This was a VERY exciting moment!

The first few hardbacks of the book have FINALLY arrived, and I opened the first box on video!

I ordered a few test copies to make sure that the book was going to be produced correctly). Those came and the book is being produced PERFECTLY!

It feels SO good to FINALLY see and touch a couple hardbacks.

I’m still in a waiting game for my bigger deliver, but am happy to finally see a few hardbacks and know they ARE being printed correctly.

While I wait for my bulk order, I am going to ship the few hardbacks I DO have to those of you who asked me FIRST where your book is. I’ll continue to make updates as I get more books.

Thank you ALL for the continued patience.
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For those of you who want the DETAILED update for why this has taken so long, here’s what I’ve learned (and done):

This week, I spent three hours on the phone with Amazon and KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). I was told (by a few people) that KDP experienced a HUGE issue in their warehouse that started over the holidays- and is still being resolved.

They now have a major backlog of hardback books. ANY and ALL hardback books that are manufactured through KDP (not Ingram Spark or other book producers) are on a five-week delay. Thus, this issue isn’t specific to my book. They shared that they’ve received numerous calls with complaints about turnaround time and are working as hard as they can to get back on track. I asked NUMEROUS times for an expected resolution date for this. No one had any such date. I shared how difficult that was to hear.

I did share my thoughts that five weeks to get hardback books feels unreasonable and unacceptable (for me (as an author) and for readers, too). They acknowledged that, and apologized many times.

I’ve asked to speak with a few managers- to ensure I was told consistent information by leadership- and got the same story. I’ve asked them to pass along feedback that is disruptive to my business- I’ve not been able to distribute a product I promised my customers, and I feel it reflects poorly on me. I’ve shared how contradictory these vague explanations feel to Amazon’s culture and values.

I’ve since gotten the book on Ingram Spark (Amazon KDP’s biggest competitor) and have now placed a rush order with Ingram Spark to ship me books as well. We’ll see which company gets me books faster!

Tagging a few of you who are waiting on hardbacks and use Linked In…

Shawn Merry Julie Maarten Doug Ira Monica Kyle Marlisa Srinivas Han Jeff Jaime Mark Patricia Eugene John Julie Willis David Gavin Emma Jose

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