Getting Stoned with Book Makers

Happy Hump Day Bloglandia!

Now, before you think this post is about cannabis legalization, it’s not. Sorry to disappoint.

However, books do take you to all kinds of worlds of the imagination, so in a way, they are mind-altering. And it turns out, over the next few months, books might be just as tough to get as a few joints (unless pot’s legal in your state/country).

Books! Hard to obtain?!! Isn’t that one of the signs of the Book Nerd’s Apocalypse?

Possibly. But hopefully this will only be a temporary apocalypse.

Okay, before the dark thunder clouds fill the skies and the four horsemen come galloping in, let’s get back to the bright side of the book world and an explanation of that post title.

Getting Stoned with Book Makers

Even if you exclusively read ebooks or listen to audiobooks, you might be aware that “real” books are made of paper. And that paper comes from trees (even if it’s recycled, at some point it came from a tree).

But trees do amazing things like store carbon, cast shade on your non-air-conditioned house during heat waves (as I well know), create a cooling effect in cities, and they provide squirrels a nice place to scurry about.

So it’s big boon for the planet (and for squirrels) if we lessen our need to chop trees down. I mean, I do love “real” books, but I also really like trees and feel bad that they have to sacrifice their lives for my entertainment (which is now making me picture trees dressed in gladiator costumes).

Luckily, there are people smarter than me in the world who are thinking about this very problem. Trees beings chopped down, that is…not a spruce dressed up like Russell Crowe.

Of course we can use other plants to make books, including bamboo, mulberry, and yes (back to the cannabis thing), even hemp.

But some smarty pants out there said, “Pffft, plant-based papers are so Bronze Age, when everyone knows the Stone Age is where it’s at.”

These clever folks have come up with a way to make books out of stone. And no, this isn’t some heavy Babylonian tablet carved with cuneiform writing. This is stuff that has the weight and feel of tree-killing paper.

The technology uses calcium carbonate and a few resins to make “paper” that requires no tree murder, no water (whoa!), and no bleach. (And in case, you weren’t aware, paper-making uses a lot of water — which I’d rather use to make tea — and bleach — which is bad for waterways.

So what’s the drawback of this miracle paper? Well, production hasn’t ramped up yet, and so far there’s no large books being made with the stuff. The biggest so far is only 48 pages.

Still, it’s an amazing start to making more sustainable books. And I think I just heard the squirrels in my yard pooling their money together to invest in the technology.

If you’d like to get the full scoop on this squirrel-friendly paper (there’s even a video), please pop on over to the full article: “Stone Paper” from the Making Book Blog

This is NOT An Attempt to Get You to Buy My Books (even though it is)

You may have heard there’s some supply chain issues due to various factors that I won’t get into. This supply issue is not only affecting socks and refrigerators, but also books.

I know..GASP!!

But don’t worry, this is a disaster you can prepare for…

If you were planning on buying books (especially my books…haha) for people this holiday season, ORDER THEM NOW.

This is not some sad attempt to get you buy my books, and it’s definitely not me trying to push holiday shopping on you way earlier than anyone should. This is a real issue that many authors and publishers are facing.

I’ve pasted the email from one of my print book suppliers (Draft2Digital) below, but you may also want to read THIS ARTICLE about the problem.

Of course, so far, we still have electrons in good supply, so if it comes to it, there’s always ebooks. Although I’m not sure how you’d wrap a cluster of electrons…

Note: My print books are available at Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Walmart, and most other book retailers who have an online shop. You can also ask your local bookstore or library to order the book for you. If you need more details about that, don’t be afraid to contact me.

Have a great rest of your week! 

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The Doom & Gloom From Draft2Digital…

As a user of our D2D Print service, we wanted to inform you of the potential for delays for print on demand services that may arise in the coming months.

Our print partner has informed us that they are preparing for disruptions to  various aspects of the print industry, including labor and supply shortages, as well as transportation issues.

Manufacturing supply shortages and labor shortages for the transport of goods are all factors that impact print on demand as an industry and these are unfortunately outside of the control of our print partner. 

Our print partner is implementing steps to reduce the impact of these shortages, such as warehousing materials and working closely with their shipping partners.

We wanted to offer a couple of recommendations to help you prepare and perhaps avoid delays with your D2D Print books: 

Order early—If you will need printed books for an event or any other reason, place your orders as early as possible to allow for enough time to fulfill the order even if supplies are delayed.

List early—If you have any current or future books you will want to be available during the holiday season, we encourage you to get them loaded into our print program so they are available for sale or as a preorder. With the rush we are anticipating in the later months of the year it is likely processing the books and getting them into  the system will take longer than usual.

While printing and shipping delays are a nuisance, we and our print partners are exploring every way possible to reduce the impact. We appreciate your patience as we work through this.