'501': Spanning the globe

To borrow a familiar phrase.

Here's Waldo E. of Burcht, Belgium, by way of Cuba, a happy reader of the book.

Well on the way to being an international best-seller. (Remember, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.)

'501" checklist available

The spreadsheet "checklist" for 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read before They Die is complete and has sent out to those who have requested it. Never too late if you still want one (book or checklist).

Annoucning the '501 Checklist'

A few readers have told me it would be great to have included a checklist in 501 Baseball Books, perhaps something of a detachable nature that would allow them to note what they've already ready as well as take the list with them to the library or bookstore for further reading pleasure.

Great idea.

So I'm happy to announce that I'm almost done with a spreadsheet version of such a list. It's not the most artistic of documents, but it will allow you to keep track and what's done and what's left to do.

So if you're interested, send me an email address and I'll return the list as soon as it's completed (should be over the next week).

A REview and an INTERview

Daniel Shoptaw, who hosts Cardinals70, a blog dedicated to the St. Louis franchise, was kind enough to have me as a guest on his recent podcast, which you can hear here.

And if that wasn't enough, he also took the time to review the book.

I don't mean to be rude, but...

Up until the day I received my first check (and the only one for the year. Seems these things come annually, not quarterly as I had hoped), the most-asked question I received was "how is the book doing?"

I know the questioner means well and I appreciate the thoughts. But the truth was, until I got the paperwork, I didn't know.The info from the author's component of Amazon only tells you so much and was -- thankfully -- way under the figures I received from the publisher. But it still makes mw wonder...

Although I've been told a couple of times by those in authority that "the book is doing very well," what does that mean, exactly? I don't know what the initial printing was, but I was told a second had been ordered. So does mean they initially printed 1,000 copies? 5,000? Can't imagine it being more than that.

Then to look at the Amazon rankings... At it's highest to date, 501 ranked as high as just over 9,000 (and that was back in April, shortly after it was released). As of this writing, it's 323,614 (although just a couple of days ago, it as something like 44,000). So the number fluctuate wildly. But how many books are included in the rankings? One million? Five million? Something in between?

I'm in the very early stages of a new book and have been contact by a publisher regarding a project I had pitched about 10 years ago (they're still interested). Time is the issue. In our conversation (see previous blog entry), Eric Rolfe Greenberg said when he worked on a book he worked only on that book. No day job, no other articles. What a luxury!

In the meantime, the impetus for this entry was this commentary piece I found in the NY Times "Week in Review" section last Sunday. Upon review (well, I did read it a whole five days ago), I see it's really about current projects rather than previous ones. Oh well, the sentiment remains the same.

'501' Q&A: Eric Rolfe Greenberg

I attended the recent SABR conference in Philadelphia (and a good time was had by all), when I saw a gentleman with a hand-written nametag that caught my eye.

Eric Rolfe Greenberg.

 The author of one of the most highly-regarded baseball novels, The Celebrant.

 

Previously, I might not have had the nerve to approach someone of that literary stature (even though we had exchanged a few messages via Facebook), but emboldened by becoming a "member of the club" I introduced myself, mentioned the Baseball Bookshelf blog and asked if he might have some time for a brief chat.

Here's the result: The setup and the conversation.

Enjoy.

All in all, not a bad day

The first big day in this author's life was getting the final, bound copy of my first book.

The next came yesterday, when the first check arrived. Don't know what I was expecting, but I was hoping for something bit larger.

I also received this, from the Baseball Hall of Fame. Pretty cool. There's one more coming, for the donation of 501.