Second Printing and Stalled Orders

So some of you who preordered your books have gotten them and some of you haven't. There are a couple explanations for this based on Amazon's patterns of shipping, (1) the book isn't technically published until September 1st, so Amazon isn't obligated to ship the book yet, (2) they ship whenever they want because they're Amazon, and (3) they ran out of books. All three are probably true. Amazon.co.uk is definitely out. Amazon.com always claims to have more copies than they do, figuring they'll get their hands on the copies within a reasonable amount of time unless a huge amount of orders come in all of the sudden. So "In Stock" doesn't necessarily mean that, it just means, "We probably have it and if we don't we can get it real quick like."

Barnes and Noble and some other major book stores got their copies last week, and put them on the shelves, which is called a "staggered" placement. Independent bookstores generally don't put things on shelves until the publication date.

The long story short is that the book sold out. More precisely, it was vastly under-ordered and went to a second printing before the actual publication date. So I want to thank everyone who ordered it; hearing that I went to a second printing was the best news I could have possibly gotten on my birthday, and I did get it on my birthday (Aug 28th). I still don't have my Amazon order. I don't have my author copies either, because they were shipped to my agent's office and she's on vacation. So I had to go to Barnes and Noble to buy a copy of my own book - which I have to admit, was kind of cool.

Second printing is different from a second edition. An edition indicates the book has been altered in some form, a printing is simply another run of them turning on the machines and producing more of the same. So, the second printing will be exactly the same book.

Brown Alumni Magazine

I rated a mention in the Brown Alumni Magazine, but not a review. Some pretty big books were up this month. I actually might order one. I got this line in the print magazine and online edition:

ALUMNI FICTION The Darcys and the Bingleys: Pride and Prejudice Continues by Marsha Altmam, (Sourcebooks).

Call for reviewers!

So if you own a blog that reviews books, or a magazine, or any other form of media that reviews books and would like a copy of The Darcys and the Bingleys for review, you can email me at marshaaltman at yahoo dot come. Sourcebooks will have spare copies of the final book arriving from the printer's in August (the book comes out September 1st), and I can have them sent to you. It's not a lot of lead time for a review, but it's the best I can do, and you get a free book!

Review from netGalley

netGalley keeps track of galleys, which are uncorrected preview copies that are printed up for reviewers a few months before the actual books are printed for publication, because reviewers need "lead time" to read the book before they publish a review. netGalley does reviews, though it doesn't seem to give negative ones, so take this with a grain of salt:

The Darcys & the Bingleys
By: Altman, Marsha
Publisher Name: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Inspired by a tale of first impressions and true romance in Pride and Prejudice, this is debut author Marsha Altman's take on what happens after the proposals. The Darcys & the Bingleys begins with a rare look into the friendship between Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley--two men that have been friends for years and have marked milestones in their lives together. A few days before their double wedding, Bingley comes to Darcy for advice on the most pressing of matters: what is expected of him on the wedding night? This funny escapade is just one of the adventures Marsha Altman takes readers on with two best friends about to be married to two devoted sisters. With plot twists and turns, appearances by familiar characters from Pride and Prejudice, Marsha Altman has created a charming continuation of Jane Austen's work.

Holding place

This is the blog for news about my book. You can pre-order it on Amazon or Barnes and Noble, or about a dozen other secondary sites. It will be published September 1st.

Hopefully the book will turn into a series that is already written except for book 10, which I'm still writing. I'll post reviews and news and you can ask questions if you would concievably want to do that.

I will try not to spam this blog with mundane things that happen to me, as they are not very interesting.