Quick God Engines Shipping Update
Posted on January 4, 2010 Posted by John Scalzi 33 Comments
The latest on The God Engines shipping status, nicked from the Subterranean Press site:
All individual orders will be en route to customers by Monday morning, with large online bookstore and wholesale orders currently being packed. Please note that we only have 30 copies of the signed limited edition available, which is leatherbound, and features a different cover (pictured here) than the unsigned cloth bound edition.
Groovy. Also, a reminder to any of you who stayed away from the Internets over the holidays that I posted the first chapter of The God Engines for you to check out. It’s here if you missed it, or if you didn’t miss it, but just didn’t read it. YOU BASTARD.
Also, someone in the comments to that earlier TGE posting asked if I had a preference as to where folks bought the book, from Amazon or from Subterranean Press directly. With the exception of the limited, which is only available from Subterranean Press directly (and apparently not for much longer, so hurry), no, I have no real preference. Both I and Subterranean make more if you buy direct from them, so if that’s actually important to you, then buy direct, and thanks. But we do just fine if you buy off Amazon, too. As I noted to the person who asked the question, if we didn’t want you to have the option of buying the book from Amazon, it wouldn’t be on Amazon. I’m happy you’re buying it, no matter from whom you buy it.
And, yes, just in case anyone’s wondering, I met my writing quota for the day. Go me.
So, you are working on the sequel to The God Engines, then?
Not at the moment, no.
What just is your writing quota each day, anyway? I’m very curious.
When I was writing TSSPTICTYA, it was 2,000 words a day/10,000 words a week. I’ll likely try to keep a similar schedule this year.
That’s not entirely undoable, even for a newbie like me.
I’m trying to write my first novel (yeah, I’m one of those guys) and working on setting myself goals and parameters, or I won’t get it done and put it on the back-burner like I’ve done for years.
So the more I can learn from and emulate those who do it professionally, the more likely it is that I actually follow through with it.
So no TGE sequel. Hmmm…. maybe a book about life with cats: “My cat overlords: How I learned that serving their every whim is the key to lifelong happiness”.
@beej I write 500 words a day. Doing that, I finish a 100,000 page novel in seven months. Take weekends off and you can do it in a year. I try not to over think it.
So what does the cloth-bound edition’s cover look like?
It’s here. Same art, different presentation.
My only hope is that the current writing gig is pure sci-fi…..
@10… it’s a romance. :)
No, No he going with the latest trend, Vampire/Supernatural Urban Romance!
Vampire/Supernatural Urban Romance with LASERS!
Oddly, I’ve had the most success with novels that I started and finished for NaNoWriMo, then spend the next few months or so rounding out into a reasonable word count and fixing the broken.
Four down so far, now I just need to get off my rear and start submitting them to agents.
Vampire / Supernatural Victorian Urban Romance with Zombies!
John,
Why no Kindle editions for your books? Are you against the whole concept, or is Subterranean Press against it? If not, please encourage them to add your books to the e-book selection from Amazon. I travel, and enjoy being able to take many books with me in a smaller package. Not that I don’t enjoy the tactile feel of a good book, but convince wins out usually.
I’m actually bored of answering that question over and over and over and over and over, Brian.
I REALLY want to buy limited for $45 from Sub but $45 is a lot of money for an awesome book!!…. I’m having to convince myeslf not to buy it… Need a quick way of making $45 cash FAST any ideas??
@ 16: Sorry John, I will try to refrain my Blatherations in the future to pertinant topics. I am newish to the blogosphere.
No worries, Brian. I’m mildly snappish on the subject at the moment. It’s not your fault.
Given the timing of the release, is TGE eligible for the Hugo this year, or next?
It was released on the 31st of December, 2009, and the Hugos are tied into the calendar year. So, this year.
Glad I saw this.
I had ordered “God Engines” along with Mary Kowel’s book when you mentioned them in early November, just checked Subterranean’s site and saw that the Kowel book is also out.
hmmmm… I’ve sent off an email and am HOPING to get a “Your order has been shipped” reply.
Looking forward to both…
Is this going to get to England? It’s not avalible on Amazon UK
I may have missed this in an earlier post, but is there a date for a UK release? Last time I looked, Amazon.co.uk just said ‘Not in stock’.
Brian, I’ve noticed that the Kindle users I know dispose of their read books like so much digital trash. At least with paper you can give the book away, or someone can resell it. But if older people are using Kindles, then it’s only a matter of a few years before kids will be reading from their slates too. And they will share books, because a book is just something you read and then delete, it’s almost worthless.
The Gray Area:
You don’t delete a book from the Kindle. It’s archived and can be downloaded again quickly, usually within a minute, if you want to read it again or check on a paragraph or sub-plot or just have it around.
I love used books and sharing books, but that doesn’t mean there’s not room for digital media too.
My take is that I can buy a book in digital edition and take a chance on it, just like I would a used book or trade edition. If I love it or the series or the author, then I’ll get a hardback or special edition, maybe even get it signed and keep it as a collector’s item.
I didn’t stay away from the internets these holidays… I was *kept* away from the internets :(
OrdinaryGirl. Sorry, I used the wrong nomenclature. But, as a case in point, I listen to digital books on a device, and when I’m done I delete them fromt he device. Audible does have a history of my books, but as of yesterday guess what? They didn’t show up in my archive. I don’t know what the problem is, but so far no books. Now, as much as I like listening to John’s books, I treat those little downloads as clutter when I’m done with them. That’s because I don’t think of MP3 files as worth anything. Not like an actual paper book or CD.
I view printed books as furniture. I pretty much only read books now on my kindle. If it’s not on the kindle, I pretty much don’t buy it. (There are a few authors I make exceptions for though, our fine host being one of them btw). The only books I regularly buy furniture versions of are technical books and books with artwork in them. I also usually don’t read fiction book more than once (with a few exceptions), so the reason I consider them furniture is that they take up room in my house, they collect dust, my dog sits on them, and eventually I sit them on my curb with a hand painted “free” sign on them. I would actually share my digital books, as I would lend a printed book, if it weren’t for the blasted DRM. Further, I believe that brick and mortar bookstores are doomed. I expected Barnes and Noble to go the way of Tower Records, for example. I understand the nostalgic attachment to printed books and bookstores, believe me, but ultimately this is generational and will be crushed by technology. IMHO. :-)
I just received notification that my copy of TGE has shipped from Amazon, due by the end if the week.
TGE just hit my mailbox..Work or read..What to do….
I have just read The God Engines. I enjoyed it immensely and would love to read other books set in the same rich universe…perhaps some prequels.