My novel Gods Behaving Badly has come out in about 20 countries so far. In some places it has done well (my home turf of UK, for example.) In other countries less so (people of Holland, why hast thou forsaken me?) The country it has done best in so far is Canada. To my astonishment and I'd guess that of my publishers too, it went to number 1 in the fiction charts and I had great fun a while back doing a lightning book tour round Toronto and Vancouver, appearing in all kinds of newspapers and on radio and TV. I try to repay Canada in my own small way, for example by having the theme tune to The Littlest Hobo on my iPod and by really, really liking the word Saskatchewan.
I am guessing that Canada is not at the forefront of the ereader revolution, though, because according to my most recent royalty statement, I have sold a grand total of one electronic copy of Gods Behaving Badly in Canada since its release in December 2007. One. More may have been sold since, as that statement only went up to the end of September, but even so. One.
Here's the thing. I really want to know who I have sold that one ebook to. Who is this intrepid Canuck? What made them decide to download my book rather than buy a hard copy? Are they typically a maverick, renegade kind of person, or is this the first time that they have - to their knowledge - done something that the whole of the rest of Canada has not yet done? I guess it's possible, being - as they evidently are - at the cutting edge of digitisation, this individual might have made it as far as my blog. It might even be you. I'm guessing it probably isn't though. But it could be you. Hello.
I am now officially on the search for my one electronic reader in Canada. If I can find him or her - perhaps with the help of some friendly blog or Twitter mentions, hint hint - I will offer them an old-fashioned paper Canadian edition, signed. (Will ereaders kill the signed edition? Discuss.) I don't know how they'll prove their identity but I'm sure we can figure that out. A download receipt, maybe? Anyway, I'd really love to hear from you, Canadian ereader, so if you make it this far, leave me a comment with your e-mail address... and I hope you enjoyed the book.
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11 comments:
Nice thinking! Let's see the power of the viral. Will retweet. xxx
Many of the popular eReaders are just becoming available in Canada - like Kindle. Not sure what the hold up was (some say copyright laws in Canada meant that businesses were reluctant to bring them out). I think they'll start to catch on more now.
I shall pass this on to my Canadian friends, in the event any of them are your mystery reader...
I bought the old fashioned paper one and loved it!
Ha - Marie, if this is me you're talking about I'll find this pretty funny, because I actually bought both the paper version AND the electronic version for my iPhone. My name is Marc, and I live in Toronto, Ontario. A MASSIVE fan of Gods, and you're right - been following you on Twitter and here since I read it, so I laughed when this came through...:) Not sure if this is me you're talking about, but I am Canadian, and am in possession of Gods in eReader form...:)
I hope you do not mind somebody from "Holland" giving her opinion?
Do you only look at the translations sold? Many Dutch readers read English books, as I did? And the friend who recommended your book to me. And most of the people I borrowed my book to, or recommended your book to. We have not all forsaken you! We just prefer to read the original!
Ha ha, Marc, that's briliant! The key is this though - *when* did you get the e version for your iPhone? Anyway send me an e-mail to strugglingauthor at tiscali dot co dot uk so we can discuss your prize.
Sjiva, that's very reassuring! I didn't think of the fact that Dutch readers are gifted linguists and would have been reading the book in English. We really didn't sell very many in Dutch. (And I should have said "the Netherlands", shouldn't I? We Brits tend to get confused about that.)
I am another Canadian who just finished this book. I read it in 3 days, which is amazing considering I am a new mom with a demanding 8 month old baby. I really enjoyed all of the characters and was searching online in hopes of finding more of your work. When is your next book coming?
Well I would have been e-reader number two if I could have found a site that would let a Canadian buy the book by download. I did find it at the Sony store, but was rudely told that it was only available in that form, if I lived in the USA! Shame, Canadians read e-books too. Our book club will be reviewing it on Tuesday evening at my place. Cheers, Ann Campbell in beautiful British Columbia.
ps I hope that you are all watching the Olympics.
Hello Canadian readers! Nice to meet you. I'm glad you've been enjoying my book even though Canada seems peculiarly resistant to the electronic form (who is making the decision that you can't have it that way?) Ann, I am not watching the Olympics, I don't like sport enough to stay up late for it. Or indeed to watch it during the day...
Another new Canadian reader, who just finished the book this morning and went searching for more.
As others have said, the Kindle has only just been released. Part of the holdup was in regards to different copyright laws (ours tend to make publishers, producers, and record companies a little antsy), but another part was the lack of the required networking standard. I think the networking standard is still unavailable, but they just released the Kindle anyway and told us to hook it up to our computers.
If I'm wrong, hopefully a Canadian Kindle owner can correct me.
Amazon may have missed a crucial adoption time here in Canada. We've had two full years to feel resentful about an American company stiffing us (however good the reasons), and also for concerns about book ownership to pop up (those people whose copies of "1984" were deleted by Amazon, for example). The technology doesn't seem as liberating as it once did.
In addition, you don't have to go looking for online products in Canada for long without realizing that lots of things are unavailable, sometimes arbitrarily so. Want to buy music from that new British musician? Forget it, we're withholding it from Canada until our publicity machine gets working there! Want to buy that exclusive Tama Janowitz eBook from Amazon? Nope, only available from The States!
Obviously people are buying Kindles in Canada, but I don't think we're running pell-mell for them. Certainly, whenever an article about eReaders appears on the CBC news site, the comments are 99% dismissive.
Personally, I haven't bought one because I just love a physical book! :)
Almost none of the Canadian stores are selling e-Readers and I have looked around Toronto for the local news section of my site http://e-readerfeeder.com.
Even the Kindle has not caught on yet despite lots of press but we have always been a year behind the USA in new technology.
By the end of 2010 you should see more eBook sales from Canada, I suspect.
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