Penguin's Discovery

According to an article in today's NYT, the bean counters at Penguin Group have made a most startling discovery. People tend to buy more paperbacks than hardcover, and they honestly believe that it's because the paperbacks are cheaper. Apparently, they don't get out of New York City much, and I very much doubt they've ever been in a Wal-Mart, or they would have figured that one out ages ago.

Kim Edwards' debut novel The Memory Keeper's Daughter did passably well when it came out in print, but since it was published in paperback, it's taken off. The NYT did not review it, and some found the emotions a bit too saccharine, but the main theme of the novel has touched many a heart and many a book group. As far as the author of the article, Motoko Rich, can say, it's word of mouth that fueled the runaway success of the cheaper edition.

Not only word of mouth, according to Susan Petersen Kennedy of Penguin, but

something mysterious about this book is really seeping into people’s hearts and minds

and so it's the summer blockbuster. That something mysterious might be the fact that readers find the book a real page-turner in a more literary style than the typical potboiler thriller, and the novel looks at family-related issues. Always of interest to the women who make up most book groups, looking for a novel that has some kind of issue to discuss over lunch and cocktails. What is startling is that a publisher finds this mysterious.

As for the whole word of mouth business, there's no doubt a good bit of that, but someone at Viking, who published the hard copy, had enough confidence in the novel to put up a six figure advance. For that kind of investment, the PR people at Penguin aren't going to sit on their hands and let word of mouth be their only campaign.

This book was heavily promoted, with extra paid out to have the copies located at the front of the store, where more people are likely to see and buy. Sure, word of mouth helped, but Penguin did their fair bit as well. If the novel had garnered little more than $10,000 for an advance, there wouldn't be so much work put into promoting it to boost sales.

Since publishers like to sell what has sold before, look for the Big Houses to be in search of family-issue oriented, literary type novels. Good for you if you've got one in the hands of an agent. Bad for you if you're only just getting around to writing it now. By the time you're finished, it will be last year's hot seller which is now too cold to serve.

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