One of my contacts came through. I've got a Blockade Billy ARC coming to me next week.
John
One of my contacts came through. I've got a Blockade Billy ARC coming to me next week.
John
What a crock. I guess the UNDER THE DOME excuse was wearing thin, so now they have a new excuse. SOD II has been paid for, it should have been sent to press long before now.Originally Posted by Mr. Rabbit Trick
To me the message is that CD has no money to print SOD II. They need the positive net cashflow from BLOCKADE sales to afford to continue the SOD II publication process that their customers already paid them to do.
"...that Siren which called and sang and promised so much and gave, after all, so little." ~ Ray Bradbury
Congrats on securing an ARC so quickly, John! Very impressive. Guess we should expect no less from you at this point though.
So then, based on this approximate wordcount, do you consider BLOCKADE BILLY to be a hardcover chapbook?I'd rather call it a short story then. With "novella" I associate much longer stories like e.g. The Mist (50,000 words) or Apt Pupil (74,000 words).
Just wondering what your thoughts are. Given the price, I'm ok with it.
"...that Siren which called and sang and promised so much and gave, after all, so little." ~ Ray Bradbury
There are no hard and fast rules, but what you call a novella would be a novel for just about any author other than King.
The Nebula awards use the following definition:
Novel: a work of 40,000 words or more
Novella: a work of at least 17,500 words but under 40,000 words
Novelette: a work of at least 7,500 words but under 17,500 words
Short story: a work of under 7,500 words
In my case, my collector's deal consisted of a lot of current instock books PLUS a copy of everything that was currently available to preorder on the site. So, when Forever Twilight lettered didn't happen, she was quick to email me so I could swap out another title. In another instance, again Forever Twilight limited, my order for the book was tagged incorrectly, so when I noticed I was still due the book, she had it in the mail 2 days later.
Also, one of the few times I requested a refund I received it within a few days- it was for "Dark Tower Complete Concordance". I ordered it years ago for my mom and had no idea it would take longer than 9 months to come out- I was a CD newbie back then.
The latest CD mailer states that only direct orders through CD will be guaranteed a first edition- I wonder if this will affect Overlook since they're already selling preorders for the "only" edition (which we know may not be the case) with a baseball card.
Mindy is a public relations specialist among her other duties at CD. When you are on the telephone with her it is her job to tell you what you want to hear. She is very good at it. I fell for the CD spiel for years. I would call with concerns and would be told that I didn't need to worry, the books were all progressing, the company was solvent, etc., etc. It is her job to make you feel better and not go canceling existing orders. It is her job and she does it well. It doesn't make the books come any quicker but it keeps money from leaving the CD accounts.
Using those definitions, it's a Novelette.
It is great to hear about and anticipate any new King work-particularly fiction. $25..meh..As long as it is on time.
For anyone that missed the new announcement....
Here is the new update....
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------------------------------------------"Word of Blockade Billy by Stephen King is taking the Internet by storm, including articles on Entertainment Weekly's website and other high traffic venues, and sales are stronger than expected. We're hearing from media all over the world and expect the stories in the next few weeks to drive demand even higher. We've gotten a sneak peek at the trade reviews, starting with Publishers Weekly, and they are GLOWING. In terms of media interest, this is easily the biggest announcement we've ever made!
In terms of sales, in just six hours yesterday, the book became our bestselling title EVER in the history of Cemetery Dance. Based on the first day's sales, the FIRST printing is only going to be available to our direct customers and it is the only printing to get the limited edition Blockade Billy baseball card. We can only guarantee copies from the first printing for those who place direct orders through our online store.
We are working on a second printing to take care of some of the distributors, but those copies will not include the baseball card and will be specifically marked as second printings. We cannot guarantee that any specific online retailer will be getting copies at this time, but we are working with the other parties involved to try to make sure everyone gets some copies for their customers."
Again, I haven't had a bad experience with them at all (quite the contrary), so I'm excited for them (and me) that it's there best selling book ever. If they can bounce back and deliver on the things that they have promised I hope everyone will give them another chance (or a 2nd or 3rd or whatever chance...hehehe!).
We all bite off more than we can chew sometimes. I know it's not smart in business, but lessons can be learned from. I don't know how to handle the lifetime thing if you aren't going to get any love from their "other" entity/company, but I would talk to them and find out how they will make it right by you. Sounds like you already have maybe.
Right or wrong, it sounds like each of you (and now me too!) have relationships of some nature with Cemetery and them having their best selling book ever (and evidently being able to hit the deadline!) is worth something.
