aprilhenry (aprilhenry) wrote,
aprilhenry
aprilhenry

How a publisher can MAKE a bestseller - if they want

In hardcover, Elizabeth Gilbert's EAT, PRAY, LOVE sold 25,000 copies. The Wall Street Journal calls that mid-list. I'd call it pretty damn good. Anything over 10,000 is pretty good. The WSJ also looks at how "the book's transformation from respectable-selling hardcover to paperback sensation was no accident. It came about after a series of calculated moves from Viking's sister Penguin paperback line, where executives worked to interpret sales patterns and create a marketing blitz to attract individual readers as well as book clubs. Penguin's approach shows how publishers, which typically don't conduct market research, are becoming increasingly adept at hand-picking certain titles for stardom."

[Full disclosure: pick me! Pick me!]

And here's another sad truth from the article: "The vast majority of books face a tough reality. New releases that fail to take off in the first couple of weeks -- when publishers often pay to place copies on stores' front tables -- are relegated to the back shelves. 'The usual reflex is to give a book two weeks in the sun and then move on,' says Bob Miller, president of Walt Disney Co.'s Hyperion book division."

[Full disclosure number two: YA seems to have a longer window, which lasts until it wins some awards - or doesn't.]

Read more here.



site stats

Subscribe with
JacketFlap's
Children's
Publishing
Blog Reader
Tags: pick me! pick me!
Subscribe

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    switch
    default userpic

    Your reply will be screened

    Your IP address will be recorded 

    When you submit the form an invisible reCAPTCHA check will be performed.
    You must follow the Privacy Policy and Google Terms of use.
    Help
  • 6 comments