Quakebook

If anyone wants to know the story of #quakebook, you could do worse than buying English Journal’s October issue at Japanese newstands now. But if you want the full, unedited free and frank version, go here and click on the audio. You have to follow links at the end of each bit, but it’s fairly painless and tells the whole story. If you want all the words in one place, Our Man took the liberty of cutting and pasting them on his blog here for posterity.

Many thanks to Owen Schaefer who did an excellent job of letting Our Man talk and moving him on before he lost track of what he was saying. Our Man meant to plug Barry Eisler and Jake Adelstein, but forgot. And many others. Sorry. Next time.

Just got confirmation this morning that 2:46 -Stories from the Japan Earthquake – Quakebook to you and me – is available to order from any bookstore in the world. Not only Amazon. Not only selected bookstores in Japan – everywhere.

The edition is a hardback, English language. Print on Demand from Lightening Source (you demand it, they print it – no expensive print runs and it can stay on sale forever). Recommended retail price is $14.99 or 9.99 pounds, or similar in other currencies, less any discount retailers might want to give.

All you have to do is go to your favourite bookshop and ask for the book and they can order it. You want to support your local bookshop don’t you? Tell them to order the book – and quote the book ID number ISBN 978-0-9568836-2-9.

As ever, all proceeds go to the Japanese Red Cross. Quakebook Inc. makes nothing from this (there is no Quakebook Inc. by the way).

If you can’t get to a bookstore, order here from Barnes & Noble, or Amazon Japan here. Should be available from Amazon worldwide too shortly, but hey, don’t wait…

HEAD TO YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE AND ORDER THIS HARDBACK NOW!

Don’t you want to make a difference? Maybe it’s just me, but I have a sneaking suspicion it may just be the human condition. From media moguls buying elections to mothers sitting down with their daughters to do their homework, we want to make a difference.

At any rate, I think Quakebook appeals to the better side of us to shape a world that cares about those less fortunate than ourselves. And more than that, get off our backsides and do something to make that difference, no matter how small.

Well, here’s your chance, Quakebook fellow travellers.

It gives me immense pleasure to tell you that JJ of Fatblueman – the musician whose songs inspired me to come up with the idea of Quakebook – has released his excellent tune Black Water to download for $0.99. You can buy it from iTunes here or CD Baby right here (if you can, buy it from CD Baby, their administration fees are only 9% as opposed to Apple’s 30%). JJ is donating all proceeds to HOPE a charity he has worked with personally that is helping tsunami survivors in Tohoku, Japan, and destitute people around the world.

Please buy a copy. It will make a difference to people who need help.

Picture of a Fender in rubble of Ishinomaki from here.

Some numbers you all might be interested in:

30,666 people have downloaded 2:46 Aftershocks – Stories from the Japan Earthquake for Kindle.
$43,099.95 has been raised directly from the ebook alone.
3,000 The number of copies of the paperback Amazon will produce 100% cost free for benefit of the Red Cross
1,000 copies of bilingual Quakebook edition by Goken sold in June alone.
865 downloads of Quakebook from Sony up to June.

Incalculable: The total amount of donations made by people moved by the stories; the amount of awareness of the meaning of 2:46 to Japan and the world; the difference it has made to the people directly affected by the disaster to know that people care.

To all who have bought a copy, read a copy, donated, worked on the project or just told others about it:

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And there is more news to come…

I’m delighted to announce that the bilingual edition of 2:46 – Stories from the Japan Earthquake (that’s Quakebook to you and me) has been chosen as Hotel Green Plaza’s book for their nationwide charity campaign GREEN YELL. What that means is Quakebook is the featured book at lobbies and gift shops in Hotel Green Plaza’s 14 resort hotels throughout Japan through the summer.

That means hundreds of thousands of Japanese will have a chance to see and buy Quakebook. Many thanks to the good folks at Hotel Green Plaza. Welcome to the book business!

And, don’t forget, from now on, every copy of the bilingual Quakebook sold means at least ¥900 goes directly to the Japanese Red Cross. No one but the victims of the tsunami and earthquake profit from sales of Quakebook.

Carry on all, and stay tuned for further updates.

Just got a message from the cafe–latte–filled corridors of power, and the news is this:

You can buy the paperback edition of Quakebook RIGHT NOW from Amazon.com, right here.

It costs $11.99. Shipping is extra, but Amazon will send every last penny of that $11.99 to the Red Cross, for the first 3,000 copies, at least.

