But remaindering - when publishers sell books at massively reduced prices to bargain shops who then offer them at knockdown discounts - happens to most authors at one point or another, whether they are the duds of James's poem or not. (Stephen King even has a rock band called the Rock Bottom Remainders. Publishers predict sales as closely as they can, but they're never going to get their print runs exactly right and often end up over-printing. They'll then be unlikely to want copies of a book with dwindling sales to take up valuable warehouse space, so will sell the books on cheaply to the discount stores.

And although the author will receive minimal - if any - royalties on these sales, it's not all bad. A good presence in the bargain bookshops will mean exposure to the sorts of readers who might not frequent Waterstone's; writer Mark Leslie says on his blog that he has discovered many new authors through the joys of remainders and bargain books. "I'm not always willing to take a chance on a writer I'm unfamiliar with for $30, but I'll usually be more tempted to try them out for under $10. And I have often gone back and bought other books by authors I've discovered through bargain books and also recommended books by these authors for others to enjoy - so, hopefully, I've helped increase different author's royalty payments despite their having been remaindered."