Busy/sunny day roundup

8 comments on “Busy/sunny day roundup”

1. Chris says:
   May 22nd, 2009 at 8:42 am

   Technically it’s “you said you’d by 10,000 copies of your own book, and you didn’t.” Which makes both sides look a bit sleazy.

2. Chris says:
   May 22nd, 2009 at 8:43 am

   Whoops. That’s “buy.” I guess Tavern did “by” the copies – as in passed, walked right on by.

3. michel says:
   May 22nd, 2009 at 10:03 am

   Why is it sleazy on both sides? The restaurant failed to live up to thier side of a business deal.

4. Chris says:
   May 25th, 2009 at 9:50 am

   I find it sleazy when a publisher – as opposed to a printer – makes a side deal with the author to drive up the sales numbers on a book. I assume they only agreed to publish the thing under these circumstances, so to my mind that’s a misleading practice and therefore sleazy.

5. michel says:
   May 25th, 2009 at 10:21 am

   Chris, you really have no idea that they were trying to “drive up the sales numbers”, and you admit you’re assuming. Why not assume they were planning to publish, but only printed an extra ten thousand because they were asked for by the authors? Who do you think they were trying to mislead? Why do you want them to be wrong?

6. Kathryn says:
   May 25th, 2009 at 11:44 am

   You can’t drive up sales figures unless you actually sell the books, which in this case, they haven’t. I can see, in the case of a book like that a publisher agreeing to publish based on an expectation/side deal, since it is clearly a niche market. I think with projects like this, publishers often cut deals like this. It sounds like reasonable business practice.

7. Chris says:
   May 26th, 2009 at 9:19 am

   Michel, I think they’re trying to mislead anyone who looks at sales figures as an indicator of genuine demand. I’m assuming that the intent was to drive up sales numbers because I have a hard time imagining another reason why a restaurant would want 10,000 books kicking around the restaurant that they’re intended to publicize. I want them to be wrong because I’m a cynical, cynical man, full of bile and possessed by an itch to exact retribution for no real reason.

   Kathryn, there’s no inherent contradiction in our positions or in calling the same arrangement both “reasonable business practice” and “sleazy.”

8. michel says:
   May 26th, 2009 at 9:29 am

   yes, we can all see your motives clearly. As for imagination, in this case it would have been unnecessary if you’d read the article:

   “The restaurant wanted to reward customers with copies of the book”

Discuss