The rest of you can buy your books now!
Posted May 31st, 2006 by Howard TaylerIf you didn’t pre-order your Schlock book because you wanted to wait until after Sandra and I had figured out how to mail things, the wait is over.
Head on over to this page and buy your book, or books. But be warned… these aren’t autographed or sketched. Those books were for the “early adopters,” those pioneers on the leading edge of dead-tree Schlock consumption.
We’ve shipped over 1600 packages, and less than 2% of them were problematic. In those cases we’ve shipped out additional books at no charge. We’ve also switched from bubble-pack mailers to non-bendable book mailers, so it’s almost infinitely less likely that your local postman will fold it in half to fit it in your mailbox.
Wondering whether the book is worth it? Ask around. We’ve got a lot of happy, happy customers.
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May 31st, 2006 at 10:06 pm
How non-bendable are these non-bendable mailers? My local postman has been known to fold AOL CDs in half to fit them in the mailbox.
May 31st, 2006 at 10:29 pm
The book made it to rural Illinois today, and it is well worth every penny (and in fine condition).
And since I’m apparently a bit slow today…
Did I miss the explanation as to what Massey used the nano-cams for? I reread the current arc, and couldn’t find anything. And was there a specific event that caused the insurance company to scream “Fraud.” If these are things that are explained in future strips, sorry for the prematurity. If not, many thanks in advance for any information or clarification.
May 31st, 2006 at 10:59 pm
South Dakota has officially joined everyone else in (at least) ordering a book. I hope that means we are redeemed. ;)
May 31st, 2006 at 11:14 pm
I’ll chime in here with a plug for the book. Mine arrived in excellent condition, even with the bubble mailer. Someone had scribbled something with a red marker on the front title page, but that’s a minor detail. Regardless, I’d be happy to have this book no matter what the condition of the cover. The fact that it’s in pristine condition (until my kids get their little hands on it) is just icing on the cake. Mmmmm, icing. Where was I? Oh yes, the book. As good as the strips are when you read them one a day, it’s even more enjoyable to be able to read several at a time. It’s even good with two little girls hanging on your arms shouting “Daddy, it’s cartoons! Read us the funny ones! That one looks funny, read it!” (They’re right, it is a funny one, but not in a way I’m going to explain to my 4 and 5 year old quite yet.) Buy the book, buy it now! The sooner these are gone, the more incentive there is for Howard to get working on the next ones. :-)
May 31st, 2006 at 11:55 pm
I’ve got the same problem as Nick, except that my book was defaced in some sort of wimpy turquoise. The USPS mailer travelled across the world quite happily and even the French postal service failed to make any impact on it. Mind you, they tend to pretend AOL CDs and such like are worth delivering since nowadays delivering junk mail represents most of their sales, or so it seems to me, muttermutter wasteoftreesandenergy.
If anyone wants to inspect the mailer, I’m keeping it for posterity as it’s got a postal receipt signed by SANDRA TAYLER herself! Yes, really class stuff , get yours now.
Once Howard brings out the other books, my brother’s birthday present is all sorted out.
June 1st, 2006 at 6:57 am
As one of the 2% with a package that suffered a mischief in the mail, let me reassure you – Howard Tayler is definitely living up to his promise “to know that they can trust Howard Tayler and The Tayler Corporation to ship good stuff, and to guarantee at least some level of satisfaction”
Thanks, Howard. Not just for the fun, but for the refreshing attitude.
Sincerely,
John B
June 1st, 2006 at 7:00 am
Don’t think of junk mail as tree wasting. Think of it as pro-active carbon sequesteration. If the tree dies in the forest, it will release all the carbon it stored up back into the atmosphere to zero net benefit. But trees that are made into houses, or non-biodegradable junk mail, they take the carbon out for much longer than just one tree-term.
June 1st, 2006 at 7:09 am
Although my book wasn’t folded in half, there were a few marks on the cover, probably from some USPS machine that processed the envelope. As with another reader, there was some scribbling in red on the front page, but hey, that might help with the value of the book!!!
Still, I am quite happy with my new book. I keep it here on my desk at work and read it on breaks. Makes a good conversation piece and leads into me giving them the website so they can view their own Shlock on their time!
As for the book, What color! What artistry! What more can I say? Oh yeah, why haven’t you ordered your Schlock Mercenary book today????
June 1st, 2006 at 7:26 am
Those scribblings on the inside title page (inside cover)were that of the authors name and “May 2006″ I believe.
June 1st, 2006 at 10:20 pm
Really? You must be kidding. A signature? Are you serious? Get outta here. And I thought it was just someone having fun with a Sharpie. Howard Tayler, May 2006. Unbelievable. Who would ever believe it? And to think that all of us who pre-ordered, knowing we’d get signed books, would all totally miss it. How amazing is that. Could I be more over the top? Has the sarcasm damaged the monitor yet? :-)
Madness takes its toll.
Please have exact change.
