Here I am on April 9 after my talk with Cheryl Popp at Sausalito Books by the Bay. (Where you can buy Pirates of Sausalito and support our local independent bookstore.) Photo by Cheryl Popp.

by John Byrne Barry

My New Favorite Review

When I know someone has bought or read my book, I ask for a review. It’s impossible to know if or how much they help sell books, but they do provide social proof, and I know plenty of people who pay attention to reviews for everything they buy, from books to tents to coffee thermoses. I appreciate it when a friend posts a positive review, but I’m aware their praise may be overstated because we’re friends. But when a stranger posts a positive review, well, this one below made my day.

★★★★★ A Soulful, Stirring Trip Into a Forgotten Chapter of Rebellion
Pirates of Sausalito isn’t just a story, it’s a time capsule. Set in the twilight of the 1970s, it captures the raw spirit of a community fighting for its right to exist, to create, and to live outside the lines. The houseboaters of Sausalito, who were considered outsiders, artists, dreamers, stand their ground as the tide of development threatens to wash away their world. What begins as protest and performance art slowly spirals into something darker when a stabbing rocks the shantytown. The writing is immersive and sharp, but what lingers most is the idealism, the messiness of chosen family, and the fragility of freedom. With cozy mystery vibes, this novel somehow balances joy, danger, and nostalgia in equal measure. A beautiful read for anyone who’s ever loved a lost place or been part of a movement that felt like home.

Why I’m Grateful for Every Reader

It’s been one year since I launched Pirates of Sausalito, my fourth novel. Like my previous novels, it took several years to write, even though I adapted it from a play.

In the past year, I’ve sold almost 300 books and received more than 60 ratings and reviews. Which, when I’m discouraged, feels paltry given how much time and energy I’ve devoted to the writing, the publishing, and the promotion.

(I’ve also given away about 30 paperbacks to friends, family, and beta readers, and almost 2,000 free ebooks through various promotional sites. Though it’s impossible to know how many of them read the book.)

Since I launched the book last spring, I’ve also given ten author talks, which I very much enjoy.

I frequently wish I had more readers, more sales, and more acclaim, but that would be the case if I sold ten times as many books.

I cannot control Amazon’s algorithms, however, or who sees my posts on Facebook or Bluesky, or how overcrowded the marketplace is. Every year, there are more than two million books published worldwide.  

To borrow from Chris Hayes, whose recent book, The Siren’s Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource, explores what he calls the “attention economy,” I am competing against every story ever written, available on the phone of every potential reader. 

In my more sanguine moments, I remind myself of that, and I am grateful for every reader I have. Despite the million options available to them, they chose to read my book.

And a good review, like the one above, can boost my mood for weeks. (Hint, hint, if you haven’t written a review, you still can.)

What I can control are my own actions — my discipline, my focus, my organization. In the past dozen years, I’ve written two plays (and directed them as well) and four novels, and I’m working on a fifth. I’ve given dozens of author talks. I write and send an author letter regularly. I’m in a writing group that has been meeting twice a week for more than ten years. And while I don’t write every day, I write most days, at least something.

I also remind myself that most of the time I love the creative process — sometimes I’m literally thrilled by it — and I especially enjoy the imaginary universe in my head. Sometimes ideas percolate all day long, whether I’m walking to my crossing guard corner, taking a shower, or drifting off to sleep. And when I read or listen to a book or watch a movie or TV show, I’m always paying attention to how the creators put it all together, and I borrow ideas as appropriate. Not all ideas are good, of course, but coming up with new ones is exciting. If I can’t write them down, I open up my voice memo app and dictate them.

Regardless of my visibility or sales, I am living the life of an author, of an artist.

I don’t like to throw around the word artist because it can sound pretentious, but in my heart of hearts, I’ve always wanted to be an artist and now, in the third act of my life, I am.

I am forever grateful if you’ve read any of my books, and if you’ve written any reviews. (Well, not forever, but you know what I mean.) If you’ve done neither, well, what comes to mind is the old saying that the best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago and the next best time is now.

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If you haven’t seen any of my talks about Pirates of Sausalito, below is a video of my first one, a year ago, at the Mill Valley Library, co-sponsored by the Mill Valley Historical Society.

It was the first of my talks and the most well attended, and while I’m not the kind of person who brags about the size of my crowds, there were a lot of people there and even more have watched the video.

The talk is more about the true events that inspired the book than about the book itself, because that’s what the Mill Valley Historical Society asked for.

(Thanks to the Sausalito Historical Society and Bruce Forrester for permission to use their photographs for the slide show. And special thanks to Franklin Walther, Digital Services Librarian, for a fantastic job editing the video and integrating the slides into the narration. Far beyond the call of duty.)