I’ve been working to a detailed plan on where/how to push the books from the first print run of Make a Move, but one action – the ordering of the second print run – has always been fluid, as I was waiting to gauge response, and hence risk, before putting down another several hundred pounds. And I think I messed up.
It’s easy to tell yourself to remain detached, to not let emotion dictate your business decisions, but the cost of that second print run has been bothering me, and I’ve delayed and delayed as a result. The first print run broke even a while back, so all of my financial risk so far has been offset, but I still have a lot of books with retailers on sale-or-return terms. They’re selling, but I won’t see that money for another couple of months yet so, financially, I’m back to square one.
On Saturday, I spoke to a retailer who expressed an interest in placing an order this week, so after I left the shop on a high, I did a quick mental count, and if I place, say, ten books with the store, I have maybe ten or eleven copies left. Hang on… The print process takes three working weeks, and I wanted to keep five books for myself to put into storage as an investment for if/when my career takes off, so that leaves six copies available to last three weeks. The absolute minimum I’ve sold in a week is two copies, so the bottom line is, I’m out of stock.
The Moral of This Story
I’m an idiot.
Yes, I shouldn’t have been so cautious and should have ordered early. But I’m learning, and I’ve learned from this mistake, and it’s a mistake I can share as a lesson for others following the same path.
In summary: grow a pair and re-order early.
On the bright side, it does mean that the first printing has nearly sold out, so I can’t really complain, but it’s going to be a tense three weeks until the new stock arrives.