Hello, backers!

I have some exciting news to share. For now, all I am going to say is that this is going to be my last update through Inkshares. You’ll have to keep reading to learn more...

1) Michael Meyer, author of the books In Manchuria and The Last Days of Old Beijing, recently read UMDC and had some very warm things to say about it via e-mail. A blurb from him means a lot, as I’ve been a fan of his work for some time now, and you can read it on UMDC’s Amazon listing (here) under Editorial Reviews.

2) The book was displayed and repped by Foreword Reviews at the 2016 Beijing International Book Fair. No leads yet, but at least it is receiving some exposure in China!

3) A reviewer on TheNanfang.com, a blog that caters to expats in southern China, posted an absolute hatchet job of the book about three weeks ago. Fortunately, Tom Carter, who has several books out about China himself, rallied to my defense in the comments!

4) Chronicle re-aired their episode from June that featured UMDC and brought about another spike in sales/website traffic. If you’ve yet to view the segment and are interested, you can find it here.

5) #upMdownC is currently in second place on Goodreads’ China Expat Book list, behind no other than Peter Hessler’s River Town. Thank you if you happened to vote :)

6) And now for the BIG news: Camphor Press, an indie publisher that focuses on books about Taiwan/China, has agreed to take on the second edition of UMDC! John Ross, one of the founders, has been incredibly supportive of the book ever since writing a review on Bookish.Asia (here), and I’m positively thrilled at the prospect of getting the novel in front of a bigger expat audience. Inkshares has done so much to bring this work to life, however, and I would be remiss not to tell them (and especially all of you) how thankful I am for the support.

So, how can you stay updated moving forward?

1) Sign up for my newsletter (here). I will probably send out a few e-mails per year, similar in content to these.

2) Follow me on Facebook (here). There, I post content related to my book, volunteering abroad, life in China, etc. Sometime soon, I’ll be running a giveaway of Party Members, a new novel from my next publisher, Camphor Press.

3) Follow me on Twitter (here). To be completely honest, I’m bad at Twitter, but perhaps getting more followers will incentivize me to do a better job. I post/retweet all sorts of random stuff there.

That’s it! Again, thank you for getting me this far. One week from today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, so get some moon cakes, enjoy the full moon, and use it as an excuse to reunite with your friends and family (if possible). (It might also be a great excuse to re-read Chapter 4 of UMDC...)

I leave you with this e-mail, forwarded to me by an old classmate, in which he and another friend discuss what they are planning to wear to an upcoming wedding, in the style of #upMdownC. Don’t know whether to be flattered, insulted or scrutinizing. Start at the bottom and read up ;)

QC

News & Updates:

1) Travis Lee, who wrote a very insightful review of #upMdownC on his blog, is funding his Sci-Fi novella, Kale & Jason, on Inkshares. Head on over to his project page and check it out if you’re interested. Great to see the Inkshares community expanding!

2) The Anthill, a writers’ colony in Beijing, published an excerpt from my second novel. I’m only about a quarter of the way in, but I’ve been writing non-stop now that summer break is here, and I’m very excited about where it’s headed.

3) Alec Ash, who is the founder and non-fiction editor at The Anthill, had some nice things to say about #upMdownC. He is the guy who penned that hatchet job on Shanghai Cocktales that I referenced in a previous backer update. Alec recently published his own debut - albeit non-fiction - titled Wish Lanterns: Young Lives in New China. I can’t wait to read it.

4) Jeremiah Jenne, a writer, historian and podcast host in Beijing, wrote a review of UMDC on Here! Dongguan.

5) I submitted a post to The Asian Books Blog about UMDC and the crowdfunding process.

6) UMDC will be represented by Foreword Reviews at the Beijing Book Fair next month! The hope is that the novel will garner some interest from Chinese publishers. I made a sell sheet for the exhibition (see below) if you know of any places near you where you might be able to put one up. Just let me know, and I’ll send you a copy!

