I woke up early this morning thinking about my new book, sensing there are some decisions to be made about it this week, and I wanted to share the process honestly with you. It has taken me a long time to begin to learn to be honest, I value it, it takes work. The instinct for shading the truth and for self-promotion is strong, especially in the writer’s market.

This week, I sense momentum for “Second Chance Dog” slowing somewhat, rather than accelerating. This is normal for a mid-list book launch, and “Second Chance Dog” has had – is having – a strong run by most standards. Since the recession, my hardcover book sales – all of my book sales – have plunged, along with royalties and revenues. I fashioned this new book tour because I could see the old style book tour wasn’t working to turn my book sales around. The problem is, in the new world of publishing, I don’t really know what success is, although failure usually makes itself clear. In the new world, most people can’t imagine spending $25 for a hardcover book, many balk at paying $3 for an original e-book or a blog subscription.

I wanted to take control of the tour myself, using new technologies like the blog and Facebook, contests, give-aways, podcasts. I got my wish. Random House has been sympathetic and supportive, but it’s my show. So here’s my report card so far.

– The blog and book tour campaign pushed the book into a 3rd printing, the first time that has happened to a book of mine in six or seven years. I can’t adequately describe how the publishing environment has changed for writers like me – most of the book reviewers are gone, and the TV and radio shows – even NPR – are focused more on TV and movie and music celebrities. More and more, the mid-list writer is on his or her own, thus the importance of the blog. There is nothing pushing this book but me.

– So far, more than 20,000 paper and e-books have been sold (or are in bookstores and Amazon warehouses). That is more than double my recent sales (although a third of my book sales on average before 2008.) I think I have pushed the book into the Christmas book market and although sales have slowed this week, they are still strong – I don’t really know how strong, publishers don’t share that information with writers but I have a feeling this book will sell through Christmas and beyond. It’s now really up to word-of-mouth.

– The reviews (there are far fewer than there used to be) have been uniformly great, save a few dog lovers who are outraged that Maria and I are in the book at all.) The competitive publishing market is quite insane now, I am competing with free books, $1 home made books and blockbuster books discounted to $5 and $10. I am competing with Danielle Steel and her mouse dog in Paris, 101 Dog Tricks and various best-selling books about dogs who play chess, speak foreign languages and have saved dozens of people. A brave new world. I am committed to surviving in it.

– At Battenkill Books (518 677-2515), a cornerstone experiment of the new book tour, nearly 900 books have been sold and shipped at Battenkill alone. I love supporting my local bookstore, I love the idea of buying local. I am pushing to get to 1,000 and beyond, I expect to meet that goal. I am determined to meet that goal and surpass it,  It is a great Christmas book, and we have a few weeks to go.

I took Lenore for a long walk this morning and I admit to feeling somewhat disappointed – letdown perhaps – that this book will not be a “big” book, the only kind publishers really care about, the kind most writers always hope for, not matter how unrealistic. I always feel let down after the first intense weeks of a book tour, and this is harder, since I have no guidelines to follow but my own instincts. I always things my books will be huge, they never have and perhaps never will be. But that is not why I write them, and I work hard to shed that corporate expectation of success. I wrote a good and heartfelt book, people are loving it, and a lot of people have bought it. That ought to be success, even though it sometimes doesn’t feel like enough. I’d love to get to a fourth printing.

I also don’t want to push the book tour to the point that it overwhelms the blog. I have been careful to write about other things, post photos and stories and thoughts. The blog has never been a primary vehicle for selling things. I used to refuse to promote my books on the blog at all. The publishers used to do that, but they don’t do it anymore, I am so grateful to have the blog at all, and so grateful for the support so many of you have given me and my work and this book. In a sane world, that alone would qualify this book as a major success.

So I’m going keep this tour going through next week, slow it down and wrap it up, and then turn to finishing my book on Simon, which is due for publication next Fall. Here we go again. Maria saw that I was down this morning and came up to me and she said she really appreciated how I always allow myself to feel, even when I am disappointed, I don’t quit or give up. That was nice to hear. So this book tour is not quite over but beginning to wind down. I have lots to write about, the blog is rocking along, got up to 17,000 likes on Facebook this week, about 200,000 people a month coming to bedlamfarm.com.  That doesn’t feel like failure to me. And I am increasingly drawn to the notion of the blog as my book, my great work, my big work. There is definitely something to that.

The interesting thing is, I’m not sure what success is or means now.  Sometimes, we are more successful than we dare think or  know.