Taking Manhattan (and maybe Boise)

Key Porter, my publisher, has this month launched sales of BlackBerry: The Inside Story of Research in Motion in the United States. In the past my books have only been available through such U.S. websites as Amazon.com and the like. This is the first book I’ve written that’s actually on the shelves at major U.S. airports, Borders, Barnes & Noble as well as numerous independents. Of course, there is also availability through Amazon.com and other sites such as Alibris and Abebooks that began as used book sites but now offer new books as well.

So anyone can go into the Borders on Park Avenue in New York, K Street in Washington, D.C., or on the Tamiami Trail in Naples, Florida and walk out with a copy.

Or try Barnes & Noble on West Colorado Blvd, in Pasadena, California, Tysons Corner Mall in McLean, Virginia, or Boston’s Prudential Center. I’ve shopped in all those stores at one time or another, never thinking one day I’d have a title there, too.

Breaking into the U.S. market is as exciting as it is daunting. I am well aware that I’m up against tens of thousands of other new books fighting for shelf space and reader interest, but at least I’m there. For the BlackBerry itself, the U.S. is RIM’s biggest market. More than one million U.S. government employees own a BlackBerry plus there are millions more subscribers among businesspeople and consumers. If only one per cent of that total bought a book, I’d have a best seller. Wish me luck.