Oh gosh, I’m so sorry to hear this. I was so excited to visit Nooks over Memorial Day weekend and fortuitously snagged a copy of your book. I am sorry to not have been able to meet you in person. In that strange sense of timing, I was away for a couple nights seeking respite from caring for my mom (who has since passed). I only read a few pages so far, but I can tell this is the kind of book I’m going to need to saunter my way through slowly, perhaps in a cabin in the woods somewhere.(just ordered another copy from Nooks… and I would love a print if there are any of those left).
Oh, I'm so glad you were able to grab a copy =) I hope you like it. The prints are, sadly, all gone. However you can email me and I'll send you a digital file which you can print out =)
Thank you for sharing your story! I'm in the midst of my first preorder/publishing go-around, and it is a lot of pressure. I am so sorry for your experience and all the bumps, disappointments, and grieving that came along with your labor of love. I haven't ever read any of your books, but reading this post makes me want to! You are a beautiful writer.
I've been reading your Substack for a few years, and I've had The Understory on my TBR list for a while now. We moved from NYC to Salt Lake in 2023. Between the move and a few other things, I have held a lot of grief and hope all tangled up over the past few years. I don't know why I've waited to order your book, but I'm glad to have ordered one of the last copies from Nooks just now. I can't wait to hold it in my hands and read your words. I'm sorry your book is no longer vertical. I hope the remaining copies and the ones I know will be ordered through print on demand offer readers a good place to rest.
What a beautiful story. My wife has been dealing with the loss of her mother for years now and my hope is that as we read this book together I can begin to help her through her struggle. I just ordered it form the Nooks site. Thank you for your work.
I bought it early! What a gift. Now I’ll treasure it even more than Tree 103 is treasured. I can’t remember why or where I bought it. I know only that a heart beats within it. And it’s in my home, breathing and beating and being.
Your entire story is tragic! I read through it early this morning and am tormented by it still.
It explains the recent frustration I've had ordering books from Amazon. It surprised me that some of the titles I sought to order could be delivered in a day or even overnight....and I live in the midwest and wondered why the warehouse over 50 miles away would have said book in stock.
Twice, no three times now, said books have arrived. I wonder why there was a type of ISBN number on the back page. First book was fine. Second book split upon opening, the cover was printed wonky, and was very difficult to keep open comfortably. I got a refund but ordered the book used and happy with it.
We're on a budget -- yet books are critical to our work. Amazon makes it so easy to get the book in our hands quickly. I tried to beat the system and ordered a fourth book -- from a used-book outlet, to bypass the POD. It arrived yesterday and promptly pooped out as soon as I opened it. Pages fell out and I knew I'd been had!
But I needed the book...so tore out all the pages, hole-punched it to fit a 3-ring binder. Of course that is not the solution to this issue. I could give up and read digital only, but to own the product in my hands, to sense the words from the author poured out on the page is necessary to the satisfaction of the product. How are we consumers to know when and which books ordered will be POD or the 'real' deal?
I'm so very sorry you had to go through this! But thanks for alerting the reading world of the woes of big-business-publication.
Yup. This is why it's such a problem when books go to POD. We literally have no quality control any longer. I opened one box of the POD books at Nooks last week and the quality was okay, not great, but not terrible. Two days later I opened another box and it was AWFUL, and I feel terrible about that. Readers shouldn't have to pay (literally!) when decisions like this get made and unfortunately they (and authors) do.
I just ordered it from Amazon--it was sold out at Nook. It's already here and in the 'To be Read when I can' Pile! I appreciate your honesty in telling the book's story and reminding us that even success doesn't always mean what we think it does. I think this book might be a valuable addition to my ministry library.
Thank you for writing The Understory - it's a beautiful book and I am grateful for you. My second back had a parallel journey to this one. POD on amazon sent out books before the real copies went out - no gold foil, very ugly look, and it was so upsetting. There were a million other little things and it was so hard. But look what you've built here, Lore. A glorious community who loves your words. Rooting for you always.
Just ordered! Curious if it's a foil in any way to the Richard Powers novel, "The Overstory." I walk through the woods most days and encounter everything from great blue herons to running herds of deer to coyotes, foxes, rabbits and the pedestrian squirrels — to say nothing of the leatherleaf mahonia, mountain azaleas, maidenhair ferns and wild strawberries among the flora along the creek. Look forward to exploring the mystery, the metaphors and the minutiae uncovered along your forest floor.
It wasn't intended to be a foil, though that is one of my favorite books. The Overstory is more a foil than The Understory is, after all, as the understory is a real thing and the overstory is the clever mechanism Powers uses to tell the story of the forest =)
Just bought your book off Amazon! I’m so glad that you wrote this, that I read it and that I was made aware of this book.
Wow, this is painful but because I haven't read this book of yours, but now I really feel like I need to now!
Wonderful read, thanks for sharing your journey, and the opportunity to order the book! Can't wait to read it!
Thanks, Travis =)
Great read, thanks for sharing!
Eerie coincidence: I encountered "The Overstory" a 2018 novel by Richard Powers today at a Half Off bookshop in Fullerton.
