Pre-Order is Your Friend

Lord Quillifer, the third in my fantasy series, is scheduled for release in February. If you want hardcopy, I’d advise preordering now.

American publishes are worried that various economic factors will cause shortages at the printer, and many books are already being delayed. And I am sure that however benign my publisher’s attitude is toward my career, if faced with a choice of making sure my book appears on time in the stores, or that of massive bestseller Phineas T. Charttopper, they’ll opt for the one that will generate the most cash. Advance orders may convince them to move me up the list of priorities.

On the other hand, if it’s an electronic copy you want, that should be available on the day of release. There’s no shortage of electrons.

As for why there are all these shortages all of a sudden, much of it has to do with the fact that the economy, and with it consumer demand, rose by 25% this year, which means that manufacturers have to make an extra 25% of everything.

Another problem is an energy shortage in China. The price of coal has gone up along with everything else, and the state-run power companies in China are forbidden from passing the costs on to the public. So they’re only burning as much coal as they can afford, and the factories are going idle just as demand is going up.

Check this article for a list of what shortages are happening or expected to happen, and where. For the USA, toys and toilet paper (again!). Brazil will have shortages of coffee (!!!), Lebanon is short of water and medicine, and Nigeria lacks cooking gas.

And of course Britain will starve this winter, though that’s their own fault pretty much.