Jeremy Robinson: Pioneer

Jeremy Robinson hath a new book out—well, the book is forthcoming, with a release date set down for August 1, 2007. He intends to land atop Amazon.com’s bestseller list for August. To that end, he has launched an Amazon.com Bestseller Campaign, which, according to him, is a marketing blitz that seeks to “have everyone [. . .] buy [his] book from Amazon.com on August 1, 2007 (the book's official release date).” At the heart of this campaign is a series of low-budget viral videos that has the author so engrossed in a Breakneck Books title that he is impervious to the ill treatment he receives from those around him. The first four videos can be accessed here.

What interests me most is Mr. Robinson’s pioneering vision, as he has single-handedly opened up a new area of thought when it comes to POD book marketing. His efforts are obviously paying off, because his previous title, Raising the Past, which was reviewed on this site, sold 664 copies online this year alone (as of this writing), and 1,167 copies during a mere four months of its initial release last year, according to Ingram Book Company’s database (neither Jeremy Robinson nor Breakneck Books supplied this information). Now this only accounts for online sales. There’s no telling how much books he offloaded at book signings and other events, or via other avenues.

This astonishes me, to say the least, but only because it is so far above average for a POD title. Many traditionally published books perform in much the same way within the same time frame. And stellar fiction sales for many small publishers result in 7,000 to 12,000 copies sold for a single title, give or take—and I’m talking the life of the book. This was the case at the first small press I worked for. After all is said and done, Raising the Past will probably come close to hitting the conventional small press mark for stellar book sales—at least at the low end.

Robinson’s latest title, Antarktos Rising, may do even better than Raising the Past, as far as book sales go; and, seeing I have a digital ARC sitting here on my computer, I can say that the interior is the best I’ve seen for a POD title thus far, hands down. We’re talking excellence in font choice and size, elegant headers, exquisite section titles, correct spacing on leads, tabs, and ellipses points, beautiful watermarks, the whole kitten caboodle—and the cover isn't too shabby either. I expect to receive the hard copy ARC in two weeks, according to Robinson. Look for a review on this site prior to the release date. My impartial assessment should precede the fireworks.

I will say this: I am very excited for Mr. Robinson, and find that his efforts are important to the furtherance of the POD cause. And I report these facts to highlight some of those efforts and successes, and thus bring awareness to those who are not exactly in the loop.