Maureen Wynn asked Lois McMaster Bujold:

I am waiting impatiently for Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen (especially after reading some intriguing spoilers about the plot!). But I have not pre-ordered it yet, because the only edition available at this point for pre-order is a hardcover edition. Will this book also be available as an e-book? I have so many dead-tree books my house is in danger of imminent collapse, so I'd prefer to order a digital copy.

Lois McMaster Bujold Yes, it will be available as an e-book. First will come the eARC, Advanced Reader's Copy, effectively the same as my galley proofs, which will be for sale off Baen's own website in advance of publication by a couple of months. The usual price for these is $15. The regular, fully corrected e-book will be released no later than simultaneously with the hardcover, I think. (I should probably cross-check this data.)

It's more important for publishers to get accurate early pre-order data for print books than e-books, due to needing to decide on the size of print runs and arrange all with the printing company, for the books to be printed and shipped by the pub date. E-book "print runs" are indefinitely instantly expandable, as long as people don't crash the server...

Ta, L.

Oh, I should add there will be a pre-signed hardcover edition for sale, too, rather like the one for Ivan's book.

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