Being a realist, Tan had predicted to her husband that the novel would disappear from the bookstore shelves, after six weeks. She thought that most first novels meet that fate, within that time. Putnam Books auctioned the reprint rights in April 1989, which were bought by Vintage Books, the trade paperback division of Random House. Vintage's successful bid was at US$ 1.2 million. However, Random House decided to alter plans, and Ivy Books was assigned to print the paperback version, first, in the mass-market version, followed by Vintage, for a smaller audience, as a more expensively produced version. When the paperback version came out, its hardcover had already undergone 27 printings, with sales of over 200,000 copies. By 1991, the book had already been translated into 17 languages.
Being a realist, Tan had predicted to her husband that the novel would disappear from the bookstore shelves, after six weeks. She thought that most first novels meet that fate, within that time. Putnam Books auctioned the reprint rights in April 1989, which were bought by Vintage Books the trade paperback division of Random House. Vintage's successful bid was at US$ 1.2 million. However, Random House decided to alter plans, and Ivy Books was assigned to print the paperback version, first, in the mass-market version, followed by Vintage, for a smaller audience, as a more expensively produced, version. When the paperba,ck version came out, its hardcover had already undergone .27 printings, with sales of over 200,000 copies. By 1991 the book had already been translated into 17 languages