Bano Bookstore was the biggest and oldest bookstore chain in America. It had hundreds of stores all over the country.
On August 3rd, the day Harry Potter came out, the stores were packed.
"Excuse me, do you have any Harry Potter books?" a young man asked a store guide.
"Yes, sir," the guide said, pointing to a giant, amazing display right near the entrance. "They're right over there."
Thousands of copies of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone were stacked up. "Wow, that's a lot," the young man said.
Many of the customers in the store had come just for that book.
"Of course they put it up front," a middle-aged man said to his friend. "Don't forget, the famous Bob Dylan himself wrote a recommendation for it."
"You're right," the friend added. "I bet the publishing company paid a lot of money to get that spot."
The plan was working perfectly. In just one hour, that single Bano store in Los Angeles sold 370 copies! That was an amazing number, especially since the movie wasn't even out yet.
...
Meanwhile, at another famous bookstore called Powell's, the manager was in big trouble. They had only ordered 500 copies of the book... and they sold out in less than two hours! There was still a long, long line of angry customers waiting outside.
The manager was sweating as he called his boss. "Boss, we... we didn't prepare enough Harry Potter books! We're completely sold out, and people are still waiting in line!"
"You fool!" the boss, Demi Moore, roared over the phone. "Bob Dylan and I may be rivals, but we don't hate money! Why didn't you order more? Call the publisher right now and get more!"
...
Back at Zane's company, the Golden Dawn Publishing Group, the phones were ringing off the hook!
"Bano Bookstore needs 2,000 more copies for their stores in Oakland!" one worker yelled. "I'm sorry," another person answered the phone, "we can only send you 1,500 today! That's all we have left!" "Sparrow Bookstore needs 1,200!" "I can only give you 800! We're old friends, but you have to understand, everyone wants them!"
In just one day, the first 500,000 copies of Harry Potter were completely sold out.
When Zane Blackwood saw the report, he just smiled. He wasn't surprised at all. He immediately called his assistant.
"Alexander," Zane said, his voice calm and happy, "tell Ms. Hassan at the publishing house to start printing. I want at least two million more copies ready within the week."
"Boss?" Alexander said, his voice a little nervous. "Two... million? Isn't that too much? I mean, the first day was huge, but we heard a lot of that was just because of Bob Dylan. I heard Steve Jobs bought 5,000 copies all by himself, just because he's a big Dylan fan. What if the excitement dies down?"
Zane just laughed, a warm, confident sound. "Alexander, my friend, don't you worry. Don't underestimate our Harry Potter. This isn't just about Bob Dylan."
He leaned back in his chair, a big, happy smile on his face.
"Believe me," he said, "after the movie comes out, this book is going to sell tens of millions of copies."
Alexander was still a little shocked, but he trusted his boss. Tens of millions? Really?!
Zane just smiled. He knew something that Alexander didn't. He knew that with the power of his entire company—his TV stations, his movie studio, and his music stars—all working together to promote it, Harry Potter was going to be a giant, unstoppable hit.
The first big wave was a success, but the real magic was just beginning.
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