We promised you an update on the release dates of the upcoming books of the Threads West Series. This is it!

The book industry is complicated. There are hundreds of steps involved in producing a book, then getting it to the shelves and into the hands of readers. The experience is an eye-opener. Ironically, the journey of a story from a writer’s mind to his or her pen, the paper, and finally print and e-books that not only exist, but can be easily found and purchased by readers in stores, online, and other locations is arduous, time-consuming, filled with details and fraught with setbacks. I wish it was as simple as “This is the author, I’m done with the book now. Can I have my copy next week?” Not even close!

It is an intricate chain of supply to the outlets where all you great readers buy your books and e-books. Even after the book is available for placement on such outlets as BN.com, Amazon, Kobo, Smash Words, and ready for shelves at Indie bookstores, Hastings, Barnes & Noble, Costco, etc, retail outlets,  the “supply” to those locations remains a critical factor. Uploading e-books, monitoring and reporting on digital sales, keeping information about books that are out, (and on books to be released) accurate and up-to-date, and physically getting books on shelves in stores and other outlets is called “distribution”.

In simplest form the author writes the book, and the publisher provides the editing, art, interior layout, conversion of the author’s manuscript to various formats for e-books and print books (and yes, even formats within the formats for various e-book outlets-Itunes, Kobo, Amazon, Barnes and Noble,etc- all of whom have different digital mixers and platforms.) Then comes the Distributor, which places the e-books, monitors sales, collects and pays and reports on sales proceeds, takes orders, gets print books from the publishers and ships print books out to retail and wholesale outlets.

A breakdown anywhere in the chain i.e., the author, the publisher, or the distributor results in mistakes, inferior product, and especially delay.

Moccasin Tracks, Book four, was scheduled for release months ago. The release date has been moved several times. This is frustrating for readers and even more frustrating for me as the author. I have met many of you, thousands of you terrific folks in fact, at various locations around the United States and indeed the world. When I tell you that “x will be x” based on my best information at the time, I want “x” to happen exactly as represented.

However, months before the intended original release date for Moccasin Tracks, the publishers and I noticed certain “irregularities” with our old distributor. Their reporting did not jive with our internal numbers. Their inventory reports were short, i.e. appeared to show more books and inventory then could possibly exist given our known sales, including many thousands of books a year from book signings alone which we keep careful track of.  We brought these matters to the Distributor’s attention. Our concerns were pooh-poohed.

Last Christmas, a particularly important part of the year for virtually any industry, particularly books, bookstores I was signing at could not get shipments even of Book One, Threads West. We thought this strange. After many calls and emails, books were finally shipped to stores in the middle part of December but only after the publishers and I had to lend hundreds of books to stores from our stock to simply conduct or maintain signing schedules. Similar problems where encountered with the release of Uncompahgre in March.

Their reports on e-book promotions such as the KDD for the Threads West Series (The Books were #1 Best Sellers in many categories and top 50 or better overall in Kindle) when compared to the rate of daily e-book sales attributed to various rankings at various dot-coms, seemed off.  They refused our request to see the actual, direct reports from Amazon, BN.com, etc., of our copyrighted titles.

At some point in the future I will go into detail on exactly what we discovered and are discovering about our very recently deposed previous distributor. It will be an extremely interesting story for readers not familiar with the publishing industry, and the many great folks we know in the industry.

The focus of this blog, however, is on far more positive information. Our new distributor, Greenleaf (GBG) took over officially November 4, on schedule. Though the old Distributor unnecessarily elongated the process, all inventory was finally removed from their control, and many thousands of books were turned over to GBG.

From the time GBG gets books, their great reps have to meet with the reps from various book buyers, stores and sales locations of all types and variety far too numerous to mention here. Orders have to be placed and received, books assembled by GBG and shipped to central warehouses that receive for individual stores and from there to the stores where they are finally stocked.

While there are expensive, (and not always successful) ways to shortcut the process – and we are employing some of them on all the books including Book Four, Moccasin Tracks, it generally takes sixty to ninety days from the time the Distributor receives a book?particularly if the Distributor has not previously distributed that particular title (and regardless that the title has been sold through another distributor for several years) to cross the “T’s” and dot the “I’s” of order, supply, shipping and stocking. It is simply the way it is. To someone like myself who is used to pushing to make things happen, it is all rather bewildering, and disconcerting. Have you ever pushed a rope?

We are absolutely thrilled to be distributed by Greenleaf, and we are honored that they have agreed to handle our titles. They are among the best in the nation. It is refreshing to have proactive rather than reactive representation out in the huge book marketplace, and it is a welcome change to deal with enthusiasm.

I have not even scratched the surface of what I could share with you. That could be a book in and of itself and perhaps one day it will be. Given all the vagaries,  setbacks, and behavior we have uncovered prior to this wonderful new relationship with GBG, the release schedule for the upcoming Threads West books will be:

• Book 4 Moccasin Tracks– February 12, 2015
• Book 5 Footsteps– April 2, 2015
• Book 6 Blood at Glorieta Pass September 24, 2015
• Land for Love and Money II (and Green for Green Workbook) May 14, 2015

I personally apologize for these delays. Perhaps some of them could’ve been shortened. Perhaps the Publisher’s and I might have moved more quickly with the old Distributor and refused to be talked out of what our instincts and numbers were telling us. Lesson learned. And yes, there is also the reality that your author is not just an author. I am a rancher, my firms consult to many real estate clients and there are many demands on my time.

However, let me hasten to add that writing the Threads West and the Land for Love and Money books are among my greatest passions. That there are hundreds of thousands of people who read and love the Threads West Series, have bonded with and befriended the brave men and independent women who live in the pages of this epic saga is the greatest reward of all.  I truly believe this moment in history demands Americans to  be reminded of the generations of uncommon cultures of different origins that preceded ours, and who and what we are.

That folks enjoy, make and save money, and avoid real estate related wrecks while grinning at the true anecdotes that serve as the instructional foundation of the nonfiction series, Land for Love and Money brings gratification of a different type.  And yes, I would be less than honest if I pretended not to be excited over the twenty-eight National Awards these two series have earned, (two more just in the last week for Threads West ?historical fiction and multicultural fiction) or thrilled and humbled with the numerous #1 best-selling rankings in a host of categories all  the books have achieved.

And then there are the very special phone calls and emails that we receive from individuals talking about how they, their family, and their friends love the books. Truly thrilling and motivational! Thank you!

To sum up, we are finally, after many unanticipated months, over the hump of getting our inventory of many thousands of books and our e-book platforms out of the clutches of the past. Greenleaf is expertly and enthusiastically in the saddle of both Land for Love and Money and the Threads West Series. But, like putting spurs to a mustang, there’s an inevitable delay before you are at a gallop. We thank you for both your patience and your readership! Keep your ears to the tracks!