Every author wants a good first day for his book–and I think The Big Scrum: How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football has had a decent first day. This morning, the book’s Amazon rank was in the low five digits. A little after noon, it had improved to #2,937. By 2:30 pm, it had risen to #1,220 and at 3 pm it was #953. Then I unplugged and went to my son’s middle-school baseball game. (They lost, but thanks for asking.) Right now, around 7:30 pm, The Big Scrum has dipped a bit to #1,341. But it’s #2 in the category of “Bestsellers in Football (American)”!

Yes, I watch these number obsessively. If an author says he doesn’t pay attention to his Amazon rank, make him sip truth serum and ask again.