What was I thinking?

Hey, look, I tried.

Or I should say, I'm trying to make books that are not just inane, shiny objects; but holy cow is it an uphill battle.

Once in a while a book I'm proud of catches on (the Ugly Pumpkin, Humpty Dumpty Climbs Again) and manages to find fans and stay in print.

But if I make a book that dares tell a true-truth (as opposed to a feel-good-we-wish-it-were-true truth), the indifference from my publisher's marketing team is deafening. After all we live in age where everyone gets an award for showing up; teachers can't use red pens for fear of upsetting students; and pee-wee soccer teams are no longer allowed to win by more than 5 points (for real!).

The reason for my rant, is to mark my frustration with the death of my 2010 book, Buy My Hats!.

Now that the book is dead, I can tell you it was about the ills of consumerism; it was about "needing" things versus "wanting" things. What was I thinking?!? How Un-American!

Yet, according to the counter on my website, people are interested in the book. After all it was a Junior Library Guild pick and a Book of the Month selection.

But recently I received an email from the Economics Education Coordinator of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, wondering why the book is out of print; they had built a lesson plan around it, but couldn't put it out there, if the book is gone.

I checked with my publisher, and except for the Nook eBook version, they have no plans to reprint.

So sorry, readers. The bottom line is the bottom line. It's all about giving the market want the marketers say. Go learn somewhere else.

Oh, and P.S. Check out HarperCollins latest contribution to the end of creative publishing: http://www.fictioncircus.com/news.php...

Buy My Hats
The Ugly Pumpkin
Humpty Dumpty Climbs Again