Oh gosh, I’m so sorry to hear this. I was so excited to visit Nooks over Memorial Day weekend and fortuitously snagged a copy of your book. I am sorry to not have been able to meet you in person. In that strange sense of timing, I was away for a couple nights seeking respite from caring for my mom (who has since passed). I only read a few pages so far, but I can tell this is the kind of book I’m going to need to saunter my way through slowly, perhaps in a cabin in the woods somewhere.(just ordered another copy from Nooks… and I would love a print if there are any of those left).
Oh, I'm so glad you were able to grab a copy =) I hope you like it. The prints are, sadly, all gone. However you can email me and I'll send you a digital file which you can print out =)
Thank you for sharing your story! I'm in the midst of my first preorder/publishing go-around, and it is a lot of pressure. I am so sorry for your experience and all the bumps, disappointments, and grieving that came along with your labor of love. I haven't ever read any of your books, but reading this post makes me want to! You are a beautiful writer.
Thank you, Melissa. I really hope your experience is good, good, good, all the way through!
I've been reading your Substack for a few years, and I've had The Understory on my TBR list for a while now. We moved from NYC to Salt Lake in 2023. Between the move and a few other things, I have held a lot of grief and hope all tangled up over the past few years. I don't know why I've waited to order your book, but I'm glad to have ordered one of the last copies from Nooks just now. I can't wait to hold it in my hands and read your words. I'm sorry your book is no longer vertical. I hope the remaining copies and the ones I know will be ordered through print on demand offer readers a good place to rest.
Thank you, Jodie. That means a lot to me. I hope the book meets you where you are, truly.
Bought one ✔️ I’ve had this on a tbr list for a while and now it’s happening.
Thank you, Kara!
What a beautiful story. My wife has been dealing with the loss of her mother for years now and my hope is that as we read this book together I can begin to help her through her struggle. I just ordered it form the Nooks site. Thank you for your work.
Thank you, Matthew. I'm so sorry about your wife's loss. I hope there's comfort in The Understory.
I bought it early! What a gift. Now I’ll treasure it even more than Tree 103 is treasured. I can’t remember why or where I bought it. I know only that a heart beats within it. And it’s in my home, breathing and beating and being.
Thank you! That means a lot to me!
Your entire story is tragic! I read through it early this morning and am tormented by it still.
It explains the recent frustration I've had ordering books from Amazon. It surprised me that some of the titles I sought to order could be delivered in a day or even overnight....and I live in the midwest and wondered why the warehouse over 50 miles away would have said book in stock.
Twice, no three times now, said books have arrived. I wonder why there was a type of ISBN number on the back page. First book was fine. Second book split upon opening, the cover was printed wonky, and was very difficult to keep open comfortably. I got a refund but ordered the book used and happy with it.
We're on a budget -- yet books are critical to our work. Amazon makes it so easy to get the book in our hands quickly. I tried to beat the system and ordered a fourth book -- from a used-book outlet, to bypass the POD. It arrived yesterday and promptly pooped out as soon as I opened it. Pages fell out and I knew I'd been had!
But I needed the book...so tore out all the pages, hole-punched it to fit a 3-ring binder. Of course that is not the solution to this issue. I could give up and read digital only, but to own the product in my hands, to sense the words from the author poured out on the page is necessary to the satisfaction of the product. How are we consumers to know when and which books ordered will be POD or the 'real' deal?
I'm so very sorry you had to go through this! But thanks for alerting the reading world of the woes of big-business-publication.
Yup. This is why it's such a problem when books go to POD. We literally have no quality control any longer. I opened one box of the POD books at Nooks last week and the quality was okay, not great, but not terrible. Two days later I opened another box and it was AWFUL, and I feel terrible about that. Readers shouldn't have to pay (literally!) when decisions like this get made and unfortunately they (and authors) do.
I just ordered it from Amazon--it was sold out at Nook. It's already here and in the 'To be Read when I can' Pile! I appreciate your honesty in telling the book's story and reminding us that even success doesn't always mean what we think it does. I think this book might be a valuable addition to my ministry library.
Thanks!
Thank you for writing The Understory - it's a beautiful book and I am grateful for you. My second back had a parallel journey to this one. POD on amazon sent out books before the real copies went out - no gold foil, very ugly look, and it was so upsetting. There were a million other little things and it was so hard. But look what you've built here, Lore. A glorious community who loves your words. Rooting for you always.
Thanks, Ashley. I hate that it happened to you too. What a bully that place is...taking all the magic out of everything.
Just ordered! Curious if it's a foil in any way to the Richard Powers novel, "The Overstory." I walk through the woods most days and encounter everything from great blue herons to running herds of deer to coyotes, foxes, rabbits and the pedestrian squirrels — to say nothing of the leatherleaf mahonia, mountain azaleas, maidenhair ferns and wild strawberries among the flora along the creek. Look forward to exploring the mystery, the metaphors and the minutiae uncovered along your forest floor.
It wasn't intended to be a foil, though that is one of my favorite books. The Overstory is more a foil than The Understory is, after all, as the understory is a real thing and the overstory is the clever mechanism Powers uses to tell the story of the forest =)
Heartbreaking, but thank you for the gift of transparency. The Understory is an excellent book, and deserves to be widely read. Grieving with you.
Thank you, Marcia.