The Free Door on My Book Page Is Still Open

There is a door on my book page that costs nothing.

You do not have to buy anything to walk through it. You give an email, and you get book updates, the release date, and the opening chapter of Fighting Shadows for free.

I want to talk about why that door is there, because it says more about where I am now than the price tags do.

What the page actually offers

The Fighting Shadows book page has two ways in.

One is the pre-order. Three editions: the Early Release Digital Edition at $29.99, the Signed Paperback at $79, and the Founding Supporter Edition at $250, limited to 250 copies.

The other is a short form that says get on the list: book updates, the release date, and the opening chapter free.

The pre-order page puts it even plainer. Not ready to pre-order? Get on the list instead. No pressure. Pre-order whenever you are ready.

Fighting Shadows pre-order editions, dollars

Source: Fighting Shadows book page, fetched 2026-10-13 ↗

Why I will not squeeze anybody

There was a time I needed every yes I could get, as fast as I could get it. When you are at the bottom, you start treating every person like they might be the last one who will help.

That is not a good way to sell a book. It is not a good way to live, either.

The man writing this book is not that desperate anymore. I would rather you read the first chapter, decide for yourself, and come back when you are ready. Or not come back. That is your call.

The counters did not move, and I am saying so

This morning both pages showed 55 paid pre-orders, 22 on the list, and the Founding Supporter Edition at 4 of 250 claimed. Those are the same numbers I wrote about on October 9 in Amazon Gets My Book Last.

Four days, no change. I am not going to dress that up.

One honest note on those two counters. A paid pre-order and a spot on the list are not the same kind of thing, and the page does not say whether some people did both. So I am not going to tell you what share of readers chose the free door. I can only tell you both doors are open.

What the free chapter is for

Fighting Shadows is my first-person account of January 6 and the years after it. The book page says it plainly: where events rest on my recollection, I say so, and where there are records, I reference them.

That kind of book asks a lot of trust. The opening chapter is how I earn some of it before I ask for anything.

If it does not hold you, you lost nothing. If it does, you will know where the rest is.

That is how I want to rebuild everything now. Show the work first. Ask second. Leave the door open either way.