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Forthcoming Books: 2009 edition

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Chatterbox
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Post by Chatterbox » Sat April 25th, 2009, 11:32 pm

Annis, tks so much for the link! Donne's poems so seamlessly blend the carnal & the romantic elements that it's nearly impossible to live up to that. A literary ex bf and I once decided that it it's impossible to write a good sex scene -- there's almost always an element of self consciousness about it. Either that, or it relapses into hopeless cliches and predictable images that are more yawn-inducing than intriguing.

Still, imagine the shame of being nominated for the Bad Sex in Fiction Award??!!??

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cw gortner
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Post by cw gortner » Tue April 28th, 2009, 4:23 am

[quote=""Ariadne""]
I'm amazed I can get books from overseas within four days. I live in a pretty small town, and sometimes mail from the next town over takes longer than that.[/quote]

I was just marveling over the same thing. I ordered several books from different places recently, including BookDepository and amazon (yes, I fell off the only-in-bookstores wagon, I confess) and today my BookDepository order arrived, before amazon - ordered the same day - had even shipped.

With amazon, free shipping that's not through their $75-a-year Prime program is definitely slooow shipping.
THE QUEEN'S VOW available on June 12, 2012!
THE TUDOR SECRET, Book I in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI
THE LAST QUEEN


www.cwgortner.com

gyrehead
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Post by gyrehead » Tue April 28th, 2009, 6:35 pm

I'm still thinking BookDepository has to have some hidden flaw. It is owned by the newly returned anti-christ, launders drug or weapons money, or maybe is owned by Tom Cruise and Scientologists. Something just does not add up. Free shipping; competitive discounts and timely service. Nothing can be that good. I promise to continue using them until I get to the bottom of it!

annis
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Post by annis » Tue April 28th, 2009, 6:57 pm

LOL! You'll have to let us know if you discover that a disembodied Ron Hubbard has a group of aliens running it :)

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Ariadne
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Post by Ariadne » Tue April 28th, 2009, 8:14 pm

Book Depository has my book selling for 25% off list, plus free shipping within 48 hours. That's $16.40 off, and how can they offer free worldwide shipping for a 4-lb book? I haven't actually tried to order it, so maybe it wouldn't go through, but that's what it says. Amazon and book vendors like Baker & Taylor aren't discounting it at all. Color me confused!

Chatterbox
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Post by Chatterbox » Tue April 28th, 2009, 8:38 pm

[quote=""Ariadne""]Book Depository has my book selling for 25% off list, plus free shipping within 48 hours. That's $16.40 off, and how can they offer free worldwide shipping for a 4-lb book? Color me confused![/quote]

It's all about overhead costs and margins... I know that Amazon co.uk overcharges for shipments to the US because they charge roughly double what an 'ordinary' bookstore does and at least 30% more than I have paid for shipping a single HC book from the Post Office to the US. Assume that the Book Despository is buying books at the same regular discounted rate as Amazon would (think Barnes & Noble, etc. rather than the local bookstore) and they are spending perhaps 50%, maybe sometimes less, of the cover price. They are a private company, I think, so there isn't any external pressure and they have presumably made the business decision to sacrifice margin for volume. It works if you can generate enuf volume (and steal your rivals' business) and can be happy with a 10% margin instead of a 15% one.

I'm going to opt out of Amazon prime this year. Now that I have a Kindle, and routinely save 50% on many books, I will give up speedy 2-day shipping for free and go back to free slower US shipping on what I do order. I think I'm really just behaving like a coupon clipper in my book consumption!!!

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Ariadne
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Post by Ariadne » Tue April 28th, 2009, 9:32 pm

Yep, got it. I don't know what terms my publisher offers bookstores, but even at 50-55% discount, BD could be close to selling it at a loss with the cost of shipping factored in. What puzzles me more is that other online bookstores have said that my book is a "short discount" title, meaning they couldn't get it at more than 20% off cover price, and the BD selling price is cheaper than that.

On the subject of forthcoming titles - Elizabeth Kostova's The Swan Thieves is coming out in October. There's a book trailer here.

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cw gortner
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Post by cw gortner » Tue April 28th, 2009, 10:43 pm

[quote=""Ariadne""] Elizabeth Kostova's The Swan Thieves is coming out in October. There's a book trailer here.[/quote]

Wow, the plot caught me by surprise. It sounds interesting, though. I guess I was expecting something more in the supernatural vein from her.
THE QUEEN'S VOW available on June 12, 2012!
THE TUDOR SECRET, Book I in the Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles
THE CONFESSIONS OF CATHERINE DE MEDICI
THE LAST QUEEN


www.cwgortner.com

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Divia
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Post by Divia » Tue April 28th, 2009, 11:31 pm

[quote=""cw gortner""]Wow, the plot caught me by surprise. It sounds interesting, though. I guess I was expecting something more in the supernatural vein from her.[/quote]

Yeah, caught me off guard too, but I didnt find it interesting. The way she was describing it the book made it sound as dull as tombstones. I'll pass.
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gyrehead
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Post by gyrehead » Wed April 29th, 2009, 12:58 am

[quote=""cw gortner""]Wow, the plot caught me by surprise. It sounds interesting, though. I guess I was expecting something more in the supernatural vein from her.[/quote]

Funny that, those were exactly my thoughts for her first book.

Originally Posted by Divia
Yeah, caught me off guard too, but I didnt find it interesting. The way she was describing it the book made it sound as dull as tombstones.
Funny that, those were exactly my thoughts for her first book.

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