June 2nd, 2006 at 12:11 am
funny that, mine had red scribble too. I also rather liked “this page intentionally left blank” at the back, with a further comment that implies that someone might have scribbled there on some volumes.
good book, and the British Post Office (or rather, what we now have doing part of the job that the GPO used to) and UPS together or severally failed to vandalise mine either, although from the looks of the cardboard mailer they tried. The book survived intact though.
June 2nd, 2006 at 12:22 am
Howard is a cruel, cruel man. Oh sure, some people might be jealous that my remaining books were hand delivered by a Howard Taylor look-alike. (Apparently there really are advantages to buying in bulk.) But the true nature of the cruelty shows itself in the mailer. It was sturdy cardboard and no amount of folding was going to get the multiple copies inside to crease. You could still smell the printers ink on the pristine pages . . . yet . . . and yet . . . just as I’m about to demolish the mailer to . . . well to view multiple copies of the same thing, but I’m struck by AN ORIGINAL ART WORK ON THE BOX!! Oh the heartlessness. Now, I’m torn (figuratively but not literally since we’re talking original artwork here) do I throw away the box with it’s sharpie-drawn Schlock, or do I add it to the collection of deadtree Schlock that’s going straight to my autographed books shelf?
Oh the agony that man is inflicting!
:),:) On second thought I chucked it. He said it took him 30 seconds to draw and it wasn’t even autographed!
Thanks Howard. Beautiful books and completely over-the-top customer service.
June 2nd, 2006 at 2:57 am
happy happy happy happy. My book was here when I came back from a business trip to Macon, Ga. I spent 20 minutes with my nose stuck in it just smelling the new. Even got my husband to read it.
June 2nd, 2006 at 5:53 am
*chuckles* Well, mine were in truely fine condition when I got them. Mint condition, even.
But unlike you half-hearted fans, I flew out to SLC and had myself driven (by friends) to the Keep, and was handed my copies (One sketch, two sig) by The Man himself.
I’m gonna do that for the next one too, I think, if school allows for such luxury.
June 2nd, 2006 at 1:50 pm
This thing is a seriously gorgeous book. As I read through it, I was continually amazed at it – oooh, the color, the gloss – oooh, the smell of New Book (which, thankfully, is not the smell of Schlock).
I can’t wait to introduce my other Sci-Fi family members to this. For some reason, they have never really tried webcomics, but something tells me this may be their gateway to the gateway drug that is Schlock Mercenary.
Either way, I can’t wait for the next one. I want my “Intentionally left blank” page to be defaced on that one, though – it’s my only regret about this one. Ah, well, the scribble in front will have to content me… for now.
June 3rd, 2006 at 7:29 am
“it’s almost infinitely less likely that your local postman will fold it in half to fit it in your mailbox.”
Get this – The day we got our wonderful Book ‘O Schlock we also got a package from Amazon. The box from Amazon was left in one of the larger mail lockers. The Schlock book? The one with “Do Not Bend” clearly stamped on the outside? Folded and stuffed in our mailbox. With the key to the large box where the Amazon box was all alone.
Luckily, it wasn’t damaged. A night under the Calvin & Hobbes collection took care of the curve. ;)
June 3rd, 2006 at 11:50 am
I really love the web-strip, and occasionally read parts of it over again. But there was never any question that I was gonna buy the book, too. I was just really, really bummed that I missed the cartooned editions.
Getting the book sure helped me get over my disappointment. Boy howdy. It’s beautiful. I am a *very* happy camper. *Very* glad you’re doing a second one.
I sent one to my sister too, who is now a convert.
All hail Tayler Inc. for a job well done and entertainingly chronicled!
Particular thanks to Sandra for making my convoluted order happen.
June 3rd, 2006 at 6:18 pm
The book is awesome! And as one of the 2%, they were helpful and wonderful and understanding when I was panicking and waiting (with feigned patience) to receive mine. It was well worth the wait and I’m buying more as gifts for friends. Hmmm, I think it’d make a great wedding present….
June 9th, 2006 at 10:33 am
i was one of the 2% as well
the only thing wrong with my order is that it was missed during the signing and howard offered to replace the book free of charge :)
I mean u cant get much beter then that as a you go with custermer relations .
But in all fairness these things happen so instead of howard lossing out on the deal i chose to buy anoughter book and get him to sign that one.
Because in the end hes making a great online comic thats free to any one who so chooses to read it and i dont think he should be out of pocket because of a small mistake , Plus it means i get to give the copy i allready have to a friend and get him to apricate the schlock goodness
thank a ton howard and keep up the good work
Ps the other book arived today in great condition
June 10th, 2006 at 9:45 pm
The book is lovely. My preorder never arrived, but I sent my paypal receipt in and they sent me another one, which arrived Friday. But it wasn’t signed :( Otherwise it was perfect!
June 11th, 2006 at 12:19 am
Crap. There were a couple of those that slipped through the cracks.