hope: KEEP GOING. Keep spreading the good word.
It might have taken two and half years to reach this particular milestone for this third book—the one that also represents the biggest creative and financial risk I’ve ever taken—but this moment was worth the wait. Don’t give up on the book, and don’t give up on New York City. Don’t throw in the towel too soon, the little voice said.
Moments like this are why I live here.
Thirteen years in, moments like this are why I fight to stay.5
❤️
Trade publishing in the U.S. is dominated by “the Big Five”—Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, and Macmillan. It would have become the Big Four in 2022 when Penguin tried to acquire Simon & Schuster, but a federal judge blocked the move due to monopoly concerns. One year later, S&S was acquired by a private equity firm, KKR.
In case it’s not still showing on the B&N Fifth Avenue stories, you can view the repost on my mostly-neglected IG here:
Check out MBS’s Substack and wonderful book-related podcast, .
For fellow authors: Here’s his viral article on Exactly how I self-published my book, sold 180,000 copies, and nearly doubled my revenue. Check out my full (free!) Author Toolkit here with tons of tools and templates, and the related Spotify playlist:
For more on Dorie’s big dream: Check out the two related podcast episodes below. For fellow Broadway aficionados, here’s a fantastic book she recommended a few months ago: The Secret Life of the American Musical: How Broadway Shows Are Built.
With enormous thanks to all of you who support Rolling in D🤦🏻♀️h by reading, and especially to those who have the means to participate as paid subscribers. Every single one of you and your notes, comments, and shares make a difference and keeps me going. 🎉 👠👠🌈🍎🗽🍕🎉
❤️
If you enjoyed this post, you might also appreciate:
Aw, delighted for you! Also loving the hair! Also, fun fact, it’s the same bookstore where I saw The Joy of Saying No in the wild for the first time. 🥰
I love this and so thrilled that your beautiful work was spotted out in the brick and mortar haven of a bookstore. And the fact that not only you got to sign your book but that you asked the "perfect" person for permission. It was also such a joy to see you pop up on my IG feed celebrating this important reminder to "Keep going."