Mark wrote:
> [BRANDED WOMAN is] the second recent
> HCC book I've read, along with Plunder
> of the Sun, dealing with treasure,
> specifically gold the Spanish tried
> to take out of the Americas. Like
> books of that theme, Charles?
Just a coincidence -- BRANDED WOMAN was one of the first
books we tried to get the rights for, PLUNDER OF THE SUN one
of the last. The fact that we ended up publishing them
back-to-back was an accidental consequence of when the
contracts got signed. Another interesting coincidence: Wade
Miller and David Dodge are now represented by the same agent.
(Which may have something to do with why those contracts
happened to get signed so close together.)
Incidentally, I agree with you that DEVIL MAY CARE is a very
strong Wade Miller title, probably my second favorite. I like
BRANDED WOMAN more, but that's just a matter of personal
tastes.
> Anyway, I got to wondering about sales
> of HCC books. Charles, if your sales
> figures aren't classified, which HCC
> books are selling better, the reprints
> or the originals? Or do they vary by
> individual title, having no pattern
> based on vintage?
While we don't release our actual sales figures, I can tell
you there isn't a pattern based on vintage so much as a
pattern based on how likely readers are to have heard about a
book or an author. A reprint by Lawrence Block will outsell a
new book by a writer no one knows; conversely, a new book
that wins an award will generally outsell a reprint by a
writer who once had a great following but is now largely (and
undeservedly) forgotten. And a book by Stephen King will
outsell every other book we've ever published. Obscurity is
the great killer of sales: People need a reason to buy a
given book, and if they haven't heard of the book or its
author, fewer of them will give it a try. Of course, there
are other factors -- great cover art, persuasive blurbs,
irresistible cover copy. These all play a role. You can't
draw a clear line between the reprints and the originals and
say "As a rule, these do better than those."
Jeff wrote:
> I would venture to guess that the newer
> ones are selling better, such as the two
> of yours--yours and your partners, no?
LITTLE GIRL LOST and FADE TO BLONDE are not by well-known
authors, but both were nominated for awards and FADE TO
BLONDE has a great cover (itself nominated for an award).
They've done pretty well as a result. But I'd guess that when
the smoke clears our reprints by Lawrence Block and Donald
Westlake will have outsold them (which is fine with
us!).
Mark wrote:
> I very much hope they are selling very
> well overall so you can keep doing what
> you're doing so well.
Thanks. We're not pushing Dan Brown off the bestseller lists,
but things seem to be going pretty well. We have the next 11
titles already lined up and are at the tail end of
negotiations for another two, so barring unforseen
catastrophe we should be around for another year at
least...
--Charles
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