Oh, woe is me!

DEAR NOOK READERS, I’M SORRY.

 If you downloaded the free Along Came a Demon for Nook from Barnes & Noble, you may have the wrong book. You may have the old, outdated novella version which should never again have been offered for sale, free or otherwise. You should have been offered the novel, but at no cost. The correct version goes up (although the cover hasn’t converted,) . . . and then it’s gone again. I don’t know what Barnes & Noble is doing, or how many readers got/are getting the wrong version.

As a little background, way back in 2009 the only way to publish on Barnes & Noble was by using the Smashwords platform, which I did for the novella. When Barnes & Noble created the PubIt! self-publishing platform, I removed my books from Smashwords and published direct to Barnes & Noble.

Fast forward to today, and I decided to offer Along Came a Demon free on Barnes & Noble. The only way to do this is to offer the book free in the Smashwords bookstore, and direct Smashwords to publish it on Barnes & Noble, where the free price carries over.

Obviously, Barnes & Noble still has that old Smashwords document, because instead of publishing the current, novel-length version of the book with the new cover, they resurrected the old one for the novella. I don’t know why this happened, it’s a Smashwords/Barnes & Noble mystery. As I said, the correct version seems to come and go on Barnes & Noble, and you may have ended up with the wrong one.

Why am I apologizing? If readers go on to the next books in the series, they will think the author – yours truly – lost her marbles, because so much material was changed and more material added when Along Came a Demon became a novel. There are many references which make perfect sense if you read the novel, but not the novella.

I’m sorry I am unable to correct this. Barnes & Noble will only respond to a publisher – in this instance, Smashwords – and Smashwords did not replied to my cries for help. All I can do is say, I hope you enjoy the novella anyway.

How do you know which version you downloaded? If the copyright page at the beginning lists Flip City Books for the cover picture, you have the novel. If not, you have the old novella.

Update 5/10/2013: Although the “open this book” and “read instantly” features on the product page seem to alternate between the old and new versions, readers tell me the correct version now downloads. Whoopee! (Please, please let it stay that way.)

NEW AMAZON FEATURE.

Amazon has a new feature in its Author Pages. Up on the right hand side, you can sign on to receive an email when your favorite author(s) publish a new book. I’ve already signed on for a dozen authors whose books I devour, and I know I can find more. This feature seems to be in the early stages, it tends to come and go on the pages.

This is a good tool, and not only for Kindle readers. Many authors publish on multiple platforms, so if you read a device other than Kindle, signing on could still be a benefit. You’ll know to look for a new book on your favorite online retailer site. Speaking for myself, if I publish a new book on Amazon, it’s going to also be for sale on iTunes, Barnes & Noble and Kobo Books, and probably more as I expand to other platforms.

 ALONG CAME A DEMON FREE ON AMAZON?

 So, you’re asking yourself, if she is offering a free Along Came a Demon on iTunes, Kobo Books and Barnes & Noble (hopefully the correct version will turn up soon) why not on Amazon? I’d like to. Enrolling in Amazon’s KDP Select gives several benefits: Prime members can borrow the book, authors can periodically offer their book to readers at no cost, and the Amazon algorithms work in the book’s favor by giving it more visibility and boosting the rank. However, the book is exclusive to Amazon and cannot be sold elsewhere. I left KDP Select so I could offer the book elsewhere, so no more free on Amazon through the KDP Select program. However, there is another way. Amazon will “price match” other e-tailers. If the book is free elsewhere, Amazon will make it free. But Amazon has to be told of this. Do you want to see Along Came a Demon free on Amazon? Let them know by going to the book’s product page, Along Came a Demon, clicking on the “tell us about a lower price” link just below the book’s rank, clicking on “Website (Online),” and entering the url. The url to Along Came a Demon on iTunes is https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/along-came-demon-whisperings/id621675611?mt=11. Type the price and costs as zero, and hit enter.

UPDATE 4/29/2013:  You made it FREE in the USA! Thank you!

If you live outside the USA and would like to see Along Came a Demon free on your Amazon, you can report the iTunes free book using the method above.