One Year Later

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of the release of Timely Persuasion.  (Technically it was released on February 29th, so this pseudo anniversary date will have to do until 2012.)  Crazy how time flies.

Some stats from year one:

  • 24,414 Pageviews from 110 countries
  • 4,116 readers of the online edition
  • 75 blog posts
  • 29 online mentions
  • 5 reviews (4 positive, 1 in progress with a promised update)
  • 2 appearances on Coverville
  • 1 live reading in Hollywood

And a (roughly) chronological list of highlights:

  • LB-DG.com predated the official release as a teaser, with sporadic posts using the narrator’s voice starting in May of 2007.  (Plus one time travel jaunt a little further back…)
  • A Blog of Timely Persuasion debuted on launch day and has turned into a bit of a novel in its own right.  I’m most proud of the chapter by chapter commentaries and the series about the novel Replay by Ken Grimwood.
  • TP earned its first review in April courtesy of Devon Kappa at None May Say, followed just over a week later with a review by Mrs. Giggles.
  • The first TP related Musically Challenged segment on Coverville aired one day after my birthday in May.  A second appearance came a couple of weeks ago in episode 551.  It’s both weird and fun to hear myself unexpectedly on my favorite podcast.
  • June brought us the “Remastered” edition thanks to the generous talents of my college friend Bryan.  He did me proud with a fine looking layout that featured (among other tweaks) Mike Doughty’s handwriting.  I’m still amazed at the difference it makes when you look at the original and the new versions side by side.
  • July had a minor snafu with a printed copy leading to a temporarily shunned reader, but it all worked out in the end and sparked an ongoing conversation with Scott Schnaars.  Scott’s a great guy who heard about the book on Coverville, eventually wrote his own review, and really confirmed why doing this blog and interacting with readers is so worthwhile and fulfilling.
  • The only (partial) negative review thus far came in October and also sparked some healthy author reader interaction in the comments section.  I value all opinions and take them seriously, though I am still waiting for Gavin to give the rest of the book a try to see if it sways his feelings any…
  • November found me confessing to my well-intentioned cybersquatting adventure, catching the attention of cross-media expert Christy Dena.
  • The new year found me reading from TP aloud at the Hotel Cafe with Conrad Romo’s Tongue & Groove.  The fact that I’d been attending the event for years as a spectator plus the knowledge that some of my favorite musicians had stood on the same stage put me oddly at ease during my first public reading.
  • And finally we’ve arrived in the present, where wider distribution finds Timely Persuasion available from numerous fine online retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Powells in addition to Lulu where it got started.  Plus there’s still the free online edition that I hope to keep up in perpetuity.  So if you still haven’t read it yet, you’re running out of excuses. 🙂

I’m sure I’m leaving a lot of events and acquaintances out, so please don’t be offended if you aren’t listed in the above.  (But feel free to remind me to drop your name next time…)

My thanks goes out to everyone who bought, read, reviewed, emailed or otherwise got in touch with me at some point during the last year in regards to Timely Persuasion.  I hope you’ve enjoyed the ride as much as I have, and I invite you to stick around for more musical and/or time travel fun both here on the blog and in my future writing endeavors.

Best,

JL

JL Initials

PS: Guess who I just recently realized I have the same initials as?

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