Technology Went Wrong… and Then the Internet Saved Me

Or: How I Accidentally Launched a Book and Accidentally Charted Anyway

There’s a certain, poetic irony to writing a book about technology gone wrong… only to have technology actually go so wrong that it derails a fortnights worth of advertisements and launch plans.

Yesterday, Amazon was supposed to quietly begin promoting my upcoming novel, Restart Required, ahead of its official release in two weeks (July 3rd). That was the plan. A sensible, staggered rollout with plenty of time for hype, guerrilla marketing, ARC reviews (so far 2 people have finished the book), and most likely, an emotional breakdown about whether anyone would care.

Instead, Amazon had other ideas.

They did not promote the book.

They accidentally launched my book.

Publicly.

For sale.

Prime members could receive it with NEXT DAY DELIVERY.

Naturally, this caused me to spiral into a chaotic state of sweaty (it’s 32 degrees in England right now) improvisation. My entire marketing calendar disintegrated before my eyes, leaving me with nothing but a useless “Coming Soon” piece of Canva art and a creeping sense of existential dread.

But then… something quite beautiful happened.

BookTok.

Bookstagram.

The Internet.

MyPeople.

I posted about the mishap (multiple times. I spammed people. It was not a good time. I even paid for promotion on one of the videos on TikTok), mostly in mild panic and resignation. And instead of laughing at me, people actually shared it. Readers, creators, other authors, and reviewers. Folks I’ve never even met spread the word.

Friends and family reposted. Followers messaged. Bookish corners of the internet banded together in a way I wasn’t emotionally prepared for. I was mentioned in over 30 stories on Instagram!

And somehow, by the end of the day, Restart Required was sitting at #18 in the Sci-Fi chart on Amazon. (#19 was Ted Chiang’s Exhalation, one of my influences for writing the bloody book!)

Mental.

Because let’s be honest. Social media gets a bad rep. It’s loud. It’s weird. It’s full of algorithms and chaotic dance trends and someone always trying to sell you a fan that will “change the way you think about air circulation” But yesterday? It became a kind of beautiful, glitch safety net.

So this is just a small (and sincerely heartfelt) thank you to anyone who shared, posted, bought, reviewed, or even just liked my post out of pure pity.

I see you. I appreciate you. I am now significantly less feral than I was 24 hours ago.

And if you still haven’t picked up Restart Required, well, it’s out now, thanks to Jeff Bezos.

You can find it on Amazon here.

(Paperback only. Ebook is still on pre-order for the 3rd. Ironically, I’m not allowed to change it to an earlier date!)

And if you have picked it up: please leave a review.

Seriously.

It helps authors more than you know.

Well.

Long day.

Someone pass me the rum?