OGJ paperback launch: T minus one month and counting

Crumbs! Time has flown past and it’s now only a month until I will be standing in front of a (hopefully enormous) crowd at the Clachaig Inn talking to friends and strangers alike about my book.

Although I have been on holiday for the past week, I’ve been far from idle. I have ordered two batches of books: forty to be sent to the Clachaig, and twenty for my personal use. These will be divided up between copies to be given away (to friends, relatives, and potential reviewers) and a small stock of signed copies to be sold directly. I don’t really know if forty will be enough for the launch but I can always supplement them with my personal stock if required.

So far, so good. What’s the catch? I cannot be 100% certain the book will be available to purchase from Amazon on the 27th of February.

Although I have approved distribution through FeedARead, this process can take up to six weeks so there is a chance that it might not take effect before my launch. It isn’t a disaster if this happens, but obviously I would like readers to be able to purchase the book anywhere they like at their own convenience from day one. Needless to say, I have learned from this experience, and next time I will allow at least an extra month for the entire process.

The launch itself is going to be a little uncanny. You see, I am going to be launching the book in the same building–perhaps the same room–in which the first chapter takes place. A lot of time has passed since New Year’s Eve, 1896, but even though my book is fictional I will be able to sense the shades of Jones and Professor Collie leaning against the bar and watching silently (one hopes benevolently). What would they think of this unusual tale I have spun about them? I believe they would be mystified and amused; but hopefully they would not be offended, for these men are my greatest inspiration and every sentence I have written is a tribute to their heroic era.