Weekly Writers: Publication Dates

Convenient Fictions

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A note on publication dates for books, and a convenient fiction related to them.

Usually they are just listed as a year, e.g. 2023. Sometimes with a note on when material was updated:

This gives you an idea of how old the book is.

So if a book comes out in January 2023, all is well. The publication date will match the current calendar year for a full twelve months, looking like it is fresh off the press.

However, if a book comes out in December 2023, then after a few weeks it will seem like it is a year old to potential purchasers. “That book is from last year, I’ll get this other one, it is more current.” Of course, in reality, the book is only a month old.