A few days ago, Nora Ephron died and while I was saddened by her passing, I didn't know she was ill, I quickly went to Amazon and checked to see how fast her books were going. It's a truism that when an author, particularly a well known author dies, everyone who meant to read their books suddenly decide, out of guilt or determination, to buy those titles they had wanted to read.
I, on the other hand, am almost an obit reader, a tomb robber, an ambulance chaser. I post books by dead authors as soon as I see that they have died. Terrible, I know, but the early bird sells the book. In the case of Nora Ephron, I had found a HB first with a DJ of Heartburn, her first novel and first big hit. I put it on Amazon where it floundered since there were many other copies, but I only had it up for $6.00; no big deal.
Then she dies, and out of curiosity I check her Amazon number. Her sales number drops, which is good (the lower the sales number, the greater the number of books sold) and compared to the paperback version, the HB is selling slower and for less money. People want to the paperback first, it seems. Then I notice that the NEW copies of Heartburn are selling for $25.00, then the lowest ones are going for $50.00, then for $71.95. The USED ones are more numerous therefore more to choose from. But even the stock of used HBs are dropping. My book might be sold. And then it was!
I had found and sold a number of different Nora Ephron books in the past. I didn't put this latest one up because I knew she was dying, in fact I am very sorry to know that she died. She wrote well and had an impact with the films she made and the books she wrote, her life was a testament to surviving difficulties with grace and love. At the same time, now I can put a little more on my next student loan payment. Cha-ching.
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