Ally Carter

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The deal with the early copies

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Hey everybody!

Just a quick post today to talk about…what else?…GG4 and, specifically, the many reports that have been flooding in from people who have seen it on shelves early.

Now, as you know, the lovely countdown widget has been counting to June 29th for weeks now because that is the book’s official release date.  But the thing that not everyone knows is that there’s actually a difference between “release date” and “lay down” date, and while all books have the first, very few actually have the second.

You see, a few books each year will be so highly anticipated that the publishers don’t want stores to sell (or lay the books down on tables and shelves) until a certain date.  That’s called having a “hard lay-down”.  It keeps spoilers from leaking out and, most importantly, builds buzz and sends the message that THIS IS A BIG BOOK!

So why don’t all books have a hard lay-down?  Well, it’s a very difficult thing to police and an expensive sort of demand to make, so for the most part, publishers don’t care if a book is out a day or two (or 10) early.  In the vast majority of cases, stores are free to start laying books down as soon as the books arrive.

Some stores try to abide by the release date.  Some don’t.  Some get books in really early.  Some don’t.  Some will have room on their shelves, see a box of unopend books and think “why not?”.  Some will actually leave books boxed up until they get around to putting them out–even if the publication date is already passed.

I know this is sort of confusing, but the thing to remember is this: unless you’re looking for a really big book–and I do mean REALLY big (like Twilight, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson big)–then there is always the possibility of seeing it on shelves early.  A possibility, I said.  Not a certainty.  And when you do, it’s not something that needs to be reported to the publisher.  The store (and you) won’t get in any trouble, because no one has broken any rules.  It’s just something that happens sometimes.

Really I blame Harry Potter.  Before Harry people didn’t think about books having a hard-and-fast on-sale date so much.  Now that phenomenon continues for a few uber-successful authors and franchises, but I am certainly not one of them.

People have also been asking me if this makes any difference to authors or not.  Honestly…it is probably slightly better for the author for stores to keep the books boxed up and put them out on the pub date just because that helps the first rush of sales to be compacted into as small a window as possible, and as you know, things like bestseller lists aren’t so much about the number of books you sell as they are about the number of books you sell in a given week.

So, yeah, it’s probably better for us if all of those sales happen at the same time instead of staggered out across several weeks.

But, honestly, I’m just so happy that anyone is buying my books that I don’t dare complain about people buying them early.

Just thank you to everyone who has bought or is going to buy GG4.  I truly hope you like it and want to read GG5.  I know I really want to write it.

 

-Ally

 

ps…Some people are starting to ask if it’s okay to ask stores to put the books out early.  Probably not.  My advice is that if you see them, feel free to buy them, but it’s the store’s decision when to put them out, and–like I said–ideally, all books would come out on the pub date, so if your store is choosing to do that, please respect that decision.

 

 

Comments

  1. The other day I went to Barnes and Noble because I got the release date in February as the 16th and was super excited (like I couldn’t stop jumping up in down in the car). I walked EVERYWHERE and could NOT find it. Then I asked the guy at the desk thingy and he said it came out the 29th. I left all mopey and dejected. Then I went to Meijers later on, and saw it on the shlef. I immediately started to freak out and jump up and down shouting “I NEED THIS BOOK.” I was really freaked out that it was there, and BN didn’t have it. Thanks for explaining!!! I own every single book- in paperback and hardback.

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  2. Yay Ally!!!!!!
    im sooooo happy today! i just got promoted from 8th grade and my aunt(who is the best!) pre ordered GG4 for me!! YYAAAYYYYY! she says it was cuz she knows i love ur books and was tired of watching me read the first ch online ALL THE TIME! LOL! so now waiting for june 29 is gonna be even harder! =[ LOL! keep on writing Ally cuz ur the best!!!!

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  4. OMG! the books being out early? I will so go and buy some this weekend! I’M JUST SO EXCITED, After reading chapter one online… (It wasn’t the free thing, it was the one on Disney productions that you posted about) I’ve wanted to read the rest!! :DD

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  6. so where did you find the book out early? the only reason I ask is I’m going to be traveling and i’d really like a book to read 🙂 but i will wait until it comes out because i’ve been in stores (meijer, target and walmart) and have not seen it out early.

