POSTED AT 8:30am EST, FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2007
Yes, today is still launch day!
However, I feel somewhat like the commander at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, pressed with the decision to “go” or “abort.”
For the whole of this week, the amazon.ca webpage describing the Vowels of Personal Power has been displaying the message: “THIS TITLE IS CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE.” We have been working with our distributor to change this, and she assured us it would be fixed in time for the launch. However, it appears the gremlins have been fussing around beyond her control. Here’s what we got from Amazon through our distributor at 4am this morning:
“Our Catalog department has been working on this and have identified the source of the problem with ISBN-13. The individual implementing the fix has outlined the work required into several stages, which are halfway completed. He said the remaining steps should be done by tomorrow and that should resolve it.”
As the message came through my distributor, we don’t know whether “tomorrow” means Friday or Saturday.
Murphy is alive and well
Faced with this “disastrous” situation, and the clear possibility of getting emotionally hijacked, my first action was to turn to the Practices in our book, and determine which ones could usefully come into play. My first thought was that of “Perceive the Positives,” looking for at least four positive aspects of this situation (just to set my mind into a positive frame).
Four positives that surfaced relatively easily were:
we can demonstrate how one can practically and usefully call into play one or more of the Practices in the book;
realizing that using the practices we describe, I’ve been able to run through this week without getting totally stressed – understanding that being stressed out would not have produced a different outcome;
if a few people do get through to buy today, we’ll get to test the system, thereby gaining a better understanding of how the amazon.ca sales tracking system works in practice, and what we need to do to ensure we become a bestseller; and
without triggering this condition, amazon.ca and Publishers Group Canada (the distributor) would not have been aware of the problem (which affects other books and authors as well) for perhaps another several weeks.
Several more positives followed naturally from that, not the least of which was “we have another story we can share.”
A particular message to reinforce in all this is that being able to talk with someone to explore the “positives” makes it a lot easier. In my case – at 5:30am this morning – I was able to talk with my brother Rod in Halifax and later my wife Dorothy here in Toronto.
Without getting emotionally hijacked, we need to suggest some action.
Here’s our current thought. If you go to the site this morning (Friday) and see the “… NOT AVAILABLE” message, just sign off and – if you’re able – check back once or twice later in the day. If the site is taking orders, please go for it. If not, we will postpone the launch for one week. That will give us time to confirm that we have fixed the problem.
A bit embarrassed, I deeply apologize in advance for any inconvenience this whole thing may cause you. At the same time, I am resolved to make this launch happen, one way or another.
Press On! And thank you for your physical and moral support.
POSTED AT 1:20pm EST, FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2007
Still on hold.
There is no word from Amazon.ca at this point whether they'll be able to come "up" this afternoon. Or even when they might get the problem actually fixed.
The way it looks now, we'll reschedule the launch for next week. I could be surprised, however. Actually, I wouldn't. I now suspect it will come "up" right at the cusp of where it's virtually impossible to make a clear decision on "go/no go." I read that in one of my Murphy's Laws books.
By the way, referring to the ISBN-13 problem that Amazon is dealing with, it has taken Chapters-Indigo over three months to install their "fix" for the problem. They haven't been able to process any books since the book came out in late September -- they're just getting into the stores now, and online they still show 3-5 weeks delivery even though they've got over 600 books sitting in their own warehouse.
This has been a stra-a-a-ange experience!
POSTED AT 2:20pm EST, FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2007
There is no movement on the page. Our intent is to hold out until about 3:00pm and then make the "go/no go" call. As for when we would reschedule, we'll wait until we're sure everything is up and running before we make that call.
Thank you for your patience and for your support through all this.
Boy, will we ever have material for a seminar!
POSTED AT 3:35pm EST, FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2007
The launch is postponed.
As of this moment, the amazon.ca
website still shows “THIS TITLE IS CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE.”
And based on our notes below, we have no confidence that the situation will be
resolved by any “guaranteed” time, so it is probably unwise for us to declare
when the launch will be.
We will continue to update this webpage as the situation evolves over the next
few days.
Now, on the upside, we may be able to enhance “the offer” even further, and
we’ll let you know that news as well.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
We’ll get this sucker launched yet!
POSTED AT 3:35pm EST, MONDAY, JANUARY
29, 2007
Amazon.ca can now take orders! And a couple of people have already ordered. However…
Just to make sure everyone has the time to become aware of the new date, we’re targeting this coming Friday for the special launch. If you’re in a position to support the launch, please make an entry in your calendar. I will, of course, send along a reminder on Thursday.
You can order anytime during the 24-hour period from 12:01 a.m. – 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday. However, if you’d like to have a special impact on the sales rankings, order between 2:00 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. EST Friday afternoon.
Once again, follow the links for instructions on how to order, for all the extra offers you can access as a result of your order, and check back here for late-breaking news.
Thank you all once again for your support.
We’ll see how the roller-coaster runs this week.
POSTED AT 4:00pm EST, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2007
It's still working! Amazon.ca is taking the orders, and it has now been tested by at least three people this week.
So, be sure to join us tomorrow. Any time of day (midnight to midnight EST) will qualify for the extra offers. Once again, if you want to have a special impact, order between 2:00 and 2:45 p.m. EST.
POSTED AT 9:00am EST, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2007
We started off the day at a sales ranking of #2,990. As of now, we have moved to #2,797. We'll be tracking throughout the day, so drop back every so often if you're curious.
And, of course, it couldn't be easy. Guess who else is on the order list today! It's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, pre-ordering for July 2007. So I suspect getting to #1 overall is going to be quite a challenge.
POSTED AT 10:35am EST, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2007
As of this hour's update, we have moved to #89 overall. However, it is not showing up in the sub-category of Self Help as yet.
POSTED AT 1:35pm EST, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2007
As of this hour's update, we have moved to #4 overall.
POSTED AT 4:00pm EST, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2007
As of this hour's update, we have moved to #3 overall. And still no category rating.
POSTED AT 4:45pm EST, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2007
As of this hour's update, we have moved to #2 overall, ...just ahead of the Adult edition of Harry Potter, and behind the kid's edition.
POSTED AT 10:00am EST, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2007
Well, we made it to #2 overall on Amazon.ca. This makes the book a #1 best seller in the Self Help category. A deep, heartfelt "Thank You" to all who participated in this launch.