It's been 20 days since In Search of Al Howie launched, and I'd like to give a status update on the way things are moving and what search results may show.
Our little yellow book was a long shot. Al Howie was a mostly forgotten figure of a very fringe area of extreme running. Even in the eccentric world of mega-distance ultrarunning, Howie was alien.
Amazon orders a certain number of books in relation to how well they think a book will do. They had no reason to think that Al Howie would be a story. After Adventure Journal printed a review in their fall magazine followed by a starred review from the literary juggernaut known as Kirkus, several articles from Canadian Running, a seven-page spread in Like the Wind Magazine in London, a nice review in Athletics Illustrated, and a chapter excerpt in Runner's World, In Search of Al Howie sold out all stock in Amazon hubs in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, and Germany. Amazon.com in the U.S. will be the first to restock: new books arriving this week. Everywhere else, you may see messages of "will deliver in 3 to 5 years" or "out of stock forever." These will all hopefully change as books are shipped to these hubs. Kindle has been a real savior as you can't sell out of that!! If you are a lover of real books in your hand, and you depend on Amazon, please hit their links and they will respond to the orders.
Bookstores: In Search of Al Howie is available in bookstores across Canada, including Indigo and various independent bookstores. Several bookstores in the U.S. are picking the book up and Barnes & Noble is currently evaluating it. (Fingers crossed) Several people have reached out to say they went to their local store and had them stock it. To all of you in this category: God bless you!
Howie's story is a worthwhile one for anyone out there that has never found a "normal" way to express themselves. Maybe you, like Howie, have found a niche that only makes sense to you or a select few, or maybe you are still looking for an outlet. And maybe like Howie, people look at you out of the corners of their eyes. But keep the miles under your feet and your ears closed to the naysayers. You never know what you can do!! And equally, you never know what it might mean to someone else.
Check out a full hour of talking all things #AlHowie on Ultrarunnerpodcast.com - click pic below:
Comments