# My Awesome New Time Travel Novel **URL:** \ **Category:** Marketplace\ **Created:** [August 11, 2019, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524 "2019-08-11T23:26:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2019, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/25 "2019-09-09T16:54:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If it’s being sold electronically anyway, shouldn’t there at least be an automated e-mail saying “Congratulations! You’ve made your first sale. Here are some tips to generate word-of-mouth and keep the sales coming:” Ya’d think so, wouldn’t you? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/27 "2019-09-13T23:57:07Z")
I got my first hard copy today!!! Yay! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/29 "2019-11-07T19:04:48Z")
Copies of _The Traveler_ are now on the shelf at **Wicked Good Books** in Salem, MA. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/30 "2019-11-07T21:47:30Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It just occurred to me that I’d never seen anyone treat what seems to me a very obvious fear and problem of time travel – what if your time machine b4reaks down? And you know that no one will be coming to your rescue? Could you repair it on your own, without modern technology? Well sure. You just need a bolt of lightning. Unfortunately you never know when or where it’s going to strike. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2019, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/31 "2019-11-07T22:59:05Z")
Ordering the paperback version now. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/32 "2019-11-08T13:09:47Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Well sure. You just need a bolt of lightning. Unfortunately you never know when or where it’s going to strike. Wouldn’t work for me. I still pronounce “Gigawatts” with a hard “G” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/33 "2019-11-13T00:31:21Z")
I finished it the other day, and enjoyed it. A good story of its kind, very readable, and with a satisfying ending. Question: Is the title “The Traveler” a deliberate parallel to “The Martian”? (In some ways it’s a similar kind of story, as the book itself implies.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/34 "2019-11-13T13:11:32Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I finished it the other day, and enjoyed it. A good story of its kind, very readable, and with a satisfying ending. > > Question: Is the title “The Traveler” a deliberate parallel to “The Martian”? (In some ways it’s a similar kind of story, as the book itself implies.) I honestly don’t know. The title just suggested itself and seemed right. There are other books with that title out there, but I wasn’t worried about confusion. Certainly the parallels occurred to me, and when I described the book to potential agents I made the comparison\*. But I really was inspired much more by Mark Twain’s _A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court_ and L. Sprague de Camp’s _Lest Darkness Fall_. I still have not yet actually read Andrew Weir’s book. \*I sent the book out to – no lie – over 350 agents. That’s 350 _targeted_ agents – ones who have expressed an interest in this type of book, or who I had reason to think might handle one like this. I didn’t send it willy-nilly to any agent, or any YA agent. None of them were interested, except one who liked it up until the ending. “Would you be interested if I changed the ending?” I asked. “No,” they replied. So I found a publisher on my own. That’s three books so far I’ve had published without an agent. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/35 "2019-11-13T13:37:39Z")
Thank you very much, by the way, **Thudlow** for your kind review. Could you put a review on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, or one of the other internet sites? It would help. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/36 "2019-11-13T14:20:17Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > \*I sent the book out to – no lie – over 350 agents. That’s 350 _targeted_ agents – ones who have expressed an interest in this type of book, or who I had reason to think might handle one like this. I didn’t send it willy-nilly to any agent, or any YA agent. None of them were interested, except one who liked it up until the ending. “Would you be interested if I changed the ending?” I asked. “No,” they replied. So I found a publisher on my own. That’s three books so far I’ve had published without an agent. _nods_ Sending query letters to agents is an utter waste of effort and time, or at least it is for some of us author-folk. I was approaching 2,000 query letters when I ceased to bother trying in that direction. Querying small publishers directly it’s been more like 60 total, and that resulted in three signed contracts and nearly that many offers. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2019, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/37 "2019-11-16T02:35:29Z")
Just read your book, and **Mrs R** is starting it now. But neither of us could figure out what the small many-colored disc is that Tenobius gives to the narrator. Is it supposed to be something that I should recognize? Also, you should get around to reading _ **The Martian** _. Pulls you right along. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2019, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/38 "2019-11-16T02:52:08Z")
No Kindle version is available in Australia. If one was I would grab a copy. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2019, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/39 "2019-11-17T23:47:24Z")
> [@Rocketeer](#): > > Just read your book, and **Mrs R** is starting it now. But neither of us could figure out what the small many-colored disc is that Tenobius gives to the narrator. Is it supposed to be something that I should recognize? > > Also, you should get around to reading _ **The Martian** _. Pulls you right along. It’s a diffraction grating. I didn’t originally intend this, but my first readers interpreted it as a CD or DVD, so that’s what it became in the final book (and on the book cover) ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2019, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/40 "2019-11-28T07:35:39Z")
I just bought it on Kindle. I haven’t read it yet, but hey I’ll get around to it. I love Sci-Fi, but I don’t much like time travel novels. However, your premise seems almost like “A Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” thing which I _do_ like. Added interest if the narrator is a local instead of the time traveler. Anyway, it’s 99 cents on Amazon, so I I’ll read it and give you my review later. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2019, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/41 "2019-12-02T13:24:27Z")
> [@armedmonkey](#): > > I just bought it on Kindle. I haven’t read it yet, but hey I’ll get around to it. I love Sci-Fi, but I don’t much like time travel novels. However, your premise seems almost like “A Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” thing which I _do_ like. Added interest if the narrator is a local instead of the time traveler. Anyway, it’s 99 cents on Amazon, so I I’ll read it and give you my review later. Thank you. I look forward to it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/42 "2019-12-20T01:18:38Z")
OK, time to get myself a Christmas present, too, while I’m shopping for everyone else. I’m going for the paperback version, so it’ll still work in case I’m ever stranded in ancient Rome and need an instruction manual. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/43 "2019-12-30T03:26:47Z")
I recently stumbled across a book entitled **How to Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler** by Ryan North. I mentioned it to my wife, you told some friends about it, and they got me a copy for Christmas. So now I have another read. I haven’t really gotten into it yet, so I don’t know how it might relate to my own. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2019, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/44 "2019-12-30T18:25:56Z")
Question: Is this print-on-demand? 11 days after ordering it, Amazon still hasn’t shipped it. Granted, this is their busy season, but that still seems unreasonable, if they’re dealing with already-existing copies. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/45 "2019-12-31T12:45:27Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Question: Is this print-on-demand? 11 days after ordering it, Amazon still hasn’t shipped it. Granted, this is their busy season, but that still seems unreasonable, if they’re dealing with already-existing copies. I’m not sure. I think it may be. I got my hard-print copies really fast, but that was before the Christmas rush. Rogue Phoenix intended this to be mainly an e-book, but I’ve gotten quite a few print copies for myself to give out and put on the local store shelves. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2020, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524/46 "2020-01-05T18:52:09Z")
Mine arrived today! Well, yesterday, actually, but I had it delivered to my mom’s address because there’s no good way to get packages at my apartment, and I just stopped by Mom’s to pick it up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-awesome-new-time-travel-novel/838524.md?page=3)