February 20th, 2023

These Days Are Numbered Anticipatory FAQ

My new book is coming, my new book THESE DAYS ARE NUMBERED: DIARY OF A HIGH-RISE LOCKDOWN is coming! Pretty soon! I am excited, and buoyed by kind friends who ask about it and ask supportive things, often about how to be MORE supportive. I haven’t exactly been deluged with such questions but the book is still months away from publication so I’m just getting ready with this helpful FAQ–also this is something constructive for me to do with my nervous anticipation.

When is your pub date? June 13, 2023 in Canada. Less than four months away–just around the corner!

Will your book be available in the U.S.? Yes, it will. TDARN (OOOH, what a good acronym–I just discovered that) should be available from all major retailers at least for order July 13, 2023 (one month after Canadian launch)–it’s available already for pre-order in many U.S. sites. Judging by my non-existent level of fame in the U.S., probably not a lot of availability in-store, but you never know.

What about other places outside of the U.S. and Canada? I don’t know–maybe? I’ll get back to you.

How about an audiobook? YES!! I just found about this and I’m really excited, but I don’t have a lot of details like when it’ll be available or who the narrator is or anything. But I bet it’ll be amazing.

Will there be a launch? Yes, definitely, somehow or other. I don’t have a firm plan in mind but I will figure it out–I love launches. I am extremely open to suggestions (and/or help of any kind) on this so if you have been thinking “I really hope RR has X kind of launch for this book at Y venue” or similar, now is your time!!

I want to support you/your book: should I pre-order or buy at the launch? Ebook or print? Gosh people are kind–this isn’t FAQ puppeteering, I have truly been asked this. First off, being nice to a writer in any format–snacks, hugs, soothing words–is all lovely. You don’t have to buy a book. Second, buying a book is very helpful, and you don’t need to worry about buying it in the EXACT RIGHT WAY–I’m truly touched anyone would ever spend their money to read what I wrote…and it all goes into Booknet anyway. BUT if you want to help the absolute most, pre-orders are the best. Ebook or print doesn’t matter, in some cases writers make a bit more $$ from independent bookstores sales than big chains–and also, indies are just better for the book ecosystem–but really do what works for you. Kathryn Mockler wrote this great article on preordering, the upshot of which is yes it helps and it’s pretty easy if you’re so inclined. Kathryn suggests searching Bookmanager for where the book you want available for preorder at an independent bookstore near you. Another really great idea is to pre-order from the library. Either way you get your book earlier and support the author too.

What are other ways to support a new book? Off the top of my head? Tag it as “want to read” on Goodreads or your bibilofiler of choice, come to events either virtually or in person, read the book and let me know what you think (my fave!), review the book online somewhere, tell your friends about it if it seems like their jam. But also don’t worry about it–doing anything from this list would be lovely but no writer would be mad if you forgot. Buy the books that interest you and that you can afford, get a few more from the library, come out to events that sound fun and you have time for, say something positive on socials when you think of it, give a writer a kindly hug or fist bump when we seem agitated, and let’s go team books!