This will most likely serve as my final communication to the book updates news letter, for a while at least.

But there are a few final bits and pieces to tell you about:

1. If anyone in China who ordered the book via Amazon actually receives it (and I have no doubt you will), would you please let me know how long it took to get here from the shipping date?  I’m curious about that.

2. The publisher has told me the most helpful thing anyone can do (besides actually buying the book) is to write a review on Amazon.  Apparently, those are the real currency of online book sales (whatever that means).  If anyone who has the book finds it useful, would you consider typing out a few kind words and clicking a few golden stars here?  You have to register an account with Amazon, but that’s pretty easy to do.   I’ve also added a “Write your own review” button to the sidebar for easy findability later.

3. If you’d like to see the “audio companion site” for my book, it’s here.  The MP3s are all free, but you’ll need to get the book to see the transcript and translation (and sometimes the excuse) for what’s being said.  Doing it this way saved us from having to press CDs and shrinkwrap them with the book.

4. Last and certainly least: because of peer pressure from MDBG, I’ve created a Facebook page for my book.  I have no idea what that means or what it’s for, but I have a feeling that someday I could post book-related news on there as well as here.  If anyone can explain what in the world a Facebook page is good for, I’m all ears?

Thanks again to everyone for the support during this process.  It finally feels like this project is over.  Now I can get back to work on those 45 draft posts that have been glaring at me for so many months.

• Book Printed and for Sale on Amazon Again
• Book Update: Proofing done. Book at Printer.
• Will Amazon Sell Chinese 24/7?
• Book Contract Signed
• And the Title Is: Chinese 24/7

I promised (someone at some point) that I’d tell ya’ll when my book went back up for sale on Amazon and now it is (right here). Who knows why it disappeared for a while.

1. Write book
2. Editing
3. Design / layout
4. Proofing
5. Print book

The publisher is the only one who has any hard copies of the book right now.  They’re promoting it at a conference in Chicago.  In a few more weeks it should be available at stores or your mailbox (even though Amazon is hedging their bets by saying May 1).

I’ve been crazy busy finalizing the audio tracks (164 of them!) and getting the download website built (not really my specialty) but it should all be drawing to a close soon.

Thanks again for the interest and support.

• Will Amazon Sell Chinese 24/7?
• Book Update: Proofing done. Book at Printer.
• Receive Updates about my Book
• Book in Hand
• And the Title Is: Chinese 24/7

If you pre-ordered Chinese 24/7 from Amazon, you probably got an email recently that said:

“Hello from Amazon.com.

We are sorry to report that we will not be able to obtain the following item(s) from your order:

Albert Wolfe “Chinese 24/7: Everyday Strategies for Speaking and
Understanding Mandarin”
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933330821

Though we had expected to be able to send this item to you, we’ve since found that it is not available from any of our sources at this time.  We realize this is disappointing news to hear, and we apologize for the inconvenience we have caused you.

We have cancelled this item from your order.”

In addition to misspelling “canceled,” [I see now the error of my ways.  It's a perfectly normal alternate spelling] Amazon now shows there is only one copy of the book available and the the price is $97.82! I strongly recommend against paying that much for it

Anyway, as soon as I found out about that email, I immediately emailed the publisher to ask what’s going on.

Here’s the reply from Stone Bridge Press:

“I don’t know why Amazon is including that wording, as other times books are delayed or out of stock they give expected availability info.

In any case, please let people know that the book is shipping the end of this month and should be available from Amazon in early to mid April.”

Amazon seems to be confused because of the delay from the original projected release date (Nov, 2008).  The book will most certainly be available next month.  I’m working very hard right now on getting all the accompanying audio files for the book ready for download by April 1.

I’m very sorry for the delay, confusion, and inconvenience caused by these little setbacks.  Thank you again to everyone for your interest in this book.  And thanks very much for your continued patience.

• Book Update: Proofing done. Book at Printer.
• And the Title Is: Chinese 24/7
• Book Printed and for Sale on Amazon Again
• Chubby: Best Paper Dictionary (first year)
• Vote on the Book Title

I’m happy to announce that after an intense proofing process, Chinese 24/7 is finally at the printers!

1. Write book
2. Editing
3. Design / layout
4. Proofing
5. Print book

It’s hard to believe that some machine somewhere is putting actual ink on actual paper at this point. It’s all been digital to me so far.  The great thing about this proofreading process has been that technology allows instantaneous marking and correcting of changes.  I’m in China but I was proofreading a book being printed in the USA. Thanks to Adobe PDFs and email, it’s possible for a group of people almost as far away as they could be (and still be on earth) to work together to create a book.

So when will it be available in stores?

