Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire

  • Mood:
  • Music:

Happy bookday to me, happy bookday to me...

As of today, One Salt Sea is officially available from bookstores all over North America, and from import stores all over the world. It's been spotted in the wild from California to New York, with several points between also chiming in to let me know that they've got copies. Hooray!

Since it's release day, I figured it was time to once again answer the wonderful people asking how they can help. So here are a few dos and don'ts for making this book launch awesome.

DO buy the book as soon as you can. Sales during the first week are very important—think of it as "opening weekend" for a movie—but they're not the end-all be-all. If you can get the book today, get the book; if you can get it at my book release party, get it at my book release party. Whatever works for you. Brick-and-mortar store purchases are best, as they encourage reordering. If you've already bought the book, consider buying the book again, as a single copy might get lonely. They make great gifts!

DON'T yell at other people who haven't bought the book yet. I know, that's sort of a "why are you saying this?" statement, but I got a very sad email from a teenager who'd been yelled at for not buying A Local Habitation the week that it came out. So just be chill. Unless you want to buy books for people who don't have them, in which case, don't yell, just buy.

DO ask your local bookstore if they have it on order. If your local store is part of a large chain, such as Barnes and Noble, the odds are good that the answer will be "yes," and that they'll be more than happy to hold one for you. If your local store is small, and does not focus specifically on science fiction/fantasy, they may have been waiting to see signs of interest before placing an order. Get interested! Interest is awesome!

DON'T berate your local bookseller if they say "no." Telling people they're overlooking something awesome doesn't make them go "gosh, I see the error of my ways." It makes them go "well, I guess it can be awesome without me." Suggest. Ask if you can special-order a copy. But don't be nasty to people just because their shelves can't hold every book ever written.

DO post reviews on your blog or on Amazon.com. Reviews are fantastic! Reviews make everything better! Please, write and post a review, even if it's just "I liked it." Honestly, even if it's just "this wasn't really my thing." As long as you're being fair and reasoned in your commentary, I'm thrilled. (I like to think you won't all race right out to post one-star reviews, but if that's what you really think, I promise that I won't be mad.)

DON'T get nasty at people who post negative reviews. You are all people. You all have a right to the ball. That includes people who don't like my work. Please don't argue with negative reviewers on my behalf. It just makes everybody sad. If you really think someone's being unfair, why don't you post your own review, to present an alternate perspective? (Also, please don't email me my Amazon reviews. I don't read them, I don't want to read them, and I definitely don't want to be surprised with them. Please have mercy.)

DO feel free to get multiple copies. No, you probably don't need eight copies of One Salt Sea for your permanent collection, but remember that libraries, school libraries, and shelters are always in need of books. I'm donating a few of my author's copies to a local women's shelter, because they get a lot of women there who really need the escape. There are also people who just can't afford their own copies, and would be delighted. I wouldn't have had half the library I did as a teenager if it weren't for the kindness of the people around me.

DON'T feel obligated to get multiple copies, or nag other people to do so. Seriously, we're all on budgets, and too much aggressive press can actually turn people off on a good thing. Let people make their own choices. Have faith.

DO check with your local library to be sure they have a copy of on order. If they don't, you can fill out a library request form. Spread the paperback love!

DON'T forget that libraries need books. Many libraries, especially on the high school level, are really strapped for cash right now, and book donations are frequently tax deductible. If you have a few bucks to spare, you can improve the world on multiple levels by donating books to your local public and high school libraries.

DO suggest the book to bookstore employees who like urban fantasy. Nothing boosts sales like having people in the stores who really like a project. If your Cousin Danny (or Dani) works at a bookstore, say "Hey, why don't you give this a try?" It just might help.

DON'T rearrange bookstore displays. If the staff of my local bookstore is constantly being forced to deal with fixing the shelves after someone "helpfully" rearranged things to give their chosen favorites a better position, they're unlikely to feel well inclined toward that book—or author. It's not a good thing to piss off the bookstores. Let's just not.

So those are some do's and don't's. I'm sure there are lots of other things to consider; this is, at least, a start. Finally, a few things that don't help the book, but do help the me:

Please don't expect immediate email response from me for anything short of "you promised us this interview, it runs tomorrow, where are your answers?" I normally make an effort to be a semi-competent correspondent, but with a new book on shelves, final edits due on Discount Armageddon, and Ashes of Honor in need of finishing, a lot of things are falling by the wayside. Like sleep.

Please don't ask me when book six is coming out. I may cry. Plus, the answer is September 2012.

Whee!
Tags: good things, one salt sea, shameless plea, toby daye
  • Post a new comment

    Error

    Anonymous comments are disabled in this journal

    default userpic

    Your reply will be screened

    Your IP address will be recorded 

  • 128 comments
Previous
← Ctrl ← Alt
Next
Ctrl → Alt →
Already asked my local b&m to order it for me and besides getting me a copy, they told me that at long last, they will be ordering a few for the floor as well. Yay!!! Picking it up while I'm out running around today. Can't wait to get my Toby fix!
Yay!
Hee. The point about booksellers made me think of this one time we were checking out books at B&N and the bookseller noticed we had a bunch of urban fantasy. And she's all, "Well, what about *x author*?" and you were one of the people she named. And we're all "WE LOVE HER." XD
Oh, WOW.

Hee.
Amazon UK are saying "Dispatching soon" and "expected delivery 7th September" (tomorrow). So if they've actually got their database talking to itself I may actually have it tomorrow!
Rock on!

keristor

5 years ago

seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

I really love this series. I am sure that I have bought at least one of this series in e-book form before. However, this book which is out today is NOT available as an ebook in Canada, why is that? Can you ask your publisher to do something about this? thank you. I will ask my public library to order a copy of the book but I would have bought it today as an ebook:(
Your question is addressed, in detail, in this post.

