A few bits and pieces of news regarding How to Teach Physics to Your Dog:
- We got and accepted an offer for the audio book rights from one of the biggest audio book publishers. Actually, I think there were two offers for the audio rights, which is amazing. I have no idea when it would be produced or who would read it, but the contract does say they’ll consult with me about the reader, so I’ll know at some point before it comes out…
- Speaking of other editions, I’m getting emails from my publisher about the paperback edition already, which just seems weird. The hardcover’s only been out for a month! this is how the production schedule needs to work, though.
- Rosemary Kirstein, author of the excellent Steerswoman books, was hoping to get a copy for Christmas. It’s really cool to see an author whose books I really like say that they’re looking forward to my book.
- The vanity search reveals that someobdy who speaks Portuguese included it in a list of titles from the weird books room (we sold the Portuguese rights a while back, so there may be an edition in that language someday), and my book is now available at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (they deliver, if you don’t want to go outside to get it). Also, an astonishing number of blogs swipe my RSS feed and repost content from this blog.
Again, if you’re in the Albany area, stop by this afternoon’s signing at the Book House at 2pm ET, and if you’re not in the Albany area, stop by Firedoglake this evening (5-7pm ET), where I’ll be hosting their book salon on Sean Carroll’s book.
“Speaking of other editions, I’m getting emails from my publisher about the paperback edition already, which just seems weird. The hardcover’s only been out for a month! this is how the production schedule needs to work, though.”
Known to economists as a textbook example of intertemporal price discrimination, developed by K.G. Löfgren way back in 1976. Löfgren analyzed the managerial probems of when to introduce the paperback edition, and the prices and quantities sold of the two editions. I suppose your publisher figured that for your book the high-demand consumers with less elastic demands aren’t all that numerous. Ah, but I forget, you hate economists 🙂
I don’t hate economists, I just don’t particularly trust them.
Anyway, the issue is less economics than the details of the production pipeline. It takes a good while to get a book designed and printed and so forth.
An audio book is extraordinary! Consider the possiblities – putting it to a beat, mash-ups, Arecibo to points outward, and complete access for the illiterate (dogs don’t respond to written instructions – got ya!). Did you end each chapter with a two-line rhyme?
On a more serious note… Leonard Nimoy as narrator. Tell him you get spilkes (“shpilkis”) just thinking about it. End the narration with “live long and prosper.” Remember what Feynman said, “ya gotta ask.”
It will be big, really big. Cameo on the Big Bang Theory big. That big.