JK Rowling’s high hopes of charming millions of new, adult-aged readers with her new book “The Casual Vacancy” were dashed by an unexpected glitch in the e-book version..
Made available on September 27 in the United States, the e-book suffered technical problems specifically on the publishing end which involve the font size, color and margins.
The heavily anticipated e-book version can only be viewed in two ways: either the text is too large that it does not fit the screen; or it is too small and illegible that it cannot be read at all.
A lot of eager early birds who have pre-ordered the e-book are left disappointed with the outcome as they pour out their confusion and questions in different social media platforms. Some have even gone to the extent of using a magnifying glass just to make out the e-book’s text.
Hachette Book Group, the novel’s publisher, acknowledged the fault being on their end and immediately made necessary steps to correct the glitch after they were informed of the technical problem by consumers and retailers.
“As soon as [we were] made aware of these issues, a replacement file was uploaded to all e-book retailers,” said the publisher in a statement.
A new and fixed version has been provided to the retailers. For those who have purchased earlier, they would have to wait until an updated version is available from their respective retailers and reload the e-book all over again.
The glitch may have just added to the hubbub on the hefty price tag of $17.99, which puts “The Casual Vacancy” way above the usual price range of e-books. Yet even with the lofty price tag, the e-book has top charted sales before its release.
It can be remembered that this is Rowling’s first adult novel, a big step away from the fancied Harry Potter series which catapulted Rowling’s success as an author.
With the release suffering a major glitch, Rowling may also have to contend with tough reviews, yet we may have to wait if it hurts sales in the upcoming days.