So, for all you long–suffering Quakebook fans — you have two options right now:

1. You can buy the English language paperback (it’s a print on demand, so there are no wasted unsold copies) from the US of A, and they will ship anywhere in the world.
2. If you are in Japan, go to your local bookshop and order the bilingual (English and Japanese edition). Just quote the ISBN: 978–4–87615–237–7 and they will order it for you. It’s released on June 14th – Tuesday, and we want as many bookstores to carry it as possible. Or order from Amazon.co.jp — here if you promise you don’t know any bookshops near you.

So, you got that? Buy your print Quakebook now! Buy early, buy often, but just buy, OK?

Here’s the big news. We’re going free. That is, 2:46 – Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake will be downloadable from Amazon (US, UK, DE) and (as it has been all along) at Sony for free.

Yep. To raise more funds, Quakebook is going free. WHAT? FREE? How can you raise more money by going free? Let me explain…

1. Since its release two months ago, the Amazon digital book has sold over 3,000 copies.
2. The digital book was downloaded for free just over 3,000 times. In 12 hours.

Wow. We doubled our audience in 12 hours, which had taken two months when priced at $9.99.

Here’s the plan:

1. Thousands more will download the book for free.
2. Some of them will donate cash to the Japan Red Cross.
3. Many of them won’t (but would they have done anyway?)
4. Suddenly the audience will be exponentially bigger.
5. Even if a tiny proportion of those free downloaders decide they’d like a print copy of the book, we will be raising far more than by keeping a digital book priced at $9.99 which acts as a paywall against potential interested readers.

The print book is coming in two weeks.

In Japan, the bilingual Japanese/English paperback edition is coming out on June 14th, published by Goken, priced ¥1400.

In the United States and the United Kingdom, a hardback English book will be coming out priced at $20 (I’m not sure of the price in pounds). You will be able to order any of these from Amazon (for the bilingual copy, go to Amazon.co.jp and click on the English language button and you can order from anywhere in the world).

But if you can, PLEASE go to your local bricks and mortar bookshop and order the book there.

Why?

If you order at your bookshop, they will stock it. If they have it on their shelves, others will see it and more people will buy it. More people buy it, more money goes to the survivors. And you want to help your local bookshop too, don’t you?

So, 1. Download the book! 2. In two weeks, order the print book from your local bookshop!

Got it? Carry on!

We are honoured to tell the world that Sony has done something amazing by offering Quakebook as a download from its e-Reader store (and advertising it on their homepage) to all its customers in exchange for a donation that goes directly to the Japanese Red Cross.

How much should you donate? We leave that up to you. If you can spare a lot, give a lot. If you can’t – we understand, give what you can. Download the book with our backing, in the knowledge that you have helped the survivors of the Japan earthquake and tsunami with cash, and equally importantly, with your attention.

It makes a difference.

Donate and download right here.

First, the good news. In fact, really great news.

1. Amazon has agreed to print a real book of 2:46 – Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake.
2. They are going to release an ebook in Japanese, and a print version.
3. And the same in German.

All money raised will go to the Japanese Red Cross. All money – not “after costs” (and there are many when you are talking about printing colour books in multiple languages and distributing them around the world); not “after Amazon takes a cut” (they don’t); not “after Quakebook takes our cut” (we don’t). Depending on where you live, your government may charge tax – sorry that’s beyond even Quakebook’s powers to avoid, but know this:

The only people who gain from the purchase of the book are the people suffering in Japan.

Let me repeat: 100% of the money goes to the Japanese Red Cross. None of us involved in this is making a penny from it. And that’s just the way we all want it. It’s the promise I made to every contributor, every person who buys a copy, and to the survivors of the earthquake. This book tells their story, so it’s only right that they should reap all the rewards.

And now the bad news – the news cycle.

Frankly, Japan has dropped down the list of top stories. The world listened when we said we have created a compelling book in one week. Then, the world waited and bought the ebook – making it the No. 4 top selling non-fiction book on Amazon that week – just through word of mouth. And now we must grab the world’s attention for a third time – to buy the paperback book.

That’s a tough call, but also know this: we will get the world’s gaze once more. I have some ideas that I will outline in the coming days to win the war of attention. It’s a war we must win. And we shall.

Together.

So you want to buy Quakebook, but you are not exactly sure how to do it and whether you can… and just what the blazes is a digital book anyway? Can I read one even if I don’t have a Kindle reader? Enough of the questions, here’s a one-minute video that hopefully tells you everything you need to know:

Summary:

1. Log in or sign up at Amazon.com.
2. Find Quakebook
3. Download a free Kindle reader for your PC, Mac, Android or iPhone
4. Buy Quakebook for $9.99
5. No money goes to Amazon or Quakebook. All cash, less any tax, goes to the Japanese Red Cross.
6. Read Quakebook.
7. There is no 7.

Feel free to send this Video to anyone who might need a little help dipping their toes into the digital pool.