The book ships from the printer on March 24th and I was told it should take about 4 weeks after that to make it to stores.  That puts it on the shelves sometime around the week of April 20.  Those who pre-ordered on Amazon should get it before anyone else though (at least those in the USA).

Speaking of Amazon

I’m afraid I have some bad news for those who have pre-ordered: the price of the book has been increased to $24.95 (from $19.95).  The publisher sent me an email the other day saying that they’d increased the price.  They really wanted the price to be $19.95 but the book is a little longer than they expected and the editorial and layout costs were higher than they projected.  The information on Amazon (which I’m hoping will be updated soon) is about six months old and was an estimate (which explains why the release date shows as Nov 1, 2008 but you can still only pre-order!).

I guess this happens all the time in the publishing world, but I’d like to say I’m sorry to anyone who pre-ordered the book on Amazon and will now have to pay a few extra dollars.  This decision was completely out of my hands.  The good news is, just as you didn’t pre-order it for the full $19.95 price, Amazon will be offering the book at a discount less than $24.95 (although I don’t know exactly how much).

Thanks again to everyone who pre-ordered and thanks for your patience while we all wait in this final “limbo time” when the book is neither on my computer nor in your hands.

• Will Amazon Sell Chinese 24/7?
• Book Printed and for Sale on Amazon Again
• Book Update: Editing done. Proofing almost done.
• Book in Hand
• Vote on the Book Title

1. Write book
2. Editing
3. Design / layout
4. Proofing
5. Print book

I was very privileged to have Chris Pitts from Lonely Planet edit my manuscript. He is not only very knowledgeable about the language, but also quite savvy about reader-friendliness.  It was a great honor for me to work with him.

When Can I Hold the Book in My Hands?

Yes, that’s what we all want to know.  The publisher is still shooting for a March 2009 release, and we seem to be on track for that.  The book is already for sale at Amazon if you want to reserve your copy now (I’m currently ranked number 16 in new releases about Chinese).

[UPDATE (Thur, Jan 29): My linking to the Amazon rankings seems to have been the kiss of death.  Not only am I not number 16 anymore, I'm nowhere in the top 20 (where I'd been for weeks).  Also, the top 20 used to be top 36.  Morral of the story: Keep Amazon rankings to yourself.  Got it.]

• Book Update: Proofing done. Book at Printer.
• Book in Hand
• And the Title Is: Chinese 24/7
• Will Amazon Sell Chinese 24/7?
• Book Printed and for Sale on Amazon Again

I’m glad to announce there are now over ten people outside my family who have expressed interest in my book.  And because they’re asking very reasonable questions like, “How’s that whole book thing going?” and “When will it be out again?” I’ve decided to provide a little mailing list just for book updates (the answers are “fine” and “sometime early 2009,” by the way).  This post is sneakily serving as a test of the new service.

You can subscribe to this special RSS feed or special email list (also in the sidebar under the picture of the book) if you want to receive updates about the book only.  If you’re already a subscriber to Laowai Chinese, you don’t need to do anything.  You’ll get any updates about the book with your usual (once in a blue moon) updates.

Thanks again for the interest in the book. And to you loyal readers of this blog (if you’re still around), I promise to post one of the 34 draft posts I’m working on as soon as…um…I post it.

• Book Printed and for Sale on Amazon Again
• MDBG Dictionary Plugin for Wordpress
• Will Amazon Sell Chinese 24/7?
• Book in Hand
• Wanted: Chinese-Learning Blog List

Well the publisher has spoken, and the title of my book is:

Chinese 24/7: Everyday Strategies for Speaking and Understanding Mandarin.

(click through to Amazon to see a bigger cover image)

Thanks again to everyone who participated in helping name the book.  That contest was started before I’d found a publisher.  When it came time for them to choose the title (yes, the publisher is in charge of the title) I made all your suggestions available to them.  I’m sorry that I won’t be awarding a free book to any of you because of the title contest.  Maybe I’ll think of some other contest where that can be the prize.

But if you don’t want to hold your breath, you can pre-order it through Amazon.  The book is scheduled for release in November, 2008.

• Vote on the Book Title
• Will Amazon Sell Chinese 24/7?
• Contest: Name the Book I Wrote
• Book Update: Editing done. Proofing almost done.
• Book Contract Signed

The bad news is: They haven’t decided on a title yet. So, for all of you who played “Name the Book” back before I even knew about Stone Bridge, you’ll have to wait. I’ve made all your suggestions as well as the poll available to the publisher and we’ll just have to wait and see.

I’ll post more news about my book here on this website as its release date gets closer. I also hope this Spring Festival vacation will give me a chance to post some other articles that have been in the drafts folder for months.