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  7. Hi Ms. Ally Carter! I’m so excited for GG4! I was wondering if you have seen the music video for Round and Round by Selena Gomez. It totally reminded me of Heist Society… maybe that’s just me. Oh well, hope you check it out!

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  8. I’m so excited! Only a couple more days to go! I’ll definitely keep my eyes open for it now, in case my local bookstore does put Only The Good Spy Young on its shelves early. 😀

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  9. i never looked at your website before this, ms.carter,bu t i have been a huge fan of your books ever since last summer when i found the first one in barnes and noble. this summer instead of waiting untill camp to get the next one we went to the library for the second and i bought the third with birthday money. i hope to get the fourth at camp this summer and then i will have to get my mom to buy me the second because she is not really a big fan of buying books that we have already read. i wikll not stop untill i have all of the books (i really hope that that didn’t make me sound like a crazed fan). i also wanted to ask you if you could bring josh back into the story. zach is not a sweet or lovable and jush was just prefect. i have never been a big fan of dee-dee but she really needs to break up with josh. thank you for your time ms. carter!

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  10. I can not wait for GG4! See, I started reading your series when the third book was going to come out. So I had a lot of time to read the first and second then the third when it came out. And now that I have read them all… I just have to wait for GG4. It is noo fun! You also talked about, in this post, GG5… About how many books are you going to make? Because if it where up to me I’d have you make millions! LOLz But I know you have a ton of other stuff like HS2 too.

    And to all those people that do have GG4… YOU ARE LUCKY!

    -Wynne G.

    P.S. Thanks for writing!

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  11. I have noticed this with a number of other books, but after reading your Blog thismorning Ally, I was excited to find that two of my local Coles stores (the smaller mall-versions of Chapters and Indigo in Canada) had already shelved your books, so I just had to rush out and get it!! I’ll probably start reading it tomorrow, after I finish my current novel (okay, so maybe tonight then) But I love your books and was excited to find it, so with some retailers and impatient readers, its a good thing.

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  13. Only the good spy young is amazing! i went to walmart today looking for the new immortal book and i saw it on the shelf and just about screamed my pants off. i mean i literly scream and did a little dance. anyway i just finished it and i need the fifth one right now! and i was wondering if you have any idea how many will be in the series or, im assuming this one will be your last one cause cammies going to be a senior? I wont say anything until the book is actually released cause i dont want to spoil it. but you did a FANTASTICE job. 🙂

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  14. You said that you really want to write GG5. . . So you haven’t started it yet?? Weren’t you already starting GG4 when GG3 came out? When are you going to start GG5? Will it come out a year later like GG4 did after number 3??

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  15. omg i got gg4 yesterday and i already finished it and its AMAZING I LOVE IT SSSOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i cant wait for gg5!!!!!

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  16. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

    I…. Just… Finished… Only… The… Good… Spy… Young!
    EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

    I bought it this morning at Barnes & Noble in Annapolis (doctor appointments up there), and it took me about five hours to finish with my super reading skills! I. NEED. THE. NEXT. BOOK!

    That was… Amazingly unexpected (to everyone, even people with super psychic reading foreshadowing skills, like me!)!

    I love it, Ally! Please keep writing! I WILL DIE WITHOUT YOUR BOOKS. No, I’m serious… I have a medical disorder that makes me slightly insane to the point where I can’t truly handle reality so I need to read.

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  17. i would suggest for those fans who can’t wait is to go to the bookstore and look for it earlier. I didnt expect GG4 to be there, but it was.

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  18. GG4 was amazing! They were so many twists and I loved every minute of it. Ally Carter is an amazing writer, and GG4 is the best one yet. And the ending…..wow. Totally unexpected. I need the next book. I can’t wait!

