The Ignorance-Is-Bliss Approach

Do you keep track of your sales numbers? If so, how? What tools and processes do you use? Would you recommend doing so?

by Dietrich

You finish your novel, send the manuscript to your editor, and now you’re faced with a choice: stress over marketing metrics, or close the laptop and let the universe take the wheel.

If you lean toward the latter—like I do—you’re not alone. Some of us share a similar philosophy: obsessing over data can choke the creative process. We figure that if something earth-shattering happens (like a book hitting a major bestseller list), the phone will ring.

This attitude lets us focus on writing the next book while we occasionally check reviews to keep a finger on the pulse. This hands-off approach helps keep our mental health intact, but it’s also a little like driving blind. Relying solely on a publisher or publicist has a few snags. Publishing houses tend to move slowly, and royalty statements don’t arrive weekly. By the time you notice a dip or spike, months could have passed. Also, publicists eventually move on to other projects, leaving no one to monitor your daily metrics. Small victories can slip by unnoticed. For example, your book might be climbing a specific Amazon subcategory, but you’ll never know if no one is watching.

Fortunately, tracking your numbers doesn’t require a degree in data science. The industry has evolved, making the process relatively painless. Amazon Author Central offers free geographic data on your weekly BookScan sales (which capture physical book sales in most major retail stores) and tracks your historical Amazon Author Rank. Additionally, some major publishers now provide internal author platforms with up-to-date print and e-book sales data.

You don’t need to check the numbers daily. A simple monthly check-in works well: set a calendar reminder for the first of the month and spend ten to fifteen minutes reviewing your data. Or, you could just check the data after a specific event, such as a major media interview or a promotion, to see whether the buzz has translated into sales.

Knowing your numbers can tell you where your readers are buying your books, which marketing efforts are paying off, and how your career is moving. It removes some of the guesswork from the business side of writing. That said, if the idea of tracking data still triggers a headache, you still have reader feedback through reviews and comments.

Ultimately, there is no single best way to manage a career. Whether you dive into data science or remain blissfully detached, the goal is to find a routine that supports the business without draining your creativity. One thing most of us can agree on is that the best marketing tool we will ever have is that next great release.

Part coming-of-age story and part family drama, set against the harsh backdrop of World War II Ukraine and Germany.

In the winter of 1945, a German village deep inside Ukraine burns under Russian assault. Young Jakob Fritsch, torn from his family, is forced onto a cattle car bound for a work camp where death looms. When a Stuka’s bomb derails the train, Jakob escapes the smoking wreckage alongside two untrustworthy survivors. They forge through snow-laden wilderness, hunted by soldiers and partisans.

A tragic turn forces Jakob to go on alone. Starving and freezing, he braves the perilous countryside of Poland en route to Berlin — the only place he can go — which is being torn apart from all sides.

Far away in the shattered outskirts of Berlin, Frida Beckmann lives amid relentless bombing raids and encroaching Soviet forces. With her father in a prison camp and her mother broken by grief, Frida shoulders the weight of her family’s survival. Tested by hardship, betrayal, and loss, she is pushed well beyond her years.

Jakob and Frida navigate their war-torn paths, struggling to survive in a time stripped of mercy — seeking refuge when all the world’s gone mad.