Someone launched a fake version of the book on Amazon, a few people still had difficulties with their own devices, and there were a couple other problems that kept this from being a completely smooth launch. The funny thing is, those negative parts of the experience didn't detract from the marvellous success that the Expendable Few has become early on.
Amazon was quick to respond to reviews and complaints from readers about the fake copy of Expendable Few. It happened so fast that, by the time I got in touch with Amazon Legal, their only response was; "We know - see? It's already disabled." They are refunding payments to anyone who bought the book and reports a problem. Readers also helped each other read the book on their devices properly when there were problems. They even helped each other find the download page.
As of this writing, The Expendable Few is the best selling book in the last 90 days on Smashwords.
What's even more surprising is that you readers put Spinward Fringe at the top in a more general sense. Not only is Spinward Fringe Broadcast 6: Fragments the number one best selling novel of all time on Smashwords, but a total of 7 Spinward Fringe novels occupy the top 25 all time best seller list. You readers did that, I'm more grateful than I can express.
That's why, when pressure to distribute the Expendable Few outside of Smashwords didn't let up after release, but increased, I had to rethink my promise to offer the book there exclusively for 30 days. I have the files required to offer the book on Amazon (US, FR, UK, etc...), and Mark Coker has made it absolutely clear that he and his staff are eager to distribute the book to B&N, the iBookstore, KOBO and numerous other retailers, so there's no reason not to put the book in the pipeline earlier than planned.
I don't even think Mark Coker would be offended. In fact, I really hope he won't be, he's been good to my readers and I.
The files are ready, you readers have demanded broader distribution and are responsible for my success, so I'm giving you what you want. Starting on March 9, 2012, The Expendable Few will begin appearing on Amazon and other retailers. By March 14 it should reach most retailers, but it could take weeks longer, so be patient. Everyone is working as fast as they can to get this out.
There is a negative side to this, however. Thanks to the way the ebook market works, and the contract I have with distributors like Amazon, the price of The Expendable Few will change on Smashwords to $2.99 as of March 9, 2012. That's over $2.00 below the average readers elected to pay when they used the option to name their own price when buying the book.
My hope is that this book gets out to all of you the way you want it, and that you enjoy it even more than the previous Spinward Fringe novels.
What's next? I'm currently working through an edit of Broadcast 5 in preparation for a return to work on Broadcast 7. Broadcast 7 is currently 110,000 words long, and I think I may be half finished. I expect to be writing more new material for that by the end of next week.
Once I'm finished with my run through of Broadcast 5, it'll see more work from an editor and 52 Novels, the formatting company I use before getting updated everywhere. The update will be available for free if you already own Broadcast 5: Fracture.
Thank you for your support, there's more Spinward Fringe on the way!
RL
For anyone who doesn't want to wait, here's the link to the book on Smashwords! I'd like to thank Mark Coker and everyone at Smashwords who helped make my overall experience there fantastic.
