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Scrivener for Windows: Release Pushed Back One Week; Available for Pre-Order Today

One of my favourite Douglas Adams quotes is this:

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

Well, we're hearing a bit of a whooshing sound ourselves today. We have been telling people that today, 31st October, would be the official release date of Scrivener for Windows, but - at the last minute - we have made the painful decision to postpone for just one more week, moving the release date back to 7th November. However, as a thank-you to beta-testers, and to make up for this slight delay, we are today making Scrivener for Windows available as a pre-order, with a 10% discount which will be available until the full release on 7th November. So, for the next week, you can buy a licence for $36 instead of $40 (or $31.50 instead of $35 if you are buying the educational licence). Any other discounts floating around (*cough* NaNoWriMo *cough*) can be applied on top of the 10% discount for the regular licence, too.

The Scrivener for Windows pre-order page is now up here:

http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php?platform=win

Thus, you can buy today at a slight discount and enter your serial number next week when Scrivener 1.0 for Windows is released (you will receive your serial number immediately after pre-ordering). Or, if you don't like pre-orders, you can wait the extra week. And for those beta-testers worried about the expiry date of the current beta, remember that we have a special trial version available for NaNoWriMo that lasts all the way up to 7th December:

http://www.literatureandlatte.com/nanowrimo.php

So, why the delay? Lee, the Windows developer, has been working around the clock to meet this deadline, which we decided on a couple of months ago based on the state of the Windows version at that time. He has been killing himself trying to fix the bugs reported by our excellent beta-testers, and in his attempts to meet the exacting standards we set for ourselves. But as of last night, there were still a few issues that we felt needed addressing before we could truly call this a 1.0 release; things we weren't comfortable leaving for a 1.0.1 update. We know that pushing the release date back - again - risks annoying some potential users who have been eagerly waiting for the release (which we appreciate, and we hope the discounted pre-order helps), but we'd rather get shouted at for being late than for releasing software with minor glitches we could have ironed out had we taken a few extra days.

Scrivener 1.0 for Windows *is* nearly ready, then - but that "0" signifies only that we're at the end of the beginning; it's just the proverbial line in the sand. 1.0 will - we hope! - be awesome, but following 1.0, there will be a 1.0.1, a 1.0.2, a 1.0.3 and so on, as we continue to address any minor issues left over, and then a 1.1 and a 1.2 and onwards as we continue to refine Scrivener for Windows and make it into the best program for writers - and for ourselves - that we can.

Please let me take this opportunity to thank each and every one of our beta-testers, everyone who has blogged about Scrivener for Windows, and all those who have been eagerly awaiting its release. We hope you'll enjoy using Scrivener on both platforms - hopefully see you back here next week. Thanks!

3 Comments

JH

JH  /  31 OCTOBER 2011

Hi Ian, the coupon codes offered for NaNoWriMo participants are applicable on top of the current 10% pre-release special and will continue through the rest of November and into December when 1.0 is out and at its standard price. As the NaNoWriMo community has been so encouraging and supportive of Scrivener since its initial stages as a Mac beta, we've been happy to be a sponsor of NaNoWriMo for the past few years and offer this special discount to participants.

Travis, it was a hard decision for all of us, too, but I think everyone will be happier for it in the end--users will get a more refined product, and as you say, the NaNoWriMo trial will carry you through the whole month if you don't want to worry about upgrading mid-November. (You certainly can, however--it might be an excellent procrastination method, come to think of it...:)) Thank you for your kind words and support!

JH

JH  /  31 OCTOBER 2011

Ian - Both codes are for participants--the 50% is for those who hit the 50K word goal and become winners; that coupon will be dealt out by the efficient Office of Letters & Lights team in the beginning of December after all winners have been confirmed. The 20% code is for participants who either don't want to wait on the purchase or who end up not hitting the goal (we figure they still deserve a break for trying!).

Since the 2012 50% codes aren't out yet, naturally, those won't end up applying to the current pre-release price, which is only going to last for this week before 1.0 is available, but there are users with winners codes from last year which are applicable on top of the pre-release price.

JH

JH  /  01 NOVEMBER 2011

Hi Paul - Yes, the NaNoWriMo discounts (both the 20% and the 50%) are only applicable to the standard version. Thank you for pre-ordering, and good luck with NaNo!

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