Two Copies

Posted by Bob Greenberger on October 1, 2009

Authors love to get a box full of their latest title from the publisher. But there’s nothing like walking into the bookstore and seeing your new book on the rack. We tend to rearrange shelves, maximizing our exposure and usually making certain books by our friends also receive prominent treatment.

As you know, Iron Man: Femme Fatales officially went on sale this week. Yesterday, I headed over to the Fairfield Borders ready to check it out. Imagine my surprise not being able to find it. I asked a friend who works there to check the inventory.

Sure enough, the computer says they received two copies and were likely still in a box of new releases still in the basement awaiting stocking. Let me repeat: two copies were ordered for my hometown store.

While we were checking inventory, I asked about next week’s Batman Vault. Well, it turns out they received three copies back on September 21. He showed me that all area stores received three, which strikes me as limited given its holiday gift-giving appeal, but what do I know?

I then asked about Kirsten Beyer’s new Star Trek: Voyager novel, which also went on sale Tuesday. I wanted to buy it and couldn’t find it on the shelf.  He checked and informed me the one copy the store received is in the same box in the basement.

If you ever thought media tie-in writers do this to get rich, please think again. No one gets rich on selling two copies per store regardless of how many stores there are in the country.