crushedAs of midnight Monday/the very beginning of Tuesday, Amazon has been shipping copies of Discount Armageddon. Consequentially, Barnes & Noble is doing the same thing. I haven't been saying anything because DAW is trying frantically to fix it, and I didn't want to drive sales to the sites which have chosen to release my book early. (I don't blame B&N for reacting when they saw that the book was on sale; they're a business, after all. But it's not helping my stress level any.) Please, please, do not buy my book early. I know it's hard. I know that the urge to have the shiny thing now is strong within us. I've ordered dolls from Japan and Australia, and DVD sets from Canada and the UK, for just this reason. But those things were legitimately released in the regions where I was ordering them, and Discount Armageddon has not been legitimately released anywhere at all. Please wait until March 6th. Don't punish independent bookstores, and local brick and mortar stores, for some computer's hard-to-fix mistake. Please. I am literally begging you here.
It doesn't help that so much of a book's success is measured by their first week. I've basically thrown up every time I thought about my week one numbers (including just now), because these early sales could mean the difference between a series and an accidental duology. It's unlikely—DAW is very loyal, and they stand by me—but it could happen, and I am very much worst-case-scenario girl when I'm this flipped out. So please. Do not buy early. Wait until March 6th.
And then there are the ebooks.
Both Amazon and B&N have put the physical edition of Discount Armageddon on sale, but are still holding the electronic edition for the actual release date. People who receive their physical books early are reaping the benefits of a fortuitous, author-breaking error. People who have to wait for their electronic books are not being denied anything; they're doing what was supposed to happen in the first place. This has not stopped the exciting emails from rolling in. They mostly stopped after the first day, but on that first day, I was called...
...a bitch.
...a whore.
...a cunt.
...stupid.
...greedy.
...ungrateful.
...narcissistic.
All of these were mix-and-match, with "greedy," "bitch," and "cunt" being the most popular. "Greedy bitch" was the most common, followed by "stupid bitch," "greedy cunt," and "stupid whore." One person kindly suggested that sexual violence would be the appropriate response to my forcing Amazon to withhold ebooks. Another offered to slap the stupid out of me. And several stated that they would now be pirating all my books, because I had given up my right to their money (I had a right to their money?).
See, apparently, the ebooks are being withheld because I, personally, am trying to force everyone to buy my preferred format (physical). So sexual threats and relentless abuse are totally acceptable, because it just shows me the error of my ways.
I have nothing to do with the books being available early. I wish they weren't.
I have no control over whether the electronic editions are available early. I'm glad they're not, but it's not because I'm a greedy bitch; it's because I don't want any editions available early.
I am literally sick with stress, and this is not in any way helping. Please, don't buy my books before their actual release date. Please, don't place an order with a site which is offering my books before their actual release date. Please, don't call me horrible names because you can't have what you want the second that you want it.
Please.
(Because it must be said...comment amnesty. I'm already crying hard enough.)
February 23 2012, 21:38:37 UTC 5 years ago
As avid readers, most of us here are self-trained to automatically allow the written word to affect our emotions. When we open a book of fiction we pretty much say to the author "I give permission for your words to affect me. Let me feel thrills, love, fear, hate, compassion, sorrow, joy, accomplishment, satisfaction and more. That is what these books are for." The same thing happens with song lyrics - as the audience, we open ourselves completely to the emotions, whether joyful or ose. So we can be particularly vulnerable when hateful emotions are sent in letters.
As a singer, you already have some tools for dealing with this. You know that if you give yourself entirely over to the emotions WHILE SINGING, you can't effectively sing the song to others. So you let enough come through that you are feeling the emotion and able to convey it to others without letting it overpower you. You filter the emotions, keeping them at a distance.
You need to find that same emotional distance when you receive these hateful letters. Do NOT just automatically give them that All-Access-Pass to your feelings. Hold the emotions at a distance until you have seen what is there. If it's hate, strengthen the barriers and KEEP it at a distance. If it's the genuine affection that you get from the great majority of your fans, waiting to drop the barriers means only the slightest of delays before you can enjoy the good feelings those letters bring.
I haven't pre-ordered. I plan to be in a brick-and-mortar store the first week. I'll be keeping in mind that buying books ahead of time (for future birthday presents, Christmas presents and so on) works quite well. I'll do what I can to make your 1st week numbers be high.
Otherwise - gentle hugs and good thoughts to help you get through such frenetic times.
September 26 2012, 15:28:55 UTC 4 years ago
And I'm not good at denying the All-Access Pass. But I try.