The first book in the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy was released in March 2012 and by the end of 2014 it had sold over 140 million copies. Bookstores all over North America and the United Kingdom all reported dramatic profits with each new installment of the book and setup huge installments to get people buying the books. Even University and College bookstores jumped into the fray, pushing textbooks out of the way and setting up kinky display sections. Things have tapered down in the following years, as bookstores try and find the next 50 Shades of Grey to bolster sales. It looks like that time has come, and its savior, 50 Shades of Grey, again.
The motion picture based on the first book is opening on Valentines Day and this is leading bookstores to capitalize on the film by once again devoting a large section of real estate to promote the book.
The book’s UK publisher, Cornerstone, has arranged a signing with James to take place next Tuesday 17th February at Westfield London in Shepherd’s Bush. The ticketed even at WH Smith will see 10 ticket holders win a Fifty Shades of Grey goody bag. WHS has also taken 300 promotional dump bins for its stores nationwide, and WH Smith Travel stores have been running videos featuring both the film tie-in and original editions of the book.
50 Shades of Grey sold the most copies in the United States and many of them were purchased at Barnes & Noble according to publisher Vintage Books. This is prompting the Nations largest bookseller to once again get behind the book and start promoting it near the front entrance once again.
Even Amazon is jumping on the bandwagon via their audiobook solution, Audible. They have been running radio ads on Spotify this week, and a short audio clip of Fifty Shades of Grey will appear as a free audio sample in the iOS and Android versions of Audible’s app.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.