- I’ll be signing books at Urban Craft Uprising on Saturday afternoon.
- I did a wee interview with UCU, in fact.
- I still have some Wonder Woman stationery for sending out with signed bookplates.
- And with signed books, I’m including a wee Mighty Ugly starter kit (see photo above), with some fabric scraps and doodads for making an ugly creature (as found on page 67 of the book). Because you’re special. And also because the people you’re giving a signed book to as a gift soon are special. And also because I’m a bit overrun with craft scraps.
- I will be on holiday after December 13th, and won’t be sending out anything after that date, until early January. So what I’m saying is, there’s a bit of a deadline for December orders of signed stuff.
The Book!
I’ve finally opened an online shop. Twice! (Why do it just once when you can do it twice?)
I’ve stocked these shops with copies of Make It Mighty Ugly that I will sign for you, for your friends and family, and for anyone else you’d like to give a signed book to (including that art teacher in high school who said you were doing it wrong, and your neighbour who’s always so desperately interested in all the projects you do).
I’ve also put bookplates in there, for people who already have a copy of the book but would like to have it signed (a signed bookplate is a sticker, signed by me, that fits perfectly on the title page of the book).
And for kicks, I’ve also listed signed prints of Be Explicit, since I had those made up last spring, so why not. One of those would be a great gift for a writer or editor you really like.
Shipping both within Canada and to the U.S. ain’t cheap, but I hope you’ll think it’s worth it for some signed bookish treats. I’ll certainly include an extra wee treat or two in your package, because obviously. In fact, until I run out, I’m writing quick notes on Wonder Woman stationery. Again, obviously.
If you have questions about any of this, let me know!
A couple of weeks ago, I had a chat with Sean Cranbury, who seems to be involved with almost everything related to books in Vancouver. He has a podcast called Books on the Radio, and has been collaborating with the Canadian book blog 49th Shelf to create a podcast called The Interruption.
In the interview, we talked about how Make It Mighty Ugly came to be, about the weekend when I pulled my hair out while writing it, and about the book tour in October.
Sean also asked me to read from the book. It was my first time ever reading from something I’ve written, and I was very grateful for my copyeditor, who while editing the manuscript put a note in to indicate a section she thought would be great for readings. Without her, I’d have had no idea how to choose, and I’d have been intensely nervous. Instead, I was like, “I got this.”
Want to know the official title? Of course you do. Behold: Make It Mighty Ugly: Exercises and Advice for Getting Creative Even When It Ain’t Pretty.
The book doesn’t even have a cover yet, but my publisher must have listed the metadata about it somewhere public, because all the booksellers have slurped it up and now you can pre-order it from all manner of places like IndieBound (support your local indie booksellers, friends, they’re the heart of the book world!), Powells, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Chapters.
A further note about your local indie bookstore: You can ask them to order the book for you, too – it’s not just an online thing! Just go right into the store or phone them up, give them the title above and my name, and though they might raise an eyebrow that you’re asking them to order a book that won’t be released for another eight months, I bet they’ll also smile that you’re asking them to do the ordering. Because they love you, you book fanatic, you. And they love books.
Just pre-ordered a copy of @kpwerker's new book #MightyUgly from my local indie bookseller!
— Nancy Cavillones (@NBCavillones) January 16, 2014
So what do you get when you pre-order the book? Well, you get the book, obviously, as soon as it comes out in early September. Early September is so long from now that you’ll pretty much be buying yourself a surprise. And who doesn’t love a surprise?
Also, you’ll get to wear the special feather in your hat that says you bought the book even before it had a cover. Talk about being an early adopter!
And finally, you can help indicate in some small way to the people and machines that track this sort of thing that there is interest in this book, and that might maybe someday lead them to, like, pay more attention to selling it to people. Which would be a very good thing.
As the time between now and then shortens, I’ll tell you way more about the book – like what you’ll find in there and what that’ll do for you, and what’s on the cover, and what I ate while I was writing it, and where I wrote it, and all sorts of stuff you never knew you wanted to know. But for now, it’s time for early adoption! Suspense and anticipation is what it’s all about!