See Jane Austen Sell, – and sell, and sell…

PROFIT

Walter Scott has no business to write novels, especially good ones. It is not fair. He has fame and profit enough as a poet, and should not be taking the bread out of the mouths of other people. Letter to Cassandra Austen, The Letters of Jane Austen, 28 September 1814

Newsflash from the book trenches! Jane Austen is a popular author. Really, you say?

This will of course not be a surprise to any Janeite, but it appears that it is to the suits and skirts at book publishing headquarters. She has caught them off guard, and the shelves are empty! Three of the major collections of her novels that were recently released in anticipation of The Complete Jane Austen series airing on PBS, are now out of stock. Gone, nada, zip. Sold out!

Recently, I announced the release of the new deluxe edition of Jane Austen: Seven Novels. Within a month it was sold out! This exceptionally beautiful volume is in high demand, and now that new copies are temporally unavailable until the next printing arrives, it is garnering incredibly absurd prices on eBay. If you have not snapped up you copy already, I have it on good authority that they are in production now, so hold on to your bonnets, and please be patient.

The other two editions were Jane Austen: Seven Novels, part of the Library of Essential Writers Series, which were complete and unabridged, and Jane Austen: Complete Novels, part of the Collector’s Library Editions Series, which were also complete and unabridged and included the humorous Hugh Thomson line illustrations from the 1890’s. Since both of these editions are published by Barnes & Noble, the chance of additional printings is very good.

Since Jane Austen has been proclaimed the “it” girl of the 21^st-century, her selling power can even surprise the pros at Barnes & Noble, who have been selling books since 1873. Let’s hope that there is not too much delay as they ‘retrench’!

On the local book front, the top 10 selling Austen or Austen-esque books of February in my Alderwood Barnes & Noble store resulted in a few surprises.

1. Jane Austen: Seven Novels
2. Pride and Prejudice (Barnes & Nobles Classics)
3. Becoming Jane Austen
4. Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife
5. Jane Austen: The Real World of the Novels
6. Darcy and Elizabeth: Days and Nights at Pemberley
7. Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict
8. An Assembly Such as This: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman
9. The Jane Austen Handbook: A Sensible yet Elegant Guide to Her World
10. A Walk with Jane Austen: A Journey into Adventure, Love and Faith

The store is pretty main stream as far as a snap shot of American book buyers, so you can take it from that perspective. Oh, and having an Austen enthusiasts on staff does skew things a a bit. ;) Happy reading to all.

*image of greeting cards, “What Would Jane Say”, available at the Pemberley Shoppe at Cafepress.com