Amazon and the Missing Month

A month after what we think of as our "official" release date - July 3, when Schiffer received Reassessing Hallmarks of Native Southwest Jewelry in their warehouse, probably less than 100 copies were in reader’s hands. Why? Because for some reason, known only to Amazon, they did not ship their pre-orders until August 1. Our test order with Amazon arrived on August 4, so everyone’s order should deliver the same day or later in the week. And Barnes & Noble, by the way, still has the book scheduled for release in September. From an author's perspective nothing happens rapidly in book publishing, nor in a predictable way.

Yes, the book is finally an actual thing we can hold in our hands. And it is a thing of beauty, if I have to say so myself. Schiffer must have assigned their A-List designer to the manuscript, because the layout and presentation is all we had hoped it would be, and then some. Pat and I are so delighted and proud of it we could almost burst with enthusiasm.

We received our initial order of books from the publisher on July 10, immediately fulfilling orders from folks who had requested to purchase directly from us. Then came the inevitable, requisite eBay listing. Nothing gets seen faster in the Indian jewelry community than an eBay listing with the proper high profile names such as Kenneth Begay and Fred Peshlakai, both of whom we profiled in the book. So we listed copies along with select pieces of jewelry illustrated in it to generate some excitement and maybe sell a few pieces of silver to kick things off. However, after ten days all 12 copies of the book had sold but only one piece of jewelry. Perhaps we were a bit premature in listing the jewelry since there just wasn’t enough exposure for the book yet.

So many of our friends and colleagues pre-ordered from Amazon that we have been unable to fully discuss it with everyone, though we have received some very nice comments and endorsements from those who have read the book, and that is very gratifying. At least it looks like Amazon will deliver the pre-orders in time for the festivities in Santa Fe later in August. By the way, if you happen to be in the area, our first signing is at Bahti Indian Arts on Palace Ave on Saturday, August 16 from 5pm to 7pm. There will also be select pieces of jewelry from the book for sale that weekend at the gallery. See you there!