Today is the official publication date of the Hieroglyph anthology. Huzzah!
A word about publication dates: they're almost meaningless. At one time the pub date (that's cool writers-n-publishers slang for publication date) was the day the book actually went on sale. You still see that occasionally, for big best-seller releases like the later Harry Potter novels. The publisher actually embargoed the book until 12:01 a.m. on the publication date.
But usually the publication date is just a day on the calendar. It doesn't mark the start of the marketing campaign — that begins weeks earlier. It doesn't have much to do with the availability of the book; that has more to do with when the cartons of reach Amazon's distribution centers. The authors have all seen their copies long before, and review copies went out months ago.
So why do we have a publication date at all? Well, some elements of an author's contract are tied to it, and it certainly is useful to have a stake in the ground for planning purposes. If the pub date for Hieroglyph is September 9, then the promotions department knows review copies have to be sent out in March, and signings should be set up for the month of September. The print buyer has that as the ship date for negotiations with the printer, and so forth.
But I also think there's a sentimental reason. Authors and editors both frequently talk about books as their "babies." It's only natural that you want to have a birth date for your baby. I suspect this reason may be as important as all the others, though nobody will admit it. So, happy birthday Hieroglyph!
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