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  19. OMG!!!!! a book store near my house is selln GG4 already and OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!! ALLY UR A GENIUSS!!!!!!!!!! i LUVD it!!!! its was sooooooo amazing and shocking with so many twists and secrets!!!!! it was completly AMAZING!!!! (did i metion tat ur a GENUISS!?!?) cant wait 4 GG5!!!!!!!!! ;D

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  20. Ally,

    I have pre-ordered a book already and do this with all my favorite authors’ new books. I never get books until the publication date with my favorite authors because it just defeats the purpose of all the waiting. For the books that I can, I go to midnight releases. As it is, I will get a hold pf GG4 as soon as I can and read it as slowly as I can so as to enjoy. I do love you books and wish I was Canadian because A) Canada is cool, and B) so that I can vote for Kat.

    Signed,
    Another Gallagher Girl

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  21. Ally,

    I have three words for you: “I LOVED IT!”
    I picked up OtGSY at a local book store earlier this week (Yay small Canadian book stores!)
    It was absolutely amazing!! I finished it in like, less than three hours because I just couldn’t put it down. I’m excited for GG5 and HS2, and just wanted to say: keep up the amazing work, you really are an inspiration!

    To all my fellow cannucks out there, keep an eye on chapters.indigo.ca to see if any of your local stores are currently shelving GG4 (pay particular attention to the Coles retailers – they’re smaller and tend to have less storage room!!)

    Happy Writing!!

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  22. I was one of these very lucky people, when i saw it in the book store, i was so excited!! I felt a little bit like I was stealing it or something, like i better run out of the store before they realized that it shouldn’t be out yet (i paid first of course…and then ran). But i sat down yesterday to read it and i finished last night, it was AMAZING, the best so far, a little bit like lost in that as soon as i get some answers i already ten more questions lined up. You have trully out done your seld with only the good spy young Ally, it was the perfect book, it was just wow times a billion. Thank you so much for writting, because every time i read one of your books it makes my day! 🙂

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  24. I wanna read it soooooo bad. I have it pre-ordered and everything and everyone is saying it’s awesome so it’s making this soo hard, to wait. 🙂 im smiling and laughing for no apparent reason b/c waiting makes me go insane

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  25. Just 4 days! Just 4 days and that’s it! I can do it! I’d wait! I’d buy the book on the 29th!! I can do it!
    I’d wait! I’d wai– Alrite! I can’t!! NEED.THAT.BOOK!!
    *Runs to a bookstore*

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  29. I just got OTGSY tonight and here is how my night went:
    9:00PM- OMG NOOOOOO! NO WAY!
    11:00PM- I knew it! I knew it! OMG!!!!!!
    12:00PM- NEED TO READ SEQUEL.
    And that is why tonight was the best night of my summer so far. I read the best book I have read in months and I read a lot. Now I’m going to go reread it!

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  30. I just wanted to say I really didn’t like Josh that much. He was so normal and sweet. Zach is way more interesting to me. I never much like normal. Never have; never will.

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  31. I know it was unpredictable and that made it even more exciting. But I caught on to how I predict unpredictable books (I read a lot but there was one other series that helped) so now I could even predict GG4 but that just made it more exciting for me to guess what will happen and get it right.

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  32. I remember checking this website back when Ally was half finished with the first draft of GG4 and that was enough waiting for me. And I tried to read it slowly, but I failed miserably and finished it in 4 hours. And I read slowly to begin with. But I enjoyed it a whole lot anyway.

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  33. Ally I can’t wait for GG4! Its so exciting and its making me want to read it even more after all these people who have read it in less than 4 HOURS!! have loved it and reading the first chapter! OMG OMG! I just can’t wait. You are a great writer! If you keep on doing what you love we will keep in doing what we love…reading your books!!!

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  35. Yeah, it did. The first time my friend showed it to me, I was like “um… They kind of stole the idea from Ally…”

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  37. I agree with Jennifer. I mean Josh was sweet and everything but Zach is so much more!!! I am definitely team Zach! Oh and Ally I really wish Zach could come out shirtless in one of the books already! And I cant wait for GG5 since I just finished GG4 in 3 hrs. ( really amazing book!!!!)

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  40. O ya plus Zack is so much more adventerous than Josh. Plus same here with never liked normal its so bland and boaring

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