So this crazy thing happened yesterday. I kicked off a four day Kindle Countdown sale for the first time, using my latest book Interview Fu: The Game Journo Guide to Conducting Killer Interviews as the guinea pig. I dropped the price to $0.99, which is basically giving the book away for free. I get a pretty minimal cut at that point, so it’s more about visibility than the money. And DAMN did it get visible! But here’s where I need your help. I’m on a quest to hit #1, and I’m SO CLOSE. I just need a little boost.

The Quest

Since the sale began, I’ve sold about 60 copies in the past 24 hours. That’s awesome! Thanks so much!

Yesterday, the book jumped up the charts in its category until it eventually hit #2 in the top 100 Bestsellers in Journalism. That meant beating out, albeit very temporarily, bestselling authors like Hunter S. Thompson, Mary Roach, and Malcom Gladwell. Last night I came very close to hitting #1, which would make the book a legit Kindle Bestseller. That’s something I’ve come close to hitting in the past but never quite reached before. Today that might be possible. Hitting that mark would be huge, as it’d be a great visibility boost (and a nice thing to be able to put on the book’s marketing materials).

Admittedly, my spirits dipped a little yesterday, when I was bumped back down to #4. The Amazon marketplace and sales rank is a tricky beast. It’s all about how many sales you make…both within a short timeframe and from day-to-day. But I just rolled out of bed, and not only is my book back in #2, but the sales rank is VERY CLOSE to Michael Lewis’ book The Big Short, which is currently commanding the #1 slot.

Realistically, if I get a big crush of sales this morning and today, I could possibly score the #1 slot, which would be super exciting and make this whole thing pretty darned worthwhile. But other books behind me are not far behind, so it’s just as possible that I’ll slide a few ranks back down the chart without the extra sales to push me closer.

The Countdown

The way Kindle Countdown works is you set a starting discount price and a timeline, and each day the price bumps up incrementally throughout the sale. It’s a cool mechanic. Yesterday, I started my campaign for Interview Fu at the ridiculously low $0.99. I might as well have asked for a glass of water or a breath of air in return for a copy. But it’s all good!

Today, the price bumped up to $1.99, which is still super low. Tomorrow the price jumps to $2.99 and then upwards until at the EOD Friday, when it’ll go back to it’s normal $4.99 price tag. If you want to get a copy super cheap, you haven’t totally missed your chance.

Buying the book TODAY, in fact right now, will help push me one step closer to achieve my quest!

Your Mission, Should You Choose To Accept It

It’s simple, really. You can help by grabbing a copy – which you can read EVEN if you don’t have a kindle. Kindle books can be read on just about any device, including PCs using Amazon’s Kindle Reader app. I read book on my iPad 2 and love it.

So yeah, buying a copy today will super help. Also, if you care to help spread the word with a Tweet or a Facebook thing, or whatever. All of that is Awesome.

Thanks a bunch for your support!