I will admit that I don’t remember this happening before… I have found a flaw in my publishing plan. Once a book is uploaded to CreateSpace, it is formatted and then sent back to me for final checking. If all seems well with the digital proof, I can then order a paper proof copy, if I wish, or simply press the Publish button to launch it onto an adoring and waiting public. (At least, that’s how I choose to see you.) Once the book is published, I can order my own copies to distribute to bookshops and reviewers. However, this means that there is no way of making sure that the book appears on Amazon and in bookshops on the same day – Amazon is always going to be first.
Ideally I would prefer to have a halfway publication option: press Publish on CreateSpace but specify a launch date, which I would then try to co-ordinate with delivery of paperbacks to the shops. But this does not exist: you cannot order copies from CreateSpace, even as the author, until the book is officially published – and once it’s officially published, it’s sent to Amazon for inclusion in their next update, which these days is often within the hour.
All of which is a long-winded way of announcing to you – stand by your beds – that “Faith, Hope and Trickery” is now available on Amazon, in both paperback and Kindle formats. They seem to be shown separately at the moment, but I know from experience that Amazon will eventually unite them. In the meantime, you can find both by searching for the title. I have also uploaded e-versions to Kobo, Gumroad, Smashwords and Draft2Digital, which between them cover most of the e-book formats. I sell very few books through these channels, but I figure that I won’t sell any at all if they’re not listed…
I realise that it all seems a bit of an anti-climax, but I was lying awake last night trying to figure out how to tie together the various publication strands, and hit the promised publication date exactly, when I realised that the book was ready to go and I might as well just do it! And my husband has pointed out that Mothering Sunday is perhaps the perfect day to launch this particular story. I have now ordered my giant box of books, which I am told will arrive in about ten days’ time, and then I’ll be sending them out for review and making deliveries to bookshops. In the meantime, you can order your very own purple pages from Amazon – hurrah!
Susan Grossey 
Congratulations and best of luck with it Susan 🙂
Many thanks, Roy – your help has been, as ever, invaluable.
Dear Susan
As one of the aforementioned members of your adoring and waiting public, and also a regular shopper on Amazon, you won’t be surprised to hear that I’ve bought a Kindle edition of “Faith, Hope and Trickery” today.
I’m partway through reading another book at the moment but I expect to be able to catch up with all things Plank in the next 2-3 weeks.
Many thanks for all the hard work that will have undoubtedly gone into book 5, and for keeping us updated with your journey to publication day.
Best wishes
Graham
Dear Graham
You are always so kind and supportive – thank you.
One of the very best things about being self-published (i.e. having control over the whole process) is the interaction with readers. Because of reader comment last time round, “FHT” has “more Martha”. And then I receive lovely responses like yours, which encourage me to carry on even when – bewilderingly – no-one from the BBC has been throwing millions at me to turn Sam into a Sunday night drama. Ah well, perhaps now that “Call the Midwife” has finished this series…! Onwards and upwards with “Plank 6”!
Best wishes from Susan