Our first little experiment last month proved to be popular, so we’ll continue our monthly recaps of how the previous month’s high-profile retailer and book club picks fared in the marketplace. (Of course these statistics are only a partial view, of print sales only. Some of these books were highly anticipated — and well pre-ordered — long before any of these selections were announced. And we know from experience and previous analyses that Reese Witherspoon’s picks will overweight significantly for increased digital audio sales rather than print sales, thanks to her close commercial partnership with Audible.) But over time we […]
Bestseller Radar
Jenna Bush’s Today Picks Have Some Power
EW probably goes overboard in declaring Jenna Bush Hager as “demonstrating an individual power not seen since Oprah’s glory days” in her monthly book picks on The Today Show, starting in March. But her selections do have noticeable impact, and provide a clear sales lift. Her inaugural pick was her strongest, however; according to NPD Bookscan, here is how Jenna’s picks have sold in the four weeks of her selection: March: The Last Romantics, Tara Conklin (22,950 copies) April: The Unwinding of the Miracle, Julie Yip-Williams (7,800 copies) May: A Woman Is No Man, Etaf Rum (10,750 copies) June: Searching […]
People, Etc.
Former Weidenfeld & Nicolson publisher Kirsty Dunseath will become publishing director for Doubleday UK, starting March 25 and reporting to fiction publisher Sarah Adams. As of January 1, Nation Books will be renamed Bold Type Books, as the Nation Institute itself is changing its name to Type Media Center. Jon Krakauer has moved to Gersh for representation (while continuing to work with attorney Becky Hall). And correcting yesterday’s representation item on Rupi Kaur, she remains with Suzanne Brandreth at CookeMcDermid for literary representation; ICM will represent Kaur for film, television and theater. Forthcoming Robert Caro‘s next book is about himself rather than Lyndon Johnson, […]
More 2018 Data: Becoming Is Not Amazon’s No. 1 Book
Amazon has released their annual “Charts” package for 2018 highlighting some bestselling books and other notables. Last year they focused on the “most read” books of the year, but this time they return to a more conventional lens on the most sold books. In another adjustment, this year, the Charts include sales across print, Kindle, Audible and their Amazon Books stores. The data shows that the top titles at Amazon are not in direct line with the top titles across the entire market, and may give a few clues for anyone trying to merchandise against the giant etailer. We compared […]
People, Etc.: Obamas, and More
Michelle Obama‘s BECOMING was the second-best-selling book in the UK in its opening week, selling 64,732 hardcovers as tracked by Nielsen Bookscan UK. (That’s a little better than Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury in its best week in the UK, when it sold almost 60,000 hardcovers.) You may recall that it was initially expected that former president Barack Obama‘s book might be published first, though that notion did not last long. Indeed he told the audience at the Obama Foundation Summit on Monday in Chicago, “Go buy her book right now. This is causing some strain in our marriage. The […]
What’s Working: Delia Owens’ Fiction Debut
The WSJ takes a look at nonfiction writer Delia Owens’ bestselling debut novel, WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING. Now 69, Owens says she spent 10 years on the book, which was boosted to bestsellerdom a few weeks after its release on August 14 when Reese Witherspoon made it her September book club pick. “I’ve wanted to write fiction for many years, and I became determined to write a novel that would explore how isolation affects a person,” Owens told the Journal. Putnam says they have over 290,000 units so far across all formats. That’s a significantly different profile than what you see […]