7) I received a couple of other reviews, too - one that was requested, one that wasn’t! Lately, it’s begun to feel like the book is "taking off" (i.e. getting noticed organically). Hopefully, the momentum keeps up. Comments, shares, retweets and likes all really help! Thanks :)

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I have a few exciting updates on the book I'd like to share with you:

1) The Boston launch party at Row 34 went really well. Thanks to everyone who came by. I even received a copy of the CliffsNotes for #upMdownC! (Best gag gift ever.)

2) I did a signing at New England Mobile Book Fair, too. This meant so much to me, as the store was a staple of my childhood. If you're ever in the Boston area, take a morning to stop by and wander the aisles. It's a labyrinth of books, in the truest sense of the word.

3) I posted this on social media last week, but for anyone who didn't see it, Amazon chose a small number of books to be displayed at the front of their brick-and-mortar store in Seattle under the heading "Notable Fiction," and believe it or not, "Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside" was included! Just goes to show you that reviews matter!

4) The editors at Kirkus Reviews have chosen UMDC to be spotlighted as one of their Indie Books of the Month for January 2016! Hopefully, this will get their review (here) in front of more readers and buyers, which, at this point, is really all I can ask for.

5) I posted an excerpt of my second novel on Medium, where UMDC got its first exposure. I also submitted a blog entry about the first time I traveled alone in China to WorldTeach on Sunday, which will go live tomorrow.

That's it! Again, thank you so much to everyone who's been helping me promote the book. I can't stress enough how important word of mouth is. I've still got my fingers crossed that I'll hear back from one or two of the media outlets we sent copies to this month, but until then, there won't be any news until January 14th, when I'll be in Denver for a reading/discussion at the Tattered Cover (Colfax Avenue). If you know anyone who lives in the area, please tell them about it, if you think they might be interested.

Happy Holidays! Don't forget: Inkshares is offering a buy one, get one free deal on my book (and any others that have already been published) until December 11th while supplies last.

Quincy

Backers,

Prepare yourselves for the best e-mail I've ever written:

My book is now actually a thing.

Thank you. I went into the Inkshares office yesterday and saw the physical copies. THANK YOU. Believe me when I tell you that they turned out beautifully. You should have received an e-mail recently from Inkshares confirming your address, but if you didn't, let me know. I signed all of your copies, so they should be headed out soon. (Thank you!)

I read through the first half of the book last night, and I have to say, I'm very confident with what we've got. The success of the book, however, is now entirely out of my hands. It's up to you. Readers play an equally important role in determining a book's fate as its author. Over the next month, it would be HUGE if you could share honest reviews, tweet or post shots of your book online (#upMdownC) and/or recommend the novel to family and friends. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I understand that not everyone will be coming to this story from the same place, but that's exactly why your individual reactions are so crucial.

The link to the Goodreads site is below. (Beginning on November 10, you'll be able to leave reviews on Amazon.)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26219934-up-to-the-mountains-and-down-to-the-countryside

Here are two pictures of the book. I really cannot wait to hear what each of you thinks. And once again, just in case I haven't said it enough already, thank you so much for making this possible. I owe all of you a drink.

Quincy

I just wanted to send out another quick update, as I've realized that there is some confusion about the release date of my book. Right now, I'm waiting to hear back from my editor, who is reading the manuscript and jotting down her notes. She is going to get in touch with me by April 4th, at which point I'll start addressing her concerns. (We talked on the phone a few weeks ago, and she said that she doesn't expect there to be a ton, given how long I've been working on the manuscript and her impressions from the first chapter, so fingers crossed.) Once that's done, we'll move onto marketing, layout, design and printing. Currently, the release date for the novel is set for some time in September. (E-books may be out sooner.) I know that's a long time to wait, so that's why I really appreciate the support. Orders are still coming in, so please help me to continue spreading the word. I've been doing some guerrilla marking in Oakland, but every little bit helps, especially for a first-time author. Can't wait for you all to read it!

Quincy