When I first decided to self-publish THE LIVING, I had a fit of excitement and made this silly gif.
I was feeling sassy. I was going to control every aspect of the production and make sure everything happened exactly how it was supposed to. And then inch by inch, the belt sander of reality ground down my bravado. Distribution deals fell apart. Promises were delayed and dissolved. My release date refused to hold still.
The last date I gave you was December 10, and that one seemed solid. My publishing partner at Zola Books had a printer lined up. Everything was ready.
Then the printer changed their story.
“Holiday rush, very busy, is it cool if we deliver the books mid-January?”
HELL. NO.
Even though this printer was 1/3 the cost of the next closest bid, I couldn’t do it. After all this buildup and stringing you readers along, I was NOT pushing this into the new year. It had to happen now.
So we found a new printer. And they are printing. As you read this, those final 433 pages of R and Julie’s story are rolling off the presses on thick, creamy paper. In the next few days, they’ll be bound in beautiful linen hardcovers, wrapped in a textured matte jacket, and sent to New York where I’ll be signing every copy and shipping them out to you. However…
BAD NEWS: this last-minute shakeup has pushed us back a few days. We won’t be able to ship on the 10th—but very soon after! We’re still reasonably confident that everyone in the U.S will have their books BEFORE CHRISTMAS. (International orders will take a little longer…I’m really sorry!)
MORE BAD NEWS: because this printer is expensive and preorders have been slow, I have to cut the first run down from the planned 3000 copies to just 1200…of which only 150 currently remain. (I will print more after these sell out, but there may be some delay in between and they won’t be as deluxe as the first edition.)
GOOD NEWS: This first edition is going to be really nice, with the kind of cool custom flourishes you can only get from a handcrafted small-batch production. And I don’t just mean thick paper…there will be additional art and actual narrative elements layered into the construction. (Sorry, ebookers!)
MORE GOOD NEWS: Every book will come with signed and numbered printings of two unpublished short stories: “M’s Journal” and “Boarded Window,” (the Warm Bodies Holiday Special!) about R’s first winter among the Dead. (Revised and expanded from its original appearance in CityArts magazine.)
(Sorry again, ebookers! The hardcover is the premium experience and I want to give people what they paid for.)
Again, I’m reasonably confident that everyone in America will have their books before Christmas. But wherever you are, if you do buy one as a gift and it doesn’t arrive in time, contact me with some info about the recipient and I’ll get really fucked up on cold brew concentrate and write them a rambling personalized I.O.U that you can give them as a placeholder.
So here we go…the final stretch. It’s been a long and brutal journey, and I’ve gone from this…
…to this…
…but we’re going to get there together!
In summary:
PRINTING IS HAPPENING NOW
U.S ORDERS WILL *PROBABLY* STILL ARRIVE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
BOOKS WILL COME WITH TWO UNPUBLISHED WARM BODIES STORIES
THIS SPECIAL FIRST EDITION IS ALMOST SOLD OUT (150 COPIES LEFT)
Stay Living.
-Isaac
