When I see that on the cover of a book, I always wonder: this has to be a reprint, right? If not, how did the publisher know at first print run this was going to be a best seller??? Or is this a really stupid question that shows my ignorance of publishing? Hetty
Yeah, I think you're right. Recently released books that say that on the cover are probably second printings of the first edition.
If something does make the list it's selling and needs to be replenished. Those are the ones that carry that notification.
You can tell how many printings there have been of a given book by looking at the book's copyright page. There will usually be a line of numbers, often starting at ten and counting down. The lowest number in that line of numbers will tell you which printing of the book you are looking at. Presumably any book that claims on its cover to be a bestseller will be a second or higher printing.