• Will Amazon Sell Chinese 24/7?
• Book Update: Proofing done. Book at Printer.
• Book Update: Editing done. Proofing almost done.
• Book in Hand
• Receive Updates about my Book

I’ve chosen my top 4 favorites (a tough task), checked Amazon.com to make sure there wasn’t already a book published with that same title (sadly, some of the good ones you suggested were taken), and put together a little poll.

“Hey! Why didn’t my title suggestion make it to the poll?!”

I don’t know. Maybe it was just too silly. Or maybe it was a brilliant title for a book I haven’t written yet (some of them seemed like good cookbook titles). I know it wasn’t fair asking you to name a book you haven’t read, but you did great.

Chinese titles (like the name of this blog) won’t work for the book title because I think the market includes people who haven’t learned any Chinese and might say, “I don’t want to learn Laowai Chinese, I want to learn Mandarin Chinese.” If you already speak some Chinese and want to take it to the next level, you’re still in the market for this book. I just didn’t want to exclude beginners with an esoteric title.

Also, I would like to also emphasize that I, as the author, only have partial control over the actual title that gets printed on the book. It’s possible that the publisher will veto my title suggestion and pick their own (although it’s usually collaborative). That’s another reason I want to do this poll, to show some objective data about what the potential market thinks of various titles (that’s all of you).

“So What Happens Next?”

1. Cast your vote below for the title you think best goes with the subtitle above the poll (newly updated).
2. Check back on this site or subscribe to receive updates via email or RSS for all news related to the publication of my book including the winner of the “Name the Book” contest.
3. Enjoy the other posts (like the Tone Changes one I just put up).

Vote Here

Here’s the subtitle that will go under the title:

A Handbook of Strategies for Speaking and Understanding Mandarin Chinese

By Albert Wolfe

• Contest: Name the Book I Wrote
• And the Title Is: Chinese 24/7
• Book Contract Signed
• What’s up with Shower?
• Book Printed and for Sale on Amazon Again

Overview:

• Phase 1: Submit title suggestions (until 12:01 AM, Friday, Aug 24)
• Phase 2: Vote on title suggestions (after Phase 1)

Rules:

1. Contestants may submit title suggestions in the comments section of this post until I close the comments for this post.
2. Comments will close at Beijing Time 12:01 AM, Friday, Aug 24 (which is Pacific Time 9:01 AM, Thursday, Aug 23).
3. Contestants may submit multiple titles in the same comment or in separate comments (so keep thinking).
4. If two duplicate titles are submitted by different contestants, the first person to submit it will be considered that title’s “creator.”
5. Any titles submitted that appear to be irrelevant to the book or inappropriate for this contest will be deleted.
6. After Phase 1 is finished and the titles have all been submitted, I will choose my favorite ones and create a new blog post with some sort of voting poll (does anyone know a good one for Wordpress?). We will all vote on our favorite title.
7. After the results of the voting are in I will choose the title I would like to put on the cover of my book and announce the winner on this site.

The Prize:

• If you are the creator of a title that has been posted in the comments section of this website that ends up making it onto the cover of the book when it gets published, I’ll announce your name on this website AND you’ll get a free copy of the book. So please, include your real email address and name as you want it to appear when submitting your entries. Your email address will NOT be made public.
• Subscribe to receive email updates or RSS updates including the beginning of the voting phase and the ultimate winner.

About the Book:

I thought it would help get your creative juices flowing if I told you a little bit about the book you’re trying to name.

It contains tips and strategies for learning spoken Mandarin Chinese, some of which are already published on this blog. The book and accompanying CD set don’t get into learning the hanzi characters at all (but they’re included of course). The sentence examples and vocabulary in this book are all chosen for maximum usefulness using common vocabulary that reflects the way people in China really talk every day. The CD recordings are of male and female native speakers pronouncing vocabulary and sentence examples. A few examples of my blog posts that have been included are:

• Dots for Tones
• Field Notes
• Gesture Phobia
• How Hard Is Chinese to Learn, Really?
• Is China a good place to learn Chinese?
• Master the Tones
• Pinyin Chart
• Stating the Obvious
• The Informant
• They Don’t Understand My Chinese, What’s Wrong?
• Tone Wars
• What Foreigners Like to Eat in China
• What’s that “zi 子” thing?
• Which measure words do they really use?
• Why does Chinese have measure words?

So now the only thing left to do is imagine what text belongs between the brackets:

[Title Here]

Tips and Strategies for Learning to Speak and Understand Mandarin Chinese

By Albert Wolfe

(I’ll take out the word “Chinese” from the subtitle if it appears in the main title).

• Vote on the Book Title
• And the Title Is: Chinese 24/7
• Book Contract Signed
• Receive Updates about my Book
• A Facelift for the Blog