Hardcover Woes - Mea Culpa!
A publishing mishap and how I've fixed it.
There might be more failure than ever in the future of work.
One of the perks of self-publishing is that you get to be both the problem and the solution.
So, imagine my surprise (okay, frustration) when I discovered that Amazon decided to print the hardcover of Human Robot Agent in black and white—despite my book designer’s careful work to create a full-color edition. I have no idea what went wrong, and trying to get Amazon to take responsibility is about as easy as extracting a rhino’s tooth. Much simpler for me to say, “Mea culpa. It was probably me (again).”
Unfortunately, once a black-and-white edition is published, Amazon won’t let me simply swap it out for a color version. Instead, I have to unpublish the hardcover and relaunch a new one, with a new ISBN number. That sucks.
One of the perks of self-publishing is that you get to be both the problem and the solution.
Meanwhile, some of you have told me that local bookstores can’t order the book yet. That’s because Ingramspark—the global distributor—is taking its sweet time reviewing it … a week and counting! And bookstores can only order it when the distributor is ready. However, since I have to republish the hardcover anyway, I’ll also have to restart the process with Ingramspark to synchronize the ISBN numbers. Who knows? Maybe this will jolt them awake.
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What This Means for You
The hardcover of Human Robot Agent will be temporarily unavailable on Amazon for a few days while I sort this out. The old ISBN was 978-90-834236-4-7. The new ISBN is 978-90-834236-5-4. If you see the new number, your order should be fine.
If you ordered the hardcover and got the black-and-white version—congratulations! You now own a rare misprint of the first edition. It might be worth something on eBay someday. I know I’m going to cherish the ten misprints that I received yesterday, after I get over the shock.
However, if you'd rather have the standard color version, reach out to me. We’ll figure something out. Or maybe just order an extra copy? The extra few euros in royalties would buy me that cup of camomile thee that I so desperately need. 🙈
I appreciate your understanding and patience while I wrestle with my publishing stress. I'm sure traditional publishers will find all of this very amusing. (”Welcome to our daily lives!”)
Give me a week to get everything back on track. I’ll let you know.
I repeat:
The old hardcover ISBN was 978-90-834236-4-7.
The new hardcover ISBN will be 978-90-834236-5-4.
Jurgen, Solo Chief
P.S. Anyone else had a "mea culpa" moment? Hit reply—misery loves company.
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