As everyone knows, the Corona pandemic has thrown everything out of wack. Being an author, it has made for an odd time to release a book — or, as Billy Bob Shakespeare said, “To publish during a pandemic, or not to publish: that is the question.” The Patriotic Piper Vol. 01 has been in print for just over a year, and as of today November and December 2021 have been the most exciting yet!
Normal Circumstances & One Year Ago
Before I jump in, it helps if you understand a few things about the book-world from the business end…
I am a self-published author; to date I have three titles to my name and three new books I aim to publish Spring 2022. As a self-published author all the work to bring a book to reality has to be done, over-seen, and/or paid-for by me. A self-published author can work their tail-feathers off to promote a book in advance of and once published (or not). Usually a book sees its best sales when it publishes, and over time the sales decline.
Due to this, I had the personal “To publish or not to publish” debate prior to releasing The Patriotic Piper Vol. 01. Would it be better to complete and hold the publication until things ‘normalized’ … or would it be better to release it and re-work to promote it after the pandemic? I decided that it was better to publish, have it out in the world and see what happens … and even though it hasn’t done much, I don’t regret that decision.
The Patriotic Piper, Vol. 01
My book could be called “unusual” — I rather the term “eclectic”. It is the official music collection for The Scottish American Military Society (SAMS) Post 1889 Pipes & Drums — which I head up. The Patriotic Piper Vol. 01 includes 20 traditional Scottish, American, and Irish military and parotic tunes for Highland bagpipes — and tune history. It also includes 15 Scottish and Irish recipes — and food trivia. It’s also a fundraiser item for Post 1889.
Like I said … “eclectic”. While it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, I like to think that it still offers a little something for everyone. I can agree that this is an “unusual” book, and take that as a compliment.
The Piper’s Hut
Many bagpipe supply shops are website based. One of these is The Piper’s Hut, located in Pickerington, Ohio. As I see it, The Piper’s Hut has everything — great product selection, competitive prices, and outstanding service. Obviously, they are one of my favourite bagpipe suppliers!
This past July the preeminent weekly Celtic-music video broadcast, Tartan Tunes, interviewed me about The Patriotic Piper Vol. 01 on one of their weekly broadcasts. Outside of that, it’s been hard to get any traction for my book. During November, Jon Maffett — owner of The Piper’s Hut — expressed interest in carrying my book. You can only imagine how thrilled I was! Getting a bagpipe supplier — not to mention one of my favourites — to carry my book meant that it would not only get additional sales but also receive better attention by the members of the piping community.
So, of course, I ordered copies to The Piper’s Hut as fast as I could!
Last Night, This Morning, and Noon Today
Last Night — GOOD NEWS — I received a photo text from a piping friend. It showed that my book had been listed on The Piper’s Hut website. My book had been publicized through their most recent email, advertising new products — right at the top of the email!
This Morning — GOOD NEWS — I received an email from The Piper’s Hut reading that …. THEY SOLD OUT IN 18 HOURS!!!! Yes, Jon and his wife, Michelle, can legitimately claim that they are able to sell books faster than Amazon.
Noon Today — GOOD NEWS — I spoke with Jon and he requested an order of additional copies of The Patriotic Piper Vol. 01. While these books will of course be on back-order for a short period, folks can keep ordering copies from The Piper’s Hut. And to think I was thrilled to have this book as part of Piper’s Hut inventory before …. today I am OVER THE MOON!😃
The Big Picture
Is this THAT big of a deal? Well … maybe not. However, in the weird pandemic-time this is among the first ‘thing’ to happen for The Patriotic Piper Vol. 01. I’ve not personally seen copies of my book sell this fast, and if nothing else … it feels good! My hope is that this is the first of things to come. Heck … it’d be a kick if The Piper’s Hut sold out of today’s order before the shipment arrived — and Jon and Michelle had to order more. So like I said before the book is out in the world … let’s see what happens!
PS …
Work on The Patriotic Piper Vol. 02 is already underway. I have a solid concept for Vol. 03, and concepts for books 04 and 05 are still getting finalized. Remember … you read it here FIRST!
ALSO… the e-book version of The Patriotic Piper Vol. 01 is also available at SmashWords and most other major e-book retailers.
Today I plan to get the front bumper back on my truck — to get my truck in our garage I had to start with taking off both bumpers. Lately our temperatures have been as low as the upper teens and as high as the mid-30s — and we (finally) had our first round of snow. Right now we’re getting our second round of snow. For the next few days it looks like we’re supposed to get more of the teen temps to lower-30s and snow. Snow began to fall again this morning, and so far it’s sticking however it is our warmer wet-snow … and now I’m going outside to work on my truck.
