Jaime Clarke’s new novel, Vernon Downs, will be published in 2014 by Roundabout Press. But you don’t have to wait ’til then — Roundabout will ship the book directly to you in December.

The catch?

Don’t preorder the book on Amazon — order directly from the publisher. You can read Jaime’s personal message at his aptly named website, http://pleasedontbuymybookonamazon.com/.

A disclaimer here: Jaime and his wife Mary are friends, and also co-owners of Newtonville Books,  an independent bookstore here in Boston which I like to link to (you may have noticed). But even if Jaime weren’t a friend (and a great writer, and a great curator of the written word — see Baum’s Bazaar), I’d still be writing about his excellent plan. It’s a gutsy move that’s gotten some press, and I hope it reaches a wider audience.

If you order Vernon Downs directly from Roundabout before its official April release, perks abound:

1. You’ll receive your copy in the mail in December — five months early.

2. You can enter the name of your favorite independent bookstore in the Special Instructions section at checkout, and Roundabout will send 50% of the monies (excluding shipping) to that store.

3. Jaime is forgoing all royalties until April, so your entire purchase supports independent publishing and bookselling.

And, as a special treat, if you order before midnight (EST) on October 28th, Roundabout will send you an audio clip of Chris Cooper (!) reading a selection from Vernon Downs. I’ve been pretty much entirely in love with since Chris Cooper October Sky, so . . . yeah.

I’m excited. I hope you are too.

If you have any other great ideas or news items about saving independent presses, please share!