Due to several reasons and a temper tantrum, the release of As Far As Souls Go needs to be pushed back. I’m giving it an extra week, so that would make it November 8th.
Some of you might know me personally and raise a few eyebrows at that. I’m guessing two, but some people only have one, who knows?
Yes, I did have a little tantrum, all by myself in the middle of the night. I went to grab the charger for my laptop and the cord was tangled up, so I jiggled it, as one does. The cord stubbornly stayed tangled up, and then it said something offensive about my mother. So I jiggled it really hard. The cord laughed at me and gripped itself tighter.
“No mere mortal shall unjiggle the knot I have assumed!” it taunted me. And because I really don’t care for charger wires that think too highly of themselves, I jiggled, like, super-hard.
Didn’t work. I had met my match. But I wasn’t going to let the cord know that. If you show weakness they’ll just get you again next time, so I tossed it to the other side of the room and yelled at it. I used some real choice words too, I’m sure I don’t need to repeat them. I also said its mother probably charged second hand vibrators.
Then, as I sat there, the life slowly draining out of my laptop, I realized the pressure of the release date was getting to me.
Listen, I work for TV, pressure is just a punchline to me. But there are several things that need to happen before I can release this book in good conscience, and I have no control over the processes.
I need another proof copy from Amazon, but due to some dumbassery on their end, I have to go through the support desk for that every single time, adding a minimum of three days to the process. This hopefully last proof is taking five days and won’t make it to me before November 1st. Kind of the same problem with IngramSpark, a distributor so obtuse I’d rather just give myself papercuts with old Amazon proofs. I can order directly from them, but I’m still waiting for the previous proof to arrive, so I don’t have high hopes that the new proof will even arrive before the new release date. I suggest getting yours through Amazon, when the time comes. They’re still the devil, but at least the devil has proper customer support.
Then there’s a thing about a book trailer, which I wanted to keep secret, but the way that’s bumbling around will draw attention to it one way or another.
It’s like a movie trailer, but for a book, and generally a little sad. Obviously, I’m not settling for sad, nor am I settling for what normally seems to be a collection of manipulated stock photos and some titles floating around aimlessly, trying to convince you the book is worth reading.
I’ll laugh at just about anything you call me, I can take a joke, and if it’s not funny I’ll just brush it off and think a little less of you, but I will not accept stock or standard. The fuck do I look like, hm? Ikea? The hell you talkin’ about, stock.
Right, now that little hissyfit is outta the way, I drew up a little storyboard and shopped it around.
And learned that even a shitty little animation like mine is gonna clock in at four figures at least. I should have given up on it there, but the idea was just too cool and I actually did manage to find a guy who could do it for normal-people-money. This apparently also meant that he would hobby around my project between what I assume to be his busy real job. There’s still a few days left, but it definitely looks like it won’t be ready before November 1st, especially since I need to do some editing to music on it as well.
And if all of that’s not enough reason, well, the 1st is just a busy day. I don’t wanna be sitting there distracted by a book release on my girlfriend’s birthday. She’s turning 29 again, remember to congratulate her.
So, I’ve given it some thought and the new release date is now November 8. Write that down somewhere, because it might still happen without a book trailer. I can live with that, as long as I can guarantee the quality of the proofs.
There is one snippet of good news for those who really can’t wait: There will be a soft release on the 1st. The book will become available, but you’re getting none of the fanfare.