What Happens When You Run out of your best seller? That happened to me twice. Let me tell you the stories.
What Happens When You Run out? Story 1
I was at Ignite Peoria on August 8, 2026. Magic Arrives sold like hot cakes! I sold six, seven, eight in less than eight hours. After the eighth sale I noticed I had no more paperbacks left! This put me in a panic. (See story 2).
I thought I could sell the hardback at the paperback price: $17 instead of $21. But I was annoyed to lose $4 profit.
Then, in the last hour, someone asked to buy Magic Arrives. I was on pins and needles. Which format would they choose?
“Hardback please.”
Yes! I didn’t run out of books.
What Happens When You Run out? – The Lesson
Always plan for more sales. I had eight copies of the paperback and six copies of the hardback. For a 373 page book, that’s a lot of volume. But it wasn’t enough.
And keep track of your inventory. I have a spreadsheet I update after every book show. It shows how many books I have on hand. I double check it a couple of times per year with a physical count. And it’s still hard to have everything my customers want.
Three formats! Two sources!
From Amazon:
Autographed copies from me! Free shipping! I pay the taxes.
What Happens When You Run out? Story 2
This story is about my other best seller, Zombie Turkeys. That accounts for about a third of all my sales. Way back in 2019 I was at a nearby convention (one mile from home) and I was selling them like hotcakes. Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen. Wow! But I only had one copy left.
I called my wife. “Honey, go to the nearby bookstores and get the Zombie Turkeys on consignment and bring them to me.” Since she loves me a lot, she did.
I had four or five more copies. Good thing; I sold two more copies.
Magic Arrives Excerpt – More Books After Magic Arrives
I’ve got two more books coming in the series: Magic Wars and Magic Rules. I’ve started on Magic Wars already!
Here’s some cool spine art, courtesy of my illustrator, Sean Flanagan.
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