Since my publisher does not have distribution rights in Canada, I'm afraid that nothing can be done at this time.

knittingwoman

5 years ago

lacyjae

5 years ago

lacyjae

5 years ago

I'm only in the process of reading A Local Habitation right now, but I'm really tempted to go out on Friday (payday) and get An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses, AND One Salt Sea all at once, considering how much I've loved the first 2.

Except Chapters doesn't seem to have One Salt Sea in stock anywhere in the area. :(
See the reply to the comment above yours re: distribution rights outside the US. :(

ravnsdaughter

5 years ago

vixyish

5 years ago

seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

ravnsdaughter

5 years ago

seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

morvab

5 years ago

seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

archangelbeth

5 years ago

I don't need a response from Seanen, but hopfully another fan can help me out. I preordered from Barnes and Noble for the nook. I got the email this morning that it was available for download and my card was charged. However when I go in the nook app it still says it hasn't been released yet and won't let me download it.

In short I have bought the book, but can't read it yet.

Deleted comment

argonel

5 years ago

Deleted comment

aliciaaudrey

5 years ago

argonel

5 years ago

seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

Placed my amazon order this morning ^_^ Happy Bookday! I am so excited to see where things are going after the events of Late Eclipses.
Yay!
One Salt Sea was purchased this morning by my sweetie. :) We were surprised at how few copies were in Ottawa; if the stores had any at all, they generally only had two. One store had a whopping seven copies, and the big downtown Chapters had none at all.

Can't wait to read about more Toby and what she's found herself for trouble this time. :D
Wow.

Well, enjoy!
I got a neener neener from my sister because she plans to spend the day reading while I have to wait until I get home from work tonight. Sigh sigh pout. At least my Amazon email says that UPS delivered and so I know my box is waiting for me.
That's good!
*runs around waiving her copies in the air* *got the Nook version and also a hard copy for GET ON THE BEST SELLER LIST DAMN YOU purposes, which will not to go waste as it will be part of a "here, have an ENTIRE SERIES TO DATE MOMMY!" gift to her mother next time she sees her. My mom always complains that she "cant find the other books in a series, can't figure out what order to read them in" so I have taken to buying her entire series to date at once.*

As has become my autumnal tradition, your fall release heralds me having a horrid cold...though I'm not sure reading One Salt Sea while slightly delirious will match reading An Artificial Night while running a fever of 102 when one had reoccurring nightmares as a child of being Chased By The Wild Hunt (you were apparently Tuned In To My Nightmare Vision when you wrote that book.)

Worse ways of spending a day than curled up with soup and a Toby Daye book, though. :)
I'm sorry about the cold. Although wow, it sounds like I make your hallucinations more fun...

wendyzski

5 years ago

aliciaaudrey

5 years ago

wendyzski

5 years ago

aliciaaudrey

5 years ago

wendyzski

5 years ago

catsittingstill

5 years ago

<3 You are awesome. No reply necessary, I think it just needed stating. Also, just got your book. Plan on starting it sometime today. ;-)

Not only do Seattle Public Libraries have it on order with eight branches, they already have holds being placed on them by customers. :D
Win!

jennygriffee

5 years ago

If a bookstore puts copies on display before the official release date, and I buy a copy early, does that sale count towards the first week's sales? (This isn't academic. I got my copy of One Salt Sea at B&N last Thursday.)
Sadly, no, which is why this comes up over and over again. I get credit for the sale, but not in the all-important "window."

markbernstein

5 years ago

Picked my copy up this morning!
Yay!
Happy bookday! Now I get to READ YAY.
Hee, awesome.

Deleted comment

Awesome!
HAPPY BOOKDAY!!! :)
Thank you!

Found at The Book End, a small independent bookstore in Newark. They tell me that your books sell very well there and they would love an author signing. One Salt Sea was prominently displayed.

Newark, New Jersey?

dave_gallaher

5 years ago

seanan_mcguire

5 years ago

I wrote a recommendation for the series, on DW and crossposted to LJ. I hope some of my friends are going to enjoy the series as much as I have done.

Much as I would like to see more stories and sooner, if you can avoid working yourself into the ground and burning out, it would be better for you and better for your readers :-)
You're brilliant, thank you.
Waiting... for... delivery.... agh.... why is UPS... so slow.... :)

Happy bookday!
Thank you!
Apparently mine was the second to last copy in stock at my local B&N
Yay!!!!
Picked up a copy from my local B+N on the way home from work. And now, I have to show restraint, and leave it on my shelf unread until my next vacation, when I can devote an entire day to just reading it. This is because I know that, once I pick it up, I won't be able to put it back down until it's done.

Also, happy bookday!
Thank you!
Ya know, I told myself I was going to take my time with this one. "Self," I said, "we have an entire year before Ashes of Honor, so we've got to pace ourselves. We've got to at least not skip work so we can start reading the second One Salt Sea hits our Kindle." As usual, I failed.

Happy Book Day to you indeed! You have completely, totally, and utterly outdone yourself. As the kids are saying these days, ~I just can't even~
Aw, yay. :)

Thank you.

Deleted comment

Yay!
http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/One-Salt-Sea-An-October/book-rOGgUH1m5kiITCEh51oeQQ/page1.html

Dunno if this was shared already, but it finally came up so I thought I'd share, now that I'm snagging it!

Sorry, Harry Dresden... October Daye gets my attention now!! <3 <3 <3
thank you so much!!!! I searched chapters this morning and kobo and it didn't come up with anything. I just bought the book using this link:)

Re: CANADA KOBO LINK

lacyjae

5 years ago

Previous
← Ctrl ← Alt
Next
Ctrl → Alt →