"Walls, Wire, Bars and Souls" has been on sale for almost a week now. It's been a mixed experience for me.
It's selling much more slowly than my SF novels - only about 150 copies so far, versus well over 700 of my second novel during the first week it was published. More of those copies have been of the print version, too, and fewer (proportionately) of the e-book. Clearly, many fewer people are interested in the non-fiction memoirs of a prison chaplain than want to read science fiction. On the other hand, those who are reading it are more thoughtful. I've had more e-mails from them than I received from my novel readers, and they're clearly engaging with the material at a fairly deep level.Several readers have commented that they didn't enjoy reading the book, because the material isn't exactly enjoyable; but they're glad they read it anyway. Some have mentioned the 'rawness' of some of the people they've met within its pages - the pedophile, the thug, the predator, and so on. They hadn't realized at an existential level what such people must be like in the flesh, and the realization scared some of them. They're quite right to be scared! As I say in the book, there are many more such people on the streets than are locked away behind bars. If we're more aware of their presence among us, we can do more to protect ourselves against them. As they say in the classics, 'Forewarned is forearmed'.
I'm glad I wrote this book, as a personal catharsis if nothing else. I hope and pray it stimulates debate over an issue that's one of our biggest social problems. I'm also going to use it as a marketing test case. If it isn't selling well, how can I change that? Will a temporary free or low-cost promotion help? Will paid advertising? How can I get a few reviews in strategic media, to reach those who will naturally be interested in this subject? All those issues have to be explored, and over the next few months Miss D. and I will do that together. It's going to be an interesting process.
I think this book might turn out to be a slow, steady, long-term prospect. I've encountered several books like that dealing with specialized areas. They may sell ten to twenty books every month over ten years or more. It's too early to say whether WWBS will turn out that way, but given its slow start, and the specialized nature of the field in which it's set, that's certainly a possibility.
Thanks to all of you who've bought and read it, and everyone who's commented, here, on Amazon.com, or by e-mail. I appreciate your being part of the journey with me. Let's see where it takes us! (If you've read it, but haven't yet commented on Amazon.com, please do so. It helps other prospective readers to 'get a feel' for the book if they can read how others have found it.)
Peter
