The print edition of Needle is delayed.

Here’s the background: My print books are all print-on-demand, meaning there are no large print runs. Books are printed as readers order them, though Amazon will often stock a small inventory to speed up delivery. Anyway, I use two different printing companies. One fulfills Amazon orders and the other fulfills everything else. To create a print book, I have to upload two PDF files, one for the interior pages and one for the cover.

For the non-Amazon company, I uploaded those files on June 14. The company soon provided me with an electronic proof, meaning a PDF file of the book. It looked great, but I requested a printed proof, as I always do, because it’s easier to locate errors that way. The proof should have been printed within five business days, but as of this morning and despite several emails (they don’t allow customers to call in anymore), it still hasn’t been printed.

I uploaded files to the other company on the same day, June 14. This time the proof was printed quickly and out for shipping by the next day–but not fast shipping. I saw no option for fast shipping. The proof was supposed to arrive here on Maui by June 25 at the latest. It did not arrive. It reached Honolulu on June 19, over a week ago, and hasn’t been seen since. The third-party company handling the initial shipping says they handed it off to USPS. USPS says they haven’t received it (and their help form errored out when I tried that). I ordered a new copy of the proof today. This time I found a way to pay for extra-fast shipping. (If there are any errors, I’ll need time to fix them!)

Anyway, this is all hugely frustrating. And this is why there probably won’t be a preorder for Needle’s print edition. But there will eventually be a print edition. I promise!

Posted on: Monday, June 27th, 2022 at 11:05 am
Categories: My Books.
Tags: Inverted Frontier, Needle