Cemetery Dance discussion thread

[Roseannebarr]

Yeah, I think I'm about one "Chasing the Boogeyman" e-mail away from unsubscribing from CD mailing lists.

Stay away from your emails, THERE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!

[St. Troy]

I receive so much e-mail spam I don't find the added CD/CTB spam very bothersome by itself so much as I've started to feel bad that RC feels the need to piggyback on CD so aggressively (I don't think I'd want to flirt with irritating my business's client base for my personal work, and this passed flirting a while ago (the hand is on my thigh - and on the move)).

(As for my "personal journey" with these e-mails: I ignored them until one offered a chance to win a CD GE It, and since this was pretty much my only realistic chance to ever own one of those, I ordered CTB. I didn't win the GE It, but now that I've taken a good look at CTB (haven't read, but will soon), it actually looks pretty interesting and I'm looking forward to it.)

[webstar1000]

I really get why Richard did what he did. This was VERY important to him. He owns the press... its his right to do what he wants. Saying that, I can see how many people are getting tired of it when other books are so delayed. I really hope CD can get back on track and win back some good jujubes from their clientele.

[St. Troy]

I really get why Richard did what he did. This was VERY important to him. He owns the press... its his right to do what he wants.

Sure - and while irritating in one sense, it's not something I personally factor into the decision of whether to continue doing business with CD.

...Saying that, I can see how many people are getting tired of it when other books are so delayed.

Also true - not all buyers are me, and patience is a tricky thing to gauge in a group.

I really hope CD can get back on track and win back some good jujubes from their clientele.

Same here; I think they do nice work, but between the promotional activity and the long - I mean, looooooooong - lead times on some titles, they can't seem to stop generating their own bad press.

[RichardX]

I really hope CD can get back on track and win back some good jujubes from their clientele.

The problem is that I don't recall CD ever being on track. The long waits have become part of the calculation in dealing with them. They have made no improvement that I can ever recall in that regard. Patience is one thing but when they are taking years or even a decade to release a book it is unacceptable. Good product, nice people but lousy service.

[Cook]

I swear their goal this year has been to goad the most forgiving, optimistic, longstanding customers into an existential rage via Chasing the Boogeyman promotions and continued production delays.

On one hand, I have started to fervently hope for their demise - they are a literal ponzi scheme, with each new pre-order paying for the production of past pre-orders and absolutely no hope of every becoming solvent, and every time an author like Ann Rice or Joe Hill or Jeff VanderMeer or Gillian Flynn gets tricked into releasing a limited edition with them, that's one more book that could have been something awesome with another publisher but instead will end up a mediocre volume published 5+ years after announcement. They are a huge old shitty tree, and when it finally falls lots of vibrant undergrowth can take over and make a beautiful space for new, better trees to take root and flourish.

Imagine what any number of new small presses (Lyra's, Midworld, Lividian, Amaranthine, Arete, etc.) could have done with Interview with the Vampire or Strange Weather or The Southern Reach Trilogy... Let alone what someone like Suntup Editions or Centipede Press could have done! That should give you an idea of what we're all missing out on because Cemetery Dance continues to sputter along...

On the other hand, the few people we interact with here - Brian, Dan, Mindy - are just phenomenal, and I would never wish for something unfortunate to befall them! And I have to imagine that however CD finally ends, it's not going to look very pretty for people whose last names aren't "Chizmar"...

Pretty scary to think what would happen if CD filed for bankruptcy.
I'm guessing all the loyal customers would lose out on both the books and their deposit money?

[Tony Two-Cent]

Not that I think it's imminently on the horizon, but if CD ever ceased to exist I would think there would be a place for Dan at Lividian Publications. (Dan is Brian's brother-in-law. Brian is married to Dan's sister Kate.) Things really seem to be on the upswing at Lividian. Both Dan and Mindy are wonderful people who have exhibited exemplary customer service so I'm sure they would land on their feet somewhere.

Just out of curiosity, when you cancel a pre-order at CD do you get your money back, or do they just give you store credit? I'm not saying I'm to that point yet but I have been giving it some thought.

[MLG]

Not that I think it's imminently on the horizon, but if CD ever ceased to exist I would think there would be a place for Dan at Lividian Publications. (Dan is Brian's brother-in-law. Brian is married to Dan's sister Kate.) Things really seem to be on the upswing at Lividian. Both Dan and Mindy are wonderful people who have exhibited exemplary customer service so I'm sure they would land on their feet somewhere.

Just out of curiosity, when you cancel a pre-order at CD do you get your money back, or do they just give you store credit? I'm not saying I'm to that point yet but I have been giving it some thought.

When I have cancelled a CD order they have refunded based on how I paid. If I paid by credit card the refund went to the card. If I paid with store credit the refund was added to my account. Not sure how they would manage a full refund from a store credit purchase as my store credit is typically purchased at 50% off.

[Tony Two-Cent]

Not that I think it's imminently on the horizon, but if CD ever ceased to exist I would think there would be a place for Dan at Lividian Publications. (Dan is Brian's brother-in-law. Brian is married to Dan's sister Kate.) Things really seem to be on the upswing at Lividian. Both Dan and Mindy are wonderful people who have exhibited exemplary customer service so I'm sure they would land on their feet somewhere.

Just out of curiosity, when you cancel a pre-order at CD do you get your money back, or do they just give you store credit? I'm not saying I'm to that point yet but I have been giving it some thought.

When I have cancelled a CD order they have refunded based on how I paid. If I paid by credit card the refund went to the card. If I paid with store credit the refund was added to my account. Not sure how they would manage a full refund from a store credit purchase as my store credit is typically purchased at 50% off.

