Every now and then, something catches you on the hop. And like the Spanish Inquisition inMonty Python’s famous sketch, it’s always unexpected.
Truth is, we hadn’t seen last Friday coming. Or at least we had, but we weren’t expecting it so soon. Orders forCity Babyhave been coming in steadily ever since we got the copies from the printers in July, and – looking at the sales figures – we knew that by the end of October it was very likely to become our best-selling book ever*. So we were gearing ourselves up for a big announcement to tell you all exactly that. We were going to spend a day or so blowing our own trumpet, revelling in the news that we’d reached this milestone, and celebrating the fact that in deciding to publish Ross’ story – which is a cracking read – we’d chosen well.
Looking ahead, we reckoned we had sufficient books in stock for another five or six weeks, and we’d contacted the printers to make sure we’d have more copies ofCity Babyby the end of November. This would also be unexplored territory for Ignite Books – our first ever re-print – and we were ready to make a song and dance about that too, when it happened.
We had everything in hand, and then the Spanish Inquisition turned up.
On the morning of October 31st, the emails started coming in. Orders from bookshops for copies ofCity Baby. Every time we looked at the computer, another half-dozen copies had gone. By mid-morning on November 1st, we had to contact the wholesalers to tell them we’d nothing left. Every single copy ofCity Babyhad been sold.
We’re ecstatic. And slightly stunned. And we’d like to say a very big thank you to everyone involved. To Ross for telling his story in the first place, to Punks Alive in Birmingham who helped us put on our launch night, and to Rebellion Festival for giving us a platform too. We’re very grateful toLouder Than War, and to Record Collector, Sidewalk and Vive Le Rock magazines for their wonderful reviews. And we’re especially grateful to everyone who bought the book, told us how much they enjoyed it, and – more importantly – told their friends. Thank you. We couldn’t have done this without you.
The re-print is now under way, and more copies ofCity Babywill be with us in late November. You can still order it via the website, and we’ll send your copy out the instant the books arrive. And to thank you for your patience (and because it’s coming up to Xmas and we like the idea) every order made through our website between now and the end of November will also include a free gift. Something unexpected.