Numbers contain their own magic. Overnight, 2018 transformed into 2019 while 14 years of research turned into 1 effervescent book. To wrap-up my Seltzertopia launch year, here’s a few highlights, numbers and all, that detail my own transformation into a published author.
1. The Topography of Book Sales
Amazon has a great tool for authors, called Author Central, that provides me with daily stats on my book. I annotated it below to show how close I’ve come to Seltzertopia being #1 – and how fall at times I’ve fallen:
So in the days before the book launched, back in September, I was way north of a million – meaning, almost 1.4 million books were selling better than mine (at least on Amazon). Then just a few days later, when the book officially launched, it shot up to just south of #44,000. In other words, in just a few days, it leap-frogged over one million books! That was exciting.
After an initial post-launch dip, my book tour began and the numbers rose. The weekend of Oct 20th, for example, saw numbers rise when the tour began at the Kew and Willow book store. It dips again, and then returns Nov 5th with my Seltzer Panel in front of 500+ at The Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center. That pattern continues for awhile – sales dip, then talks bring sale back up – repeat, and rinse.
Then the press coverage begins. November 18th Seltzertopia has its peak for 2018 – due to its national appearance on CBS Sunday Morning News. Ready for the CBS effect? Here was the book’s standing in the hours before the a.m. broadcast:
And here’s the book’s Amazon standing in the immediate hours after:
That’s what good press can do for you – send you to the top of the Process and Infrastructure genre! (I still don’t know what that means or why Seltzertopia is competing with Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup and Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed???)
December 20th – the second best day of 2019 – came after more great press. This time is was due to the Seltzertopia Interview on WNYC. Turns out, in the right market, local news can be nearly as powerful as national coverage.
2. 7 Seltzertopia Live! appearances to 750 people
My Seltzertopia Live! road show kicked off in NYC and then traveled in different formats to surrounding states. Thank you all who came for showing up for seltzer! (Click on the links below to view photos, videos and more from each location.)
- 10.20.18 | Kew & Willow Books | Kew Gardens, NY
- 10.30.18 | Streicker Center at Temple Emanuel of the City of New York | NY, NY
- 11.04.18 | Reform Temple of Forest Hills | Forest Hills, NY
- 11.15.18 | American Jewish Historical Society | NY, NY
- 11.17.18 | Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island | Providence, RI
- 11.18.18 | The Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia | Fairfax, VA
- 11.29.18 | JCC Rockland | Nyack, NY
Thank you as well to all the amazing hosts I worked with. After each event I send a survey to get feedback. Here’s some of what I learned:
The specific feedback I received was useful as well, from the appreciations – “This was one of my favorite book talks EVER!” – to the more critical feedback that I am already using to up my game.
And in 2019 I am looking forward to the eight more events currently scheduled around North America (with new ones still in the works), as far North as Toronto and as far south and west as Tucson, Arizona.
3. 7 Press Pieces
In the three months since it’s launch, there have been 5 written pieces about it, one tv broadcast, and one radio show segment:
- Seltzertopia on CBS Sunday Morning News
- Seltzertopia Interview on WNYC
- “If bubbles could speak, ‘Seltzertopia’ would chronicle their thoughts” – My first book review! (Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle)
- Book review in the Jewish Exponent (Philadelphia)
- The Jewish News of Northern California touts Seltzertopia as one of the best Jewish books of 2018
- New York Magazine’s The Cut features Seltzertopia on their opinion page
- Seltzertopia Review from Booklist: “parched drinkers will have a hard time… not being in awe…”
4. Countless Seltzertopia Selfies
It has been so much fun receiving all the Seltzertopia Selfies, via Facebook or Instagram (which I usually re-post here), from all over the country. Each one is truly a gift. Thank you.
5. 8 Reviews
Finally, there have been 8 lovely reviews on Amazon from readers. Unfortunately, as two were from a married couples posting from the same home, BOTH were removed (what a silly rule, Amazon!), but I am deeply appreciative of all of them. In case the rest get deleted as well, please allow me to both amplify and capture their voices by sharing them with you below (and if you feel so inclined, please add your own review here), as my final moment of looking back at 2018 (and thank you for joining me on this tour):
I really enjoyed reading this book. There is so much history in the making of seltzer – who knew! It makes me want to try out the original seltzer drinks (this is now on my list of things to do). I also think this book would make a great gift for others. Thank you, Barry Joseph, for bringing these stories of seltzer together in a humorous and delightful way.
B Jacoby
Barry Joseph’s in-depth research and extensive interviews lend an air of authority to this book, while his writing style and sense of humor makes it an enjoyable and compelling read. It put me in the mind of some of Mark Kurlansky’s writing (author of Salt: A World History) and of Rich Cohen’s writing (author of The Fish That Ate the Whale, and Sweet and Low). At moments Joseph’s narrative style transported me from my surroundings, always a sign of a good read, and more than anything made me want to find a deli that serves a real egg cream!
JHPalmer
I found this book fascinating. It follows seltzer through history like a character, showing you its origins, its youth and development, and the cultures it wove into and continues to inspire. The book shows seltzer is unique: a drink that’s been around for centuries, yet has a detailed history you can trace back to specific times, places and people. It tells a story I’m sure has never been compiled in one place before, revealing the rich cultural history behind a product you might casually pick up at the grocery store, and showing its modern resurgence is part of a cycle that’s been continuing for ages. Along the way there are plenty of fun anecdotes and tales of Americana, written in an engaging storyteller’s voice that makes the book hard to put down. It’s “Salt: A World History”, but the history includes Prohibition, the Three Stooges and Seinfeld. I highly recommend it.
TG
Seltzertopia is a light, fun, dare I say, effervescent exploration of a particular fizzy beverage. Seltzer has a much longer, and more complicated history than I had imagined, going back to the earliest days of civilization. Even defining what seltzer and isn’t is not without controversy.
Richard Panganiban
Barry Joseph chose to frame his narrative around one particular individual seeking to enter the seltzer business in Pittsburg, which I think was an interesting narrative choice. It narrows and personalizes the story, but also limits the depth of analysis.
Some of the subject areas felt more like introductions to deeper topics that left me wanting a bit more. Then again, that would start to be more of a dissertation rather than a light read. It did leave me excited to research more about our relationship to water in general. Who has written that book?
If you love seltzer in one of its many incarnations, you will definitely enjoy this book. Even if you don’t care for the beverage, but are interested in Jewish history, the beverage industry or medical history, you will find a lot to enjoy in this book.
Given the sheer amount of seltzer that I drink, when I came across the book Seltzertopia: The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary Drink I knew that this book would definitely be one that I needed to read! Seltzertopia is a great microhistory on seltzer and author Barry Joseph does a great job bringing readers into the world of seltzer. There is a nice mix of different facets surrounding the history of seltzer mixed into the book and for a beverage I sure do love there were so many different nuances to seltzer that I had no idea about that this book helped shine a light on the interesting history of seltzer. Whether it be the narrative around a seltzer business starting up in Pittsburgh or information on how seltzer and the Jewish faith became intertwined, Joseph does an exceptional job keeping readers engaged in the book that is rich on facts, information and even biographical backgrounds for those who grew up in the industry. Seltzertopia is a very easy read and keeps you engaged throughout so if you are a general history buff or simply a fan of seltzer, be sure to crack open Seltzertopia and enjoy this great read!
The Captain