UNBOXING

2017-06-27 · announcement · John · 3:43 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Books & writing · mode: Announcements · tags: self promotion, community lore

In an 'unboxing', John reveals the boxes of sheets he has been signing for six months: not every Turtles All the Way Down pre-order will be signed, since the first printing is about 1.5 million copies, but he will sign at least 200,000 (US and Canada only), sold under a separate signed-edition ISBN; he also asks for help choosing Sharpie colours.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Unboxing: not boxes all the way down but sheets John has been signing; not every pre-order will be signed

• ★ As previously noted, opening one of the boxes reveals another box, but it is not boxes all the way down: this box holds paper, 2,000 sheets. (playful) — 00:00:03
• ★★ John has been signing the sheets one at a time, off and on, for about six months, and it was hard to keep secret. — 00:00:17

00:00:41 — First printings: TFIOS 150,000 vs Turtles 1.5 million; John will sign at least 200,000, US and Canada only

• ★★ Signing all pre-orders means signing the whole first printing; for The Fault in Our Stars that was 150,000, charted on a 2011 poster Sarah made, and John signed almost all its pre-orders. — 00:00:46 · The Fault in Our Stars, Sarah Urist Green
• ★★ Turtles All the Way Down will have a first printing of about 1.5 million copies, too many to sign. (hedged) — 00:00:58 · Turtles All the Way Down
• ★★★ John will sign at least 200,000 copies of the book, hopefully slightly more. (hedged) — 00:01:08 · Turtles All the Way Down
• ★★★ Asked whether all pre-orders of Turtles All the Way Down will be signed, John says clearly no. — 00:01:13 · Turtles All the Way Down
• ★★ The signed copies are only for the US and Canada. — 00:01:18 · United States, Canada
• ★ John apologises to readers outside the US and Canada, joking that by not being American they probably get universal health care, maybe worth more than an autograph. (playful, hedged) — 00:01:21 · United States, Canada

00:01:31 — ISBN tangent: publisher prefixes and becoming a 0-525 at Dutton

• ★★ Every book has an ISBN; they used to be 10 digits and are now 13. — 00:01:31
• ★★ For many years a large part of John's job was typing ISBNs into a database, so he knows a lot about them. — 00:01:36
• ★★ Each publisher has its own ISBN prefix: 0-06 is HarperCollins, 0-316 Little, Brown, and 1-224 the University of Chicago Press. — 00:01:45
  • a number in question (doubtful): "1-224" — check against the recording
• ★★ John's first thought on learning Dutton would publish Looking for Alaska was that he would be a '0-525'; he is proud still to be published by Dutton. — 00:01:56 · Looking for Alaska (novel)
• ★★★ Turtles All the Way Down has two ISBNs, one for signed books; bookstores, Target and Amazon will all have signed copies, and ordering that ISBN gives the best chance of a signature at no extra cost. — 00:02:08 · Turtles All the Way Down, Amazon

00:02:10 — The signed-edition ISBN and where to order it

• ★★ If he were the viewer, John would order the book from a local bookstore. — 00:02:33

00:02:39 — Sarah's turtle thermometer (80,000 signed) and the family's doodles on the sheets

• ★★ Sarah turned the 2011 chart into a 2017 thermometer resting on stacked turtles; since January John has signed 80,000 and has about two months to reach his goal. (hedged) — 00:02:52 · Sarah Urist Green
• ★★ Most sheets are just signed, but about 3% carry a DFTBA, some have yetis drawn by Sarah, a few were circled in hot pink by Alice and several hundred bear Henry's Pokéballs: a family affair. (hedged) — 00:03:08 · DFTBA, Sarah Urist Green, Alice Green, Henry Green

00:03:21 — Recap, pre-order pointer, Sharpie-colour survey and sign-off

• ★★ John says he is so excited and also so relieved to have a new book coming out. — 00:03:24 · Turtles All the Way Down
• ★★★ John tells viewers in the US or Canada they can pre-order a signed copy at their local bookstore or via the links in the description. — 00:03:27 · Turtles All the Way Down, United States, Canada
• ★★ In a P.S., John asks for help deciding which Sharpie colours to use, via a survey in the description. — 00:03:37 · Sharpie

In the description and comments

• ★★ Amazon and Barnes & Noble have sold through their allocations of signed copies of Turtles All the Way Down; unsigned copies can still be pre-ordered there. — video description · Turtles All the Way Down, Amazon, Barnes & Noble · first in: 2017-06-22, My New Book

Threads in this video

• callback · John's boxes: opening one reveals another box (in a Question Tuesday, 2017) — As previously noted, opening one of the boxes reveals another box, but it is not boxes all the way down: this box holds paper, 2,000 sheets. (00:00:03) → refers to Boxes, Butterflies, and Regular Aunts: Live from the Past, It's Question Tuesday
• recalled · John: sign every copy of The Fault in Our Stars (2011) — Signing all pre-orders means signing the whole first printing; for The Fault in Our Stars that was 150,000, charted on a 2011 poster Sarah made, and John signed almost all its pre-orders. (00:00:46)
• promised · John: sign at least 200,000 copies of Turtles All the Way Down (2017) — John will sign at least 200,000 copies of the book, hopefully slightly more. (00:01:08)
• progress update · John: sign at least 200,000 copies of Turtles All the Way Down (2017) — Sarah turned the 2011 chart into a 2017 thermometer resting on stacked turtles; since January John has signed 80,000 and has about two months to reach his goal. (00:02:52)
• reminder · John asks viewers to pre-order signed copies of Turtles All the Way Down (2017) — John tells viewers in the US or Canada they can pre-order a signed copy at their local bookstore or via the links in the description. (00:03:27)
• asked · John asks viewers to help choose Sharpie colours for signing Turtles All the Way Down via a survey (2017) — In a P.S., John asks for help deciding which Sharpie colours to use, via a survey in the description. (00:03:37)
• restate · Should everyone be guaranteed health care? — John apologises to readers outside the US and Canada, joking that by not being American they probably get universal health care, maybe worth more than an autograph. (00:01:21)
• result reported · John asks viewers to leave questions about Turtles All the Way Down in comments (2017) — Asked whether all pre-orders of Turtles All the Way Down will be signed, John says clearly no. (00:01:13)
• kept · John: answer viewers' questions about Turtles All the Way Down in next Tuesday's video (2017) — Asked whether all pre-orders of Turtles All the Way Down will be signed, John says clearly no. (00:01:13)

Where the stories that moved here went next

• John: sign at least 200,000 copies of Turtles All the Way Down (2017) — kept; last: recalled, 2021-04-02
• John asks viewers to leave questions about Turtles All the Way Down in comments (2017) — reported back; last: result reported, 2017-06-27
• John asks viewers to help choose Sharpie colours for signing Turtles All the Way Down via a survey (2017) — reported back; last: result reported, 2017-07-11
• John: answer viewers' questions about Turtles All the Way Down in next Tuesday's video (2017) — kept

Mentioned

Central: Turtles All the Way Down

Also: People: Alice Green · Henry Green · Sarah Urist Green

Works: Looking for Alaska (novel) · The Fault in Our Stars

Organizations: Amazon · Dutton Books · HarperCollins · Little, Brown and Company · Target Corporation · University of Chicago Press

Terms: DFTBA

Concepts: ISBN · universal health care

Places: Canada · United States

Characters: Poké Ball

Products: Sharpie

Only in the description or credits: Barnes & Noble

Replies to

• continues · My New Book — “when I announced last week that I finally have a new book coming out”

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