Book Release Dates

[[deleted user]]

Ann/Michael -- can you explain the significance of book release dates? I contacted my local indie bookstore (actually 15 miles away) to order a book for me, two days later they called to say it was in, but when I went to pick it up on Saturday they said they couldn't sell it to me yet because the release date wasn't until the following Tuesday and they would get in trouble with the publisher if they sold it earlier. It wasn't a huge deal, but I'm just curious -- the book wasn't a Harry Potter-type release or anything like that.

[Ann]

Different publishers have different policies, but ours is that every book has a firm on-sale date (normally Tuesday) and stores agree to honor that date. It's to protect stores that get their books from different sources to have a level playing ground. Often those books arrive on the Friday or Monday before the on-sale date, and have to be held in the back until the date. While some publishers do this just for big books, what is not a 'big' book in one area may indeed be a huge deal in another. So we have a blanket policy.

In this case, it sounds like a breakdown in the way that store handles special orders. I would politely place a call to someone in charge, so that they can fix it for future customers. They should not have called you until Tuesday, or at least informed you that you could pick it up on Tuesday. What an inconvenience!

[Chris K.]

Hi All,

Does anyone know why Tuesday is the usual lay down date, rather than Monday? Comics usually come out on Wednesdays.

[Ann]

Tuesday was the laydown date the record industry used for CDs (and maybe records before, I don't know.)Publishing industry legend has it that Tuesday was chosen for books because that was the date that Wal-Mart desired --they could then combine their music and book shipments on their fleet of trucks to get them to the stores on the same day. I have no idea if it's true, but it makes perfect sense to me.

[Chris K.]

Thanks Ann. Makes sense to me too.