Bumped to a later release

cagedrobin

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Who can tell me what it means if you are bumped to a December release? Is December as bad a time to release as everyone says?
 

ChaosTitan

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It could mean anything--the publisher doesn't want you competing with a similar title on your old release day, they think the originally scheduled date is over-crowded, etc...

December isn't necessarily a bad month. On one hand, people are doing their Christmas shopping and might pick your book up and give it away. On the other hand, people are doing their Christmas shopping and might not have extra money budgeted for fun things like your book.
 

Irysangel

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I've been bumped a few times and asked my agent about the December thing. She had no idea what I was talking about. I think it's a writer-myth.

Being bumped happens a lot, for a variety of reasons. I wouldn't stress over it.
 

Jamesaritchie

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I WANT my books in the stores for Christmas. A lot of books sell as Christmas presents.
 

IceCreamEmpress

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Don't get all invested in reading the entrails. There are no entrails.
 

shaldna

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I'd rather be released in December than in January.
 

Jamesaritchie

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Yeah, January is the month I don't want a book released. I had that happen once, and it took forever for sales to reach acceptable levels. Christmas drains bank accounts, and better to have you book available while people still have money to spend.
 

zegota

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Although, gift cards are becoming more and more popular, such that a January release might not be the death knell it once was.
 

James D. Macdonald

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Who can tell me what it means if you are bumped to a December release? Is December as bad a time to release as everyone says?

"Bumped to a later release" means "didn't get enough bookstore pre-orders."

December, Christmas gift-buying season? What's not to like?
 

veinglory

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December is not a good time to release an ebook as these are general purchased purchase by people for themselves not as gifts--and self-buying does down around Christmas. For a print book it is fine.
 

Jamesaritchie

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Although, gift cards are becoming more and more popular, such that a January release might not be the death knell it once was.

True, but books as gifts will always be bigger than books bought for yourself. The best thing about books as gifts is that a God Almighty lot of them are bought for people who, on their own, buy very few, or no, books.
 

IceCreamEmpress

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"Bumped to a later release" means "didn't get enough bookstore pre-orders."

Not necessarily! Now you're reading entrails for the OP. In my own experience (on both sides of the desk) bumps are far more often because someone messed up with scheduling, or because a big-ticket title was moved ahead of schedule, or because a big-ticket author delivered too late to meet their original schedule so dominos fall all down the line.
 

Irysangel

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Not necessarily! Now you're reading entrails for the OP. In my own experience (on both sides of the desk) bumps are far more often because someone messed up with scheduling, or because a big-ticket title was moved ahead of schedule, or because a big-ticket author delivered too late to meet their original schedule so dominos fall all down the line.

I've been bumped from my original slot 3 times. Two were to give me a back to back release, and my third was because there was too much paranormal stacked in my release month, and to get better distribution, I got moved to a later month. It was all before anything was sent to sales, ever.

And it happens a lot with some publishers. I agree with ICE - don't stress!