Category: Publishing News

Support a Local Bookseller – Use IndieBound

I just discovered that Upload is now on IndieBound, which means you can easily order the print edition from a local bookseller.

When I typed in my own zip code, I saw Chicago’s The Book Cellar at the top of the list, so I clicked through, and sure enough, you can add Upload to your cart, right there.

Then I noticed that The Book Cellar has partnered with Kobo to bring you eBooks through your local bookseller.  How cool is that?  The easiest way is to search for the eBook by ISBN: 9781300206705.  I tried that on The Book Cellar’s website, and came up with this link to buy the eBook.  Cool stuff.  This looks to be an easy way to avoid the Amazon monoculture.

The Race is On: Upload vs. Upload

I first published Upload as an eBook in September.  At the time, I performed a search and confirmed that the title hadn’t already been used by any book written in English.  I went on to release the paperback in October.

Then, in late December, another book was published with the same title — also a work of fiction.  As you can imagine, I was a little irritated.  Fully three months after I published Upload, somebody chose to publish another technology-centric novel with exactly the same title?  Now, the other Upload has the same number of Amazon reviews as my Upload (13), and I’m worried that my book, which reflects an immense amount of work over thirteen years, is at risk of being overshadowed because someone wasn’t considerate enough to find their own title.

Help keep the original Upload at the top of the search results on Amazon: buy it, rate it, review it, talk about it.

The race is on.  If you enjoyed my Upload, help keep it at the top of the Amazon search results by rating it now.  If the other book by the same title appears to Amazon’s ranking algorithm to be more popular, it will rise above mine in search results, and then there’s the risk that people will confuse it with mine or will never even discover mine.

If you haven’t read Upload yet but have been meaning to, here’s a little extra motivation — bump it to the top of your reading stack, and help me keep my title on top!

Paperback on Barnes & Noble, Too!

I mentioned yesterday that Upload is available on Amazon as a paperback, in addition to ebook for Kindle.  Barnes & Noble was only one day behind: you can now order Upload from B&N as paperback or Nook Book.

I’m disappointed to see that reviews for the Nook Book don’t carry over to the print edition on Barnes & Noble.  I can see how reviews of a Nook Book might not apply to the print edition, if the reviewer was annoyed by formatting issues particular to the ebook… but now someone who first lands on the paperback edition of Upload will think nobody has reviewed it.  Once again, score one for Amazon.

Upload now available as paperback on Amazon!

I just discovered that the printed edition of Upload is now available on Amazon!  Very exciting.  And I’m happy to see that they correctly paired the paperback and the ebook, so reviews and other info are common for both.

And you know… I think there’s still time to order it as a Christmas present for the reader in your life. 🙂 They even offer gift wrap!

Upload Available at Indy Reads Books

Upload is now available at Indy Reads Books, the only bookstore in downtown Indianapolis (911 Massachusetts Avenue). Profits from the bookstore go to the Indy Reads program:

Indy Reads is a not-for-profit organization that believes everyone should have an opportunity to learn to read. Their mission is to improve the literacy skills of adults in Central Indiana who read or write at or below the sixth grade level.

Their goal is to “Make Indianapolis 100% Literate.” Indy Reads is the only organization in Indianapolis which uses volunteers to provide basic literacy tutoring to illiterate and semi-literate adults. Their programming includes one-on-one tutoring, small group sessions, English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction, and “Literacy Labs” at neighborhood centers.
Thanks to Monica Oclander for making this great new connection!

By the way, Indy Reads Books accepts book donations, which they turn around and sell to help fund their literacy program.

Finally available on Nook Books!

For those of you with Nooks, now there’s no excuse — you can finally purchase “Upload” straight from Barnes & Noble, via Nook Books.  This is an especially important distribution channel, because B&N is the default bookseller over at Goodreads.  The blurb for “Upload” hasn’t shown up yet, but fellow authors at Lulu assure me it’s just a matter of time.

So far, Barnes & Noble has been the slowest of the booksellers, by far.  Over the past few weeks, I’ve searched for “McClelland Upload” at least once each day, to see if it had finally made it through whatever process they have for reviewing and releasing eBooks from Lulu.  I was shocked this evening when the search results consisted of one book, and it wasn’t “Upload: Etherpunk“, which, by remarkable coincidence, was co-written by one Nigel McClelland.  I repeated the search, double-checking to make sure I was on the right website, and it worked again.  Then I hopped over to Goodreads, to make sure their ISBN-driven link works, and it does.  All’s well.

Now it’s time to consider running an ad on Goodreads, which would be my first real attempt to promote the book, outside of spreading word of its publication among friends.

Refining the Print Edition

Fresh delivery from Lulu.com today: Draft copies of the new 9″ x 6″ trim size (Amazon doesn’t do the 8.5 x 5.5 Digest trim size), with a new font on the font and a blurb and link to uploadthenovel.com on the back. This new print edition will have its own ISBN. I’m working to get it finalized in time for my book release party at the new Century Guild art gallery in Logan Square!

Download “Upload” Direct to iTunes and iBooks

For all you iPad, iPhone, and iPod users, Upload is available via iBookstore.  Click here to view information about the eBook and purchase it through iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/isbn9781300206705.  You should also be able to download it directly to your iOS device.  At the time of this post, here are the latest instructions from Apple:

iBooks includes the iBookstore. Tap the iBooks icon and your bookshelf appears. In the upper corner, tap the Store button and the bookshelf flips around to reveal the iBookstore. From the iBookstore, you can browse books by title, author, or genre. You can also view featured books as well as books available on the New York Times bestseller lists (United States only). Tap on a book to see more details and download a free sample. When you buy a book, it will automatically appear on your iBooks bookshelf.