Hermetically Sealed

0 comments | Sep 5, 08:03 AM | off-road-disciplines | by Earl Creps

Last Thursday I arrived home after work to find that the very first hard cover copy of Off-Road Disciplines had arrived at my house. Up to this point I had only seen a PDF version of the text and a paperback edition (“uncorrected and not for resale,” the cover warns) known in the biz as a “galley” (named after the Roman slave galleys that bore newly published books from the provinces to the Emperor for his reading pleasure).

Of course, I immediately sealed the new volume hermetically in a handy zip lock bag to preserve it from the wear and tear of showing the thing to everyone I can find. I took this photo at the Mud House, one of my favorite coffee places in Springfield, and one of the two coffee houses (the other being Cassil’s—see the link on the left) where most of O-RD was actually written. (Lots of it was edited at Panera, but I won’t make that mistake again.)

So after 53 years of living the experiences that went into the book and 1.5 years in the composition process (starting with an accidental meeting with Sheryl Fulerton of Jossey-Bass), and several months of telling people, “no, it’s not being shipped yet, but you can pre-order it on Amazon,” the real deal will finally arrive at your home.

The logistics resemble those of an international cartel. Most books like this do best via Amazon, so a lot revolves around their site. All their pre-orders are stockpiled for months, then on Sept. 1, the actual hardcopy books went on the truck at Wiley’s (J-B parent company) in New Jersey for shipment to wherever A-zon has its warehouse. From there, books will ship in the next couple days (nominally the 8th), and should also reach bookstores soon thereafter.

So if you order one…now you’ll actually get one!