We sometimes don't like people for the way they act in my experience, but I still secretly would root for them on Jeopardy if they popped up there. I mean I know them out of the billions of people on earth and that's something isn't it? hehehe! I'm always a glass half full guy though. Even when it's full of day old gatorade, some weird hair from somewhere floating in it and it looks like my girlfriends Lee press on nail is floating in it too. Still, better than nothing in a pinch.
Curt
p.s. Just reread my post and to put my money where my mouth is, I'm going to buy ANOTHER copy from them.
ditto :-)
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That's cool John! Congrats!
Life is a garden...dig it!
The "lesson" CD needs to learn is that a business should not charge for goods until they are ready to be delivered. A deposit? Sure. Maybe 10% or something to make sure the buyer has some skin in the game and will think twice about cancelling an order. I'd even go as high as 20% considering this is a specialty publisher and not a clearinghouse like Amazon.
But like was said upthread--what they have going is a PONZI scheme. It's just not right to charge for items that can not and will not be delivered for years, if at all. Just charge when you ship! Simple!
The problem, of course, is that in CD's case, there isn't any glass at all.Here is the new update....
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We all bite off more than we can chew sometimes. I know it's not smart in business, but lessons can be learned from. I don't know how to handle the lifetime thing if you aren't going to get any love from their "other" entity/company, but I would talk to them and find out how they will make it right by you. Sounds like you already have maybe.
We sometimes don't like people for the way they act in my experience, but I still secretly would root for them on Jeopardy if they popped up there. I mean I know them out of the billions of people on earth and that's something isn't it? hehehe! I'm always a glass half full guy though. Even when it's full of day old gatorade, some weird hair from somewhere floating in it and it looks like my girlfriends Lee press on nail is floating in it too. Still, better than nothing in a pinch.
Curt
Naturally it's their best-selling book, it's not a 1K limited edition, but has several thousand editions, so it's not normally what they do.
The good news, maybe, is that this influx of cash will let them produce the SoD lettereds and Vol. 2 s/l that I've taken money for several years ago. Read the first post of the thread, then look at the date...then you'll understand why the water in the glass has evaporated....
But....I think they'll easily produce THIS book...so that's good. Don't even get me started on the whole Lonely Roads/CD split though...but I don't have a dog in the hunt, so whatever.
I got two coming in the mail. Already shipped!
Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.
now...let me pose this question..
If Uncle Stevie likes DMG's work so much, and CD is always late, why doesn't he give DMG more work and CD less? We would be happy to publish ANYTHING of his, not just Dark Tower stuff!
Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.
And I have one coming as well
Can't wait to read it!
Wanted list:
Ubris
Quite simple. King knows all about CD's problems. That's why he gave them this unpublished story, to keep them in business. King will try to help the small publishers when he can.
You can certainly call it that, but I don't think that the publication form is related to the story categorization.
Actually I think the price is rather steep for what little story you get. Of course I'll buy it anyway, but not from CD. I have learned my lesson.
I agree. The wordcount is only a guideline, more important (but also less tangible) are the characteristics of the story. Wikipedia mentions the following: "Usually a short story focuses on only one incident, has a single plot, a single setting, a small number of characters, and covers a short period of time. [...] [T]ypical [...] is an abrupt beginning, with the story starting in the middle of the action [...] [T]he endings of many short stories are abrupt and open [...]".
And about novellas: "A novella has generally fewer conflicts than novels, yet more complicated ones than short stories. The conflicts also have more time to develop. They have endings that are located at the brink of change. Unlike novels, they are not divided into chapters, and are often intended to be read at a single sitting, as the short story, although white space is often used to divide the sections. They maintain, therefore, a single effect."
Let's wait and see which characteristics apply to Blockade Billy.
Yeah? We need help! LOL I would love to sell a King book every few months!Quite simple. King knows all about CD's problems. That's why he gave them this unpublished story, to keep them in business. King will try to help the small publishers when he can.
Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.
Karen I really with King would use you guys more often. Every book I have from you is wonderful.Yeah? We need help! LOL I would love to sell a King book every few months!Quite simple. King knows all about CD's problems. That's why he gave them this unpublished story, to keep them in business. King will try to help the small publishers when he can.
Need first editions of:
1.Carrie
2.Salem's Lot
3.The Shining
4.Night Shift
5.THE PASSAGE uncorrected proof
SK considers Cycle of the Werewolf a novel. And that's pretty short too.
In the introduction to Silver Bullet, King calls Cycle of the Werewolf "a sort of twelve-part novella".
It's listed under novels on the official site, and every time I see it mentioned it's called a novel.
Amazon has now listed Blockade Billy for pre-order for the same $25, shipping-free:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1587672286
Barnes and Noble also has it up for pre-order, for only $13.50
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Blo...blockade+billy
Strangely, it has the pub. date listed as 4/28. Not sure if that's just for B&N, or a sign of CD delays to come.
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