Publishers Weekly today has an interesting article about the build-up to and the marketing for the
Tales of Beedle the Bard, J.K. Rowling's first book since the release of
Deathly Hallows.
The writer notes that
Scholastic, the U.S. publishers, have ordered an initial print run of 3.5 million, which is a quarter of the figure for book 7, but nevertheless still large when you compare it with other novels on the market. They also note that, in the lead-up to the release, advertising will feature in the
New York Times Book Review and
USA Today, as well as online, during late November & early December.
This is the first book by J.K. Rowling to be released ahead of Christmas. This isn't without its problems;
Quote:
Ingram Book Group's director of merchandising Mary McCarthy says the logistics will be “challenging.” The company meets weekly to review orders and transportation to ensure that everything will go smoothly. Although she doesn't expect Beedle to sell at the same levels as Deathly Hallows—Ingram's initial order was roughly one-third of its initial buy for Deathly Hallows—it is still a major title.
She also comments that the charity element, with the profits from the book going to the
Children's High Level Group, should also appeal to consumers.
Quote:
“Everyone knows someone who loves Harry Potter. It's a great stocking stuffer and a wonderful addition to a Harry Potter library,” says Diane Mangan, director of children's merchandising at Borders Book Group. Already Beedle is getting strong preorders at both Borders and Borders.com. And Mangan is hoping to keep up the momentum by highlighting the book on Borders's homepage and giving it front-of-store treatment in its stores on publication.
The Tales of Beedle the Bard releases on December 4th.
You can pre-order from the links below;
Amazon:
Collector's Edition &
Standard Edition.
Amazon.co.uk:
Collector's Edition &
Standard Edition 
Scholastic to print over 3 million Tales of Beedle the Bard 
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