Greetings from Hell frozen over, home of the World Series-hosting Chicago Cubs...

First, the good news

Okay folks, this is it. By now, if you ordered a physical book, you should have received notice that it’s in the sky or on the highway and en route to your front door. (It may have even arrived already.) The books took a little longer than we’d hoped to get from the printer to the office, but I think the wait is worth it. Speaking honestly, they look even better than I’d hoped they would. I’m delighted with the finished product, and I hope you are too when it reaches your door. (Quick note: Despite what the email said, they are jacketed hardback copies and not paperback.)

(Quick note #2: If you haven’t received a shipping notice, check your spam folder, and if nothing’s there, let me know and I’ll pass the word on to Inkshares. They’re a small but terrific group of folks and they’ll get it sorted.)

Now some bad news, followed immediately by good news

Due to circumstances and scheduling issues, there was no time to reschedule my September flight to Inkshares HQ to sign the books. But because I want to make good on that, I commissioned a big sheet of personalized illustrated bookplates (fancy word for sticker) that I’ve signed and will send out to all who want them for their copies. Just send your address to me via email (billyok@mac.com) and I’ll take care of the rest. It’s not quite the same as me writing my name in your book, but it’s close. (Alternatively, if you’re local, let’s just meet up and I’ll sign it right before your eyes.)

Now some more good news

In fact, if you’re in the Chicago area on the evening of Saturday, November 5th, you can get them signed in person by attending a launch party at one of Chicago’s best independent bookstores. I’ll be at Lincoln Square’s The Book Cellar, 4736 N. Lincoln Ave., starting at 6 p.m. It’s right down the street from the Western Brown Line stop and there’s plenty of street parking in the vicinity as well. Come on by, say hi, and celebrate the imminent passing of this horrid election season.

And finally, a quick but hugely important favor

I’ll spare you the details and make this quick, but I cannot emphasize enough how crucial reviews are to an author’s ability to attract new readers on Amazon, Goodreads and Barnes & Noble. The benefits of receiving at least 100 ratings/reviews on each are tangible, and given how much weight those three sites carry, those benefits can be of make-or-break importance. So if you have accounts on any or all of these sites and can spare a few more minutes, I’m asking for your help in hitting that magic number. Even just a click on the star rating thing helps (though if you have some kind words to throw in, those are of course appreciated).

Here are links to take you straight to all three, all of which are accepting reviews now. Thank you so much (yet again) for whatever you can do.

— Amazon: [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1942645236#customerReviews]

— Goodreads: [https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/30007120] 

— Barnes & Noble: [http://www.barnesandnoble.com/reviews/these-are-my-friends-on-politics-billy-okeefe/1123852462?ean=9781942645238] 

That’s all for now. Be nice to each other. November 9 is almost here.

I bought a book. Now what? 

This is the first update I’ve dispatched since These Are My Friends on Politics reached its full funding goal and became a real published book that a real publishing house is putting into real bookstores instead of the unprofitable ones I see in daydreams. So a thank you — to everyone who bought in, followed along, shared it with others and otherwise showed support for this little ray of light in this insatiable nightmare of an election year — is overdue. 

But it’s overdue for a reason, because rather than thank and leave you with a vague "you’ll get it someday!," I wanted to show my gratitude by letting you know exactly what’s happening with your support. (And I wanted to know what I was talking about before I started talking.) 

So here’s what’s happened. I sent in the manuscript and the initial cover design. Inkshares’ production partners at Girl Friday sent both back with some notes and some ideas about modestly bumping up the page count to hit the magic 64-page printing number (long story having to do with printers and multiples of four) and very possibly give the book the hardcover treatment (at no extra cost to you, of course) instead of the softcover treatment. (No promises yet on that, because I don’t know if it will happen, but it could happen.) I made a batch of new pages, lightly touched up a few existing pages, and handed in version 2. They sent back a few more notes, I did a last round of small touchups, and then I cropped and sized the pages so that they’re printer-perfect before handing in version 3.

And here’s what happens next. While the production wizards take those pages and assemble them into a sharp-looking book with all the interior and exterior necessities it needs, the marketing wizards at Inkshares are ramping up an extensive (word not used lightly — it’s extensive) plan to put the book inside national and independent bookstores and in front of media large and small that cover not just books, but politics and current events too. All of these wizards and plans are joining forces to coordinate a far-and-wide-reaching release in October, and if you’re a backer, you’ll have your signed and numbered copies of the book most likely a month before that October release date. (Again, that’s not ironclad, but based on what I’m told and on my own experiences as a backer of other authors’ books, backers getting their copies a month early seems to be the norm.)

So that’s the roadmap. It’s lengthy (even though it’s hyperloop-fast by book publishing standards — these things almost never happen inside of a year, never mind six months), but it’s that way because a lot of talented people are using really impressive resources to give this book the best possible chance it could ask for. When I said back in the campaigning stage that fully funding this thing is a (to borrow a phrase from the great Eddie Olczyk) tremendously tremendous deal, this is what I had in mind. So thank you for helping make that a reality.

5+2+1+1+6 = 15 

As is customary with these updates, I’ll close it out with the best thank you gift of all: some new pictures of Nina, who turned 15 on May 21 but whose face and table mannerisms remain indistinguishable from those of a puppy. Enjoy, and thank you again.