Fall hedges and bets
As a September 8th Wall Street Journal article pointed out (”Battle of the Big Books” by Robert J. Hughes), this fall an unusually large number of top-tier authors will publish books, including Gore Vidal (Point to Point Navigation: A Memoir, 1964 to 2006), Carl Hiaasen (Nature Girl), and Cormac McCarthy (The Road). Said piece stresses that while this bounty may well please bibliophiles, it can’t be good for publishers. The more competiton, the less the chances of a No. 1 best seller.
I don’t view this as a new challenge, and the fall book blitz angle smells moldier than a 1926 grammar book I bought in North Dakota. Frankly, I’m tired of hearing about both scenarios. The book business isn’t very profitable even with the best-selling authors—fact. But rather than try to build up a younger roster of talent with commerical appeal, publishers only seem to push out the old warhorses this time of year—the Crichtons, Cusslers, le Carrés, and Evanoviches. I say, bring on the new guard, and after querying my savvy colleagues, I’ve come up with a short list of names and titles to watch.
In the fiction realm, pop editor Wilda Williams mentioned Diane Setterfield’s September pub, The Thirteenth Tale, already a best seller; Kelly Braffet’s Last Seen Leaving (see the Oct. 1 issue for a review); and Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects. Of course, you could also consult our annual “Fall First Novelists” feature by Barbara Hoffert with Ann Burns.
In my areas of nonfiction, I must mention the efforts Julia Hansen (see her memoir, A Life in Smoke, also in Oct. 1), Cordelia Fine (A Mind of Its Own, the next Blink?), and Jerry Schilling (Me and a Guy Named Elvis). I hope this list will grow with your nominations, dear readers.
Hi Heather;
You may be blaming the wrong party. Obviously, publishers are reaching beyond the old warhorses and, as you point out, have managed to get some younger talent on bestseller lists. It wasn’t so long ago that a debut novel “The Historian” achieved the amazing feat of hitting the fiction bestseller list at #1 during its FIRST week on sale (this was probably the first time this has ever occurred, but Guiness was not there to verify it). Perhaps the Wall Street Journal should give more attention to new talent.
Nora Rawlinson
Library Services
Hachette Book Group, USA
Comment by Nora Rawlinson — October 3, 2006 @ 5:17 pm
I had a sneaking suspicion I’d hear from you, Nora, and many thanks. Your point is well taken, but I’d still be curious to see a breakdown of marketing dollars for the big guys and girls versus first timers and mid-listers.
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