Fleeting Fame: “Sand” on “Fast Draw”

Amazon sales rankings are somewhat like Fermat’s Last Theorem - what they’re
saying makes apparent sense, but discerning how they work is seemingly
impossible. Nevertheless, the fact is that they are routinely (obsessively?)
scrutinised by writers - and that includes me. At least, I tell myself, the
relativemovements of the ranking are indicative of something,
even if they contain no absolute information. Earlier this year, Sand
attained a heady rank in the 5000s of total book sales, an achievement that gave
me some pleasure since I felt I could visualise a wall of shelves with 5000
books on them and, on the bottom shelf on the right, *Sand.*But most of
the time the book inhabits the five-figure ranks, periodically wallowing in the
quicksand of six figures.

And then, on August 2, I was startled by a strangled cry from my wife on the
computer downstairs - I rushed down, desperately trying to focus poorly
formed recollections of how to perform the Heimlich Maneuver (or Manoeuvre - I
couldn’t even remember how to spell it), to find her transfixed, pointing with a
shaking finger at the monitor. My Amazon ranking was
572! No, that’s not a typo, I was rubbing spines with
the stars - well, not, of course, the Harry Potters, but a shelf of
five hundred or so books is simply a small section in a chain bookstore. The
book was number one in various “natural resources” and geology categories.

This was a complete mystery - what could it mean? Had Amazon been attacked,
had their famous software finally gone haywire? Or (my fondest aspiration) had
some far-sighted educational institution seen the value of Sand as a
text for a “rocks for jocks” or “Environmental Studies 101” course? The
publishers at the University of California Press were equally bemused - pleased
but bemused.

Now I know what happened. Some time ago, I’d been contacted by Josh Landis.
Together with Mitch Butler, he is co-creator of CBS News’ “The Fast Draw,” an
animated news series appearing on a number of CBS News broadcasts, including
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and CBS News Sunday Morning. He
had told me that they were preparing a short segment (all of their pieces are
just a few minutes in length) on sand - he wasn’t sure when it would be
broadcast. Having heard no more, I had forgotten about it, but we’ve now
discovered that it went out on yes, August 2, and included a reference to the
book. Wow. Of course, I have no idea whatsoever how many actual books were sold
as a result, but it must have been this that caused the uplift, the orogeny, in
the Amazon numbers. The Fast Drawsegment, titled “Lessons of Sand” can
be viewed online here -
it’s entertaining and only three minutes long.

The Amazon ranking as I write this? 21,239. The UK Oxford University
Press edition is officially published on Thursday. It has a slightly
different title - but that’s another story.Amazon UK ranking?
109,085 - but my fingers are crossed. SIGNATURE

Comments

suvrat (2009-08-11):

that was a fun segment to watch. thanks!

Jules (2009-08-11):

That was a fun video, Congratulations Michael on getting more deserved exposure for your book! Maybe one day you will get a phone call from the BBC,the CBC,the Discovery Channel or the Science Channel to do a film version!

Sandglass (2009-08-11):

I’d love to! I’ve had various ideas of how a TV program might work - if anybody knows anybody at the BBC, Discovery, National Geographic, Science, CBC …

Originally published at: https://throughthesandglass.typepad.com/through_the_sandglass/2009/08/fleeting-fame-sand-on-fast-draw.html