Thank you. I appreciate the info.

[Ricky]

I swear their goal this year has been to goad the most forgiving, optimistic, longstanding customers into an existential rage via Chasing the Boogeyman promotions and continued production delays.

they are a literal ponzi scheme, with each new pre-order paying for the production of past pre-orders and absolutely no hope of every becoming solvent, and every time an author like Ann Rice or Joe Hill or Jeff VanderMeer or Gillian Flynn gets tricked into releasing a limited edition with them, that's one more book that could have been something awesome with another publisher but instead will end up a mediocre volume published 5+ years after announcement.

On the other hand, the few people we interact with here - Brian, Dan, Mindy - are just phenomenal

Agree with all of this. At this point, I have zero faith that we're getting Strange Weather or Sharp Objects. And I doubt the final product will be wow-worthy enough to justify the long multi-year extensions and waiting.

Stay away from your emails, THERE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yup, saw it today. I couldn't believe it but yet I could.

[ICry4Oy]

At this point I just hope they stay solvent until the last two Doubleday books have completed. That should be what, 5 or 8 years? I've cancelled everything else.

[Kingfan24]

I swear their goal this year has been to goad the most forgiving, optimistic, longstanding customers into an existential rage via Chasing the Boogeyman promotions and continued production delays.

On one hand, I have started to fervently hope for their demise - they are a literal ponzi scheme, with each new pre-order paying for the production of past pre-orders and absolutely no hope of every becoming solvent, and every time an author like Ann Rice or Joe Hill or Jeff VanderMeer or Gillian Flynn gets tricked into releasing a limited edition with them, that's one more book that could have been something awesome with another publisher but instead will end up a mediocre volume published 5+ years after announcement. They are a huge old shitty tree, and when it finally falls lots of vibrant undergrowth can take over and make a beautiful space for new, better trees to take root and flourish.

Imagine what any number of new small presses (Lyra's, Midworld, Lividian, Amaranthine, Arete, etc.) could have done with Interview with the Vampire or Strange Weather or The Southern Reach Trilogy... Let alone what someone like Suntup Editions or Centipede Press could have done! That should give you an idea of what we're all missing out on because Cemetery Dance continues to sputter along...

On the other hand, the few people we interact with here - Brian, Dan, Mindy - are just phenomenal, and I would never wish for something unfortunate to befall them! And I have to imagine that however CD finally ends, it's not going to look very pretty for people whose last names aren't "Chizmar"...

Pretty scary to think what would happen if CD filed for bankruptcy.
I'm guessing all the loyal customers would lose out on both the books and their deposit money?

No doubt about the losing money in that scenario. I’ve cancelled everything I pre-ordered. I haven’t even pre-ordered my final Doubleday years books yet. I just didn’t have any confidence that CD will be around a whole lot longer.

[GenericEric]

That "from the desk" email that Jeff brought up comes across as completely tone deaf. I actually find it insulting. It almost reads like satire.

[amd013]

What is this email people are referring to, I didn't get any that meets that description.

[Brian James Freeman]

What is this email people are referring to, I didn't get any that meets that description.

It was sent to the Richard Chizmar Mailing List (from his website) on pub day for his novel.

Brian

[Tony Two-Cent]

Another day, another CHASING THE BOOGEYMAN email.

[Joe315]

Well he's number 10 on the fiction list. Maybe he'll stop the emails. https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-s...cover-fiction/

[Brian James Freeman]

There is an email going to the Richard Chizmar Mailing List for his website today. It is about Chasing the Boogeyman. Just wanted to give you a heads-up!

[jeffingoff]

There is an email going to the Richard Chizmar Mailing List for his website today. It is about Chasing the Boogeyman. Just wanted to give you a heads-up!

Hahahaha once it goes out it’ll be like this Obi Wan quote:

“I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.”

Only the screaming won’t stop.

Thank you for the warning! When I see it, I’ll now have a chuckle.


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[Brian James Freeman]

HA! I certainly where everyone is coming from, re: the amount of email on this particular topic. I have to put the emails together and load them into the system, so... it feels like Groundhog Day sometimes!

I'm pushing for some CD production updates that I can post. Like this one:



There are projects moving forward, and I completely understand you wouldn't know it from the newsletter lately. Mindy, Dan, and I have continued plugging away in the background. It's not exciting stuff, but it's getting done.

Brian

[jeffingoff]

HA! I certainly where everyone is coming from, re: the amount of email on this particular topic. I have to put the emails together and load them into the system, so... it feels like Groundhog Day sometimes!

I'm pushing for some CD production updates that I can post. Like this one:



There are projects moving forward, and I completely understand you wouldn't know it from the newsletter lately. Mindy, Dan, and I have continued plugging away in the background. It's not exciting stuff, but it's getting done.

Brian

Those look gorgeous!


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[daniel_pyle]

YES! I know there's a lot of frustration associated with this release, and I share in that, but I'm still incredibly excited about it. Now even more so!

[Brian James Freeman]

YES! I know there's a lot of frustration associated with this release, and I share in that, but I'm still incredibly excited about it. Now even more so!

I realized when answering a question on Facebook the other day that I’m pretty sure we never announced that we used some of the unexpected extra production time to add a couple of unannounced interior illustrations to each novella. I’m hoping I can post those soon.

Brian

[GenericEric]

As annoyed as I get at CD for all their issues, I still can't help but get excited for some of their editions. And Strange Weather is definitely one of them!

[Ben Mears]

Maybe if RC turned control of CD over to BF circumstances might improve.