"Yes, the life of a writer really is this perilous" -- help Elizabeth Bear's new book

Shweta · Jul 19, 2008

From here: http://matociquala.livejournal.com/1410464.html

Elizabeth Bear said:
Various conversations around the con, with booksellers and others, and a little online detective work have led me to believe that the reason that Ink & Steel isn't (a) appearing on bookstore shelves and (b) selling in reasonable quantities, despite fabulous reviews, is that it's not in the order system at a certain major industry distributor under my name or the title, though it can be located by ISBN.

So, I guess Monday we get to see if this can be sorted out, or if we're going to lose the series over what amounts to a data entry error.

Yes, the life of a writer really is this perilous...

I find this terrifying. It could happen to any of us, if we get to her point. As we all hope to, right? A wonderful writer should not get dumped over a database error, but it might happen.

Anyway. Anyone who wants this book (or believes me when I say Elizabeth Bear is an amazing writer) should do what she suggests:

In the mean time, what you can do--you know, if you are so moved--is if you want a copy of Ink & Steel, and you cannot find it at your local bookstore, write down the ISBN (978-0451462091), go in with it, and ask them to order that book. You might also point out that it's third in a series and there's a computer glitch at work, and thus the book is not being auto-ordered. If you felt like it, I mean.

Cranky · Jul 19, 2008

I was just wondering what book to buy next. Thanks, Shweta, for the heads up. I know what I'm buying now.

Shweta · Jul 19, 2008

It's book three, so we (me included, I've only read her short fiction so far) have three new yummy books to buy!

Pat~ · Jul 19, 2008

This seems like it'd be a nightmare. Poor author!

I'm not terribly techhy, so this may be a stupid question...but if it's a data entry error, why can't someone just re-enter the data?

Cranky · Jul 19, 2008

Only room in my book budget for two, and I already had my greedy eyes on one of J.A. Konrath's books.

But I've been meaning to read one of her books, so even though this is in the midst of a trilogy (which I wouldn't normally do, buy and read one out of order on purpose), I'm gonna buy it anyway.

Shweta · Jul 19, 2008

Pat~ said:
This seems like it'd be a nightmare. Poor author!

Yeah.
And she's one of the best new(ish) voices I've read in a long time.

I'm not terribly techhy, so this may be a stupid question...but if it's a data entry error, why can't someone just re-enter the data?

I think that's what she's going to try to have done on Monday.
But meanwhile, her book's been out for a bit and not been selling, which looks really bad for her, so it'd be good if people get bookstores to fix the error and show that there is demand.

She's only asking it of people who would be buying her book if it was on the shelf.

Danger Jane · Jul 19, 2008

What a huge bummer. I might have to go demand that Borders give it to me...

rugcat · Jul 19, 2008

Here's another bizarre thing. When I went to Amazon and typed in Ink and Steel, it didn't come up. When I typed in Ink and Steel Elizabeth Bear, still nothing. Only by putting quotes around the title could I find it.

WTF??

Shweta · Jul 19, 2008

Can I quote you?

ETA: Actually, I get it just fine, by typing either Ink and Steel or Ink & Steel.
Are you amazon.com or amazon.co.uk?
Not that I know if it'll make a difference.

rugcat · Jul 19, 2008

Amazon. Maybe it's my computer acting up.

Nakhlasmoke · Jul 19, 2008

I need to put this series on my wishlist asap. I read her Worldwired trilogy and loved it. Even my dh, who isn't a fan of speculative fiction, enjoyed it.

Shweta · Jul 19, 2008

Nakhlasmoke said:
I need to put this series on my wishlist asap. I read her Worldwired trilogy and loved it. Even my dh, who isn't a fan of speculative fiction, enjoyed it.

On the purely selfish note, we should get it while we can. Just in case.

Albedo · Jul 19, 2008

Would the publisher have right of redress against the distributor if this impacted their sales? I'm assuming the author has no independent right.

Nakhlasmoke · Jul 20, 2008

Shweta said:
On the purely selfish note, we should get it while we can. Just in case.

I would, but I'm so broke it's not funny. I'll order it on payday.

L M Ashton · Jul 20, 2008

Pat~ said:
This seems like it'd be a nightmare. Poor author!

I'm not terribly techhy, so this may be a stupid question...but if it's a data entry error, why can't someone just re-enter the data?

They can. But it first requires someone to notice there was a problem, which possibly didn't happen until now, and then it requires someone caring enough to actually do it. Initiative.

She has my sympathy, that's for sure. What a stupid reason for her book to not be selling.

vfury · Jul 20, 2008

I already ordered it in for myself through work.

But I did notice INK AND STEEL was difficult to find when I went into other bookstores that had her earlier books. I live in Ireland, admittedly, and I'd just assumed it would take them a while after the actual release date to get their import order in, but now it's a little worrying. What a wretched thing to impact sales!

Perks · Jul 20, 2008

That is really terrible. You think you get all the way to that point in the game and the walls come tumbling down because of an un-dotted 'i'.

Saanen · Jul 20, 2008

I just ordered Ink & Steel online (as well as the first in the series; if I like it I'll pick up the second book before reading Ink & Steel). I hope she can get this error cleared up soon! At least she found out about it, though, hopefully in time to not affect further sales too much.

waylander · Jul 20, 2008

Finding it on Amazon.co.uk works just fine

Bartholomew · Jul 20, 2008

Shweta, how did she find out this happened?

Jackfishwoman · Jul 20, 2008

That sounds scary.... though I don't quite understand how she figured that out. (COULD that happen to any of us?? and how would we know if it did????)

Ardellis · Jul 20, 2008

That's a very scary scenario. May all the various gods and angels defend any of us from a similar fate.

That said. E.Bear is brilliant. I'm about a hundred pages into this book. And book 4 comes out August 1! Preorder that one, too, while you're getting this one!

CheshireCat · Jul 20, 2008

Once a manuscript leaves your hands, virtually everything in publishing is beyond your control.

There will be screw-ups, some of them utterly stupid and a few of monumental proportions.

Get used to it.

If you're lucky, you'll find out about the screw-ups, if not in time to salvage sales, then at least in time to salvage your reputation (something to point out when the publisher has the nerve to comment that the book's sales "weren't what we hoped for") when negotiating the next contract.

If you aren't lucky, you'll never know why a book didn't sell well, even if the problem was a purely technical one on the publisher's end.

Write the best book you can, get cover input if you can and if you're good at it, be as informed as you can be, make it clear you expect your agent to be as informed as he/she can be, and then cross your fingers.

Chumplet · Jul 20, 2008

According to my publisher, my ISBN was listed incorrectly at the source and therefore wasn't listed properly with Bowker. She said it would take up to a year for it to show up on the database. I'm afraid to walk into a bookstore and find out the ISBN doesn't exist. It's still on Amazon, B&N, etc. but it's infuriating that a person can't walk into a Canadian bookstore and order the damn thing.

Shweta · Jul 20, 2008

Bartholomew said:
Shweta, how did she find out this happened?

She talked to people at Readercon and figured it out, I guess. I only know what's in the link in post 1.

It's not like I know her, right, I'm just a fangirl.

Ardellis said:
That said. E.Bear is brilliant. I'm about a hundred pages into this book. And book 4 comes out August 1! Preorder that one, too, while you're getting this one!

E. Bear makes my jaw drop. Sheer wonderful brilliance.

Actually guys? I feel silly.

You don't have to take my word for it. You can read her Orm the Beautiful online for free.

CCat -- the point is that right now, for this author, we can do something. She got lucky enough for that.

"Yes, the life of a writer really is this perilous" -- help Elizabeth Bear's new book

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