Feedback Jam Session
It was a wild and crazy apricot season, with my little tree netting 75 jars of jam. This meant picking apricots daily, checking the ground (some of which is the community greenbelt) for fallen fruit usually twice daily, and making 3 batches of jam per week. It was, by all accounts, exhausting, but the jam is delicious. I mentioned last year that I’d finally found the perfect recipe—not too sweet and it sets perfectly, to the ideal spreadable consistency. 75 jars is more than any other year, and when you consider that I still lost a good chunk to the ground and to the birds—not to mention I gave a lot of the whole apricots away to friends—I probably could have made over 100 jars.
In some ways, it would be a nice side hustle, to sell the jam. Maybe at farmer’s markets, or even just putting the word out to friends and co-workers. Right now I just give it away for free (I only kept 15 of this year’s jars…my freezer is only so big), so not sure if it’s possible to move everyone to a paid model, but I suppose I do love how delighted everyone is to receive the jam. I had multiple people tell me they usually have one piece of toast with breakfast, and they’ve been eating two pieces ever since they got the jam.
Books, on the other hand, I’m less likely to give away, mostly because the work that went into them represents much more than a fast and furious 6-week apricot jam season. Launch sales for Auntie have slowed, but I’ve been enjoying hearing from people as they finish reading it. It’s always nice to hear that people like it (much like the effect that kind words about the jam have on me), but what has surprised me about the Auntie feedback is how many people have said it’s their favorite of all my books. That is something I had not anticipated. Going into the release—and even the writing—of Auntie, I was sure it would be nobody’s favorite.
This isn’t because I thought it was a lesser book when compared to my others. It’s because it’s more niche. It goes against my typical formula, which is basically “here are some entertaining stories about a very familiar topic.” Auntie was more like “here is a unique perspective that I would like to share with you because you will learn something.” Yet many who I’ve heard from—even those with children—have shared that it hit them differently, moved them more, and struck them overall as a book that is very needed. Honestly, it means a lot. It also makes me wish more people would read it, but another interesting characteristic of Auntie is it’s harder to sell. Specifically because parents (read: most people) see the title and cover and assume it’s not for them. When really, it’s absolutely for them.
I guess this just goes to show that much like each year’s crop of apricots, you don’t ever really know what you’re going to get from a book, or how it will be received, how it will sit with readers. If they’ll pay to read it. I suppose in the case of both the books and the jam, it’s a good thing I have a day job. But boy oh boy, the hobbies are much more fun! So buy that jam everyone, and read those books!