what really counts

Someone with whom I used to be “friends” on Facebook once claimed that self-published books “never sell over 100 copies.” My initial response was, “So what?” But last night I decided to take a look at my sales reports to see if that’s true of my own self-published books. I’ve put out ten Rosetta Press titles since November 2013 and seven of those titles have sold more than 100 copies—including one that has sold over 3,300. Do I feel vindicated? Not really, because I care just as much about the books that have sales in the single digits (for now). The fact that those books exist means they can still circulate and may yet reach kids who can’t find a story that reflects their reality. One thing that hinders sales is the lack of reviews, which is why it’s heartening when a blogger chooses to review one of my self-published titles. Last year, Cindy Rodgriguez at Latin@s in Kid Lit invited me to write about Afro-Latino identity in Max Loves Muñecas!  Yesterday Ashley Hope Pérez posted a detailed review of the book which includes some great tips for educators. Here are her “two cents:”

Max Loves Muñecas interweaves a number of topics: resisting the constraints of traditional gender roles, child homelessness, resourcefulness and resilience, and the value of cooperation and generosity. In the hands of a lesser writer, these many focal points might overpower a slim chapter book of 72 pages, but Zetta Elliott creates a richly textured narrative world and situations that give readers opportunities to pause, consider their own lives, and reflect on the power of individual choices.

Without reviews, many librarians refuse to acquire books for their collection and yet most reviewers refuse to even consider self-published books. So it means a lot when someone takes my books seriously AND takes time to publicly share their impressions. Last year Deborah Menkart reviewed Max Loves Muñecas! for Rethinking Schools and so today I sent that review along with Ashley’s to the BPL’s and NYPL’s acquisitions managers. Only four of my thirteen books are currently in their collections, so hopefully these reviews will help to get more of my books into more kids’ hands.

In April Elizabeth Bluemle featured An Angel for Mariqua on her Publishers Weekly blog, Shelftalker. Elizabeth has decided to practice what she preaches as a diversity advocate by ensuring that half the books she reads this year are by or about people of color. I’ve corresponded with Elizabeth for a few years now but we finally met in Chicago at the ALSC’s Day of Diversity; I gave her my latest self-published books and was grateful when she later wrote to say how much she enjoyed them. On her blog she wrote:

This book for ages 8-12 reminded me so much of books I loved as a fourth- and fifth-grader, the kind of books that explored in a warm and authentic way life’s problems and pleasures as navigated realistically by a young person I could identify with, even if some particulars of her circumstances were different from my own.

So much for that well-known editor who rejected An Angel for Mariqua on the grounds that readers would find it hard to identify with an angry little girl…