vasikgreif wrote:[qI don't understand it, it is on Amazon already, they say ''in stock'' and even sell it with discount...?
Hi Vasik,
It's a bit complicated, which is why I have tried to answer people's questions without burdening them with too much information. At this point though, it may be best if I start at the beginning.
My latest book
Rumba Quinto is volume two of the
Unlocking Clave series, published by Bembe Books, of which I am part owner. Recently I was turned onto an attractive means of printing flexible numbers of books. The company is called CreateSpace and is part of Amazon.com. When you print books through CreateSpace, your book is automatically available on Amazon.
Rumba Quinto will be officially released in several months, which means that Bembe's distributor will solicit and distribute the book to conventional retailers like Barnes and Noble and Borders Books. Unlike my last book
The Clave Matrix, this book does not come with audio examples on CDs. Instead, downloadable MP3 audio examples will be sold separately. I expect to have the MP3 examples ready by the time the book is officially released.
Because I taught some classes in rumba quinto in July at the annual Afro-Cuban workshop at Humboldt State, I printed up a few early copies of the book (a "pre-release"). That is one of the great things about working with CreateSpace, Bembe can afford to do small print runs now. Several congaboard members took my class and bought my book. I gave my quinto students at the workshop some CD compilations of classic rumbas, taken from commercial recordings. These compilations are home-made and not the audio examples. I think there's been some confusion about that.
Since there was talk on the congaboard about the book and I had some copies left over, I made the offer to forum members to buy the book at a reduced price, and added the bonus of the CD compilations.
Today I finally emailed off the files for the revised edition of
Rumba Quinto. I corrected some typos in the text, refined the Glossary and made some minor changes on the cover. Again, this is what I like about using CreateSpace, I can indulge in fiddling and tweeking with my books. Until I approve a proof of the revision, it will not be available from CreateSpace.com.
However, for some reason, the book is currently available through Amazon. And, they are selling at a discount! I didn't know that though until you brought it to my attention. I don't mind, but I can see where it may seem odd that Amazon.com is selling the book for less than I am. Since I have not yet approved a proof of the revised edition, I can say with certainty that Amazon is currently offering the old version for sale. I'm sure that as soon as I approve the proof, they will offer the revised version. That should be in a week or two.
I realize it may seem odd that I'm saying the book will not be officially released for several months and yet, it is currently available on Amazon, the world's largest book seller. That
is odd. I feel like I have one foot in two worlds; the world I know, and the world I know is coming. The next step for me is getting the
Unlocking Clave books in digital form for Kindle and other platforms.
What is exciting for me is that I don't have to depend upon conventional publishers like Mel Bay, or conventional means of distribution. If I can write a series consisting of a dozen books, they will be available world-wide.
I will announce when the revised version is available at Amazon and sometime after that, I'll announce its "official" release. Hope that wasn't TMI.
-David