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Posted on April 16, 2009 (Subscribe to Blog)

I had a rotten few days in Florida recently. The beach was nice, and Lily had a blast, but both Lily and I brought a bug with us from home that meant more than a few visits to the toilet! Worse, sitting in a restaurant on the last day, I was suddenly overcome with nausea and put my burger down even before taking the first bite. Before I knew it, I was lightheaded and then wham! collapsed on the booth seat, out cold. I wasn't out for long, but long enough for Nessa to call 911 (which I canceled as soon as I woke up, as by then I inexplicably felt right as rain).

Anyway, the point is that I didn't feel up to complex tasks on my computer so didn't get to launch my book while I was away, which is what I had planned. Instead I waited until I got home. But of course then work took precedence and now here I am, nearly a week later already... *Sigh*

Today, April 16, the book is finally ready. I'm still waiting for a second proof printed copy (should be here in a few days) and when that arrives I can press the button that says "publish" and then it'll be available to buy in printed form. Watch this space!

Comment by PHILIP MANNERING on Friday, April 17, 2009...

Great work, Keith! I think I'll have to buy it as soon as possible, it seems really excellent. I also read the editor's full review. You really must be talented, Keith, to write a debut so good according to an editor!

Looking forward to buying and reading it.

Comment by MING on Friday, April 17, 2009...

Keith! I don't trust my postage, but I'll buy a printed version anyway, just for the sake of a signed copy and FEEL of a book! And I know I'd have to wait AGES before I get to read it, but who cares? I'd rather read it in book form and in a relaxed mood as opposed to a version that's just digital, and requires sitting in front of the monitor for hours! Congrats old thing. :-D

Comment by JULIE@OWLSDENE on Friday, April 17, 2009...

Well done, Keith. I'll buy the printed version, so that I can read it in a relaxed mood, as Ming has mentioned. Looking forward to it. Julie

Comment by ANITA on Saturday, April 18, 2009...

Congratulations, Keith! I'm another one who is waiting for the printed version as I can't relax and enjoy a book properly when reading it from a computer screen.

Hope you've fully recovered from your bug now. Your fainting fit must have been scary for Nessa and Lily.

Comment by HOPE189 on Saturday, April 18, 2009...

I don't trust my postage either so it'll be a long while before I can read the printed version. Congrats again, Keith. Wow ! I can't believe that I'm posting a comment on a real published author's blog !:-)

Comment by KEITH ROBINSON on Monday, April 20, 2009...

Thanks all! I totally understand wanting the printed version — I would too. In fact, after receiving the second proof the other day, I read the entire book through once more and thoroughly enjoyed the look and feel of an actual book. Much better than a screen! On the other hand, I also found several more minor things to correct. Only a couple of typos, but a few other things that I felt would be better with this word rather than that. I also made an adjustment to the cover.

Anyway, I'm awaiting my third and hopefully final proof, and as soon as I receive and approve it, I'll be ordering a nice big batch of, say, 50 copies. There's a local craft fair type thing going on here in town at the end of April, so hopefully I'll have my copies by then as I intend being one of those people who sits in the hot sun all day with a pile of books on the table! More on that soon... but, all being well, the book will REALLY be available by the end of April.

Hope189, you're very kind, but I don't really consider myself a "real published author" even though, technically, maybe I am. The thing is, anyone can self-publish for almost no cost. I'm using CreateSpace.com, but Lulu.com is another option. Real published author? I guess... but not in the "published by Scholastic and on the bookshelves" sense! :-)

Comment by HOPE189 on Tuesday, April 21, 2009...

Keith, you're right. Anyone can publish a book, but not everyone can write a book, that too one that sounds as good as Island of Fog does!

Comment by PHILIP MANNERING on Tuesday, April 21, 2009...

End of April... looking forward to it then!

Keith, you may not be a real published author, but I should think that you'll soon be there. I think it's a matter of time before you're a published author in the Scholastic and the bookshelves sense, and that'd be great, for then internationally your book can be familiar and in high regard!

Comment by ILSA on Saturday, April 25, 2009...

Congratulations Keith! I look forward to getting a copy somehow or other when it is available. Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could ship a box of them over in time for the Enid Blyton day on May 9th? I bet they'd go like hot cakes there!

Comment by UPPITY PROLE on Tuesday, November 8, 2011...

I know this will come off as crabbing by a cheapskate who wants freebies, but $7 for an e-book is too much. $7 or so will buy a paperback that will survive for years — decades! — sitting on a shelf, or rattling around in the car, or in a cardboard box somewhere; that won't get wiped out by a power-spike or EMP; that won't become unreadable due to format changes, CD-dye fade, or the decline and fall of the power grid's infrastructure. A paperback won't APPRECIATE a dip in a lake or a bathtub, but it won't commit instantaneous seppuku over it like an e-reader will. (In theory you can replace the e-books that drowned; in practice, you take your chances.) A reasonable price for an e-book would be close to what the author would get in commission, plus some small S&H overhead, plus the price of the electrons involved. I'm guessing $1-2.

Comment by KEITH ROBINSON on Wednesday, November 9, 2011...

Uppity, your post made me smile — but you're two and a half years late with your comment. My post was written back in April 2009 when things were a little different. These days I would agree that $7 is too much for an electronic book, and I now sell Kindle and Nook editions for $0.99 (and $4.99 for the others in the series).

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