Solid gains in the fourth quarter, a blockbuster year for Warner Faith and the immense popularity of America (The Book) combined to boost sales at the Time Warner Book Group by more than 9% in 2004, to an estimated $465 million. "A very strong fourth quarter carried us over the top," said TWBG chairman Larry Kirshbaum. A 25% sales increase at TWBG's U.K. division also contributed to the company's improved performance.
In addition to America, a number of other TWBG titles landed in the number 1 spot in the final period: Hour Game, Night Fall, A Salty Piece of Land, Your Best Life Now, London Bridges and the trade paperback edition of Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Backlist sales were "up slightly," Kirshbaum said, noting that while trade paperback sales "held up reasonably well, mass market continued to struggle." Like other mass market paperback publishers, Kirshbaum said that the softness in the mass market "is a definite problem for some of our longtime authors." While some authors can still sell in big numbers in mass market, he said, stores are not keeping most books on the shelves long enough for readers to find them.
He was more upbeat about TWBG's children's division, which had a "very strong year," led by two teen series, Gossip Girl by Cicely von Ziegesar and The A-List by Zoey Dean. Picture book bestsellers included SantaKid by James Patterson and What's Happening to Grandpa? by Maria Shriver.
The first quarter of 2005 is off to a solid start, Kirshbaum said, helped by the continued popularity of such titles as Your Best Life Now and newcomer Blink. Kirshbaum is looking for sales to increase in the 3%—5% range in 2005. He said TWBG will consider making a small acquisition in the year, and is also interested in building its distribution business.
Following the Paper Trail
Warner is also banking on sales from a new imprint that could draw new readers to moderately priced books. The house has announced a line of female-oriented trade paperback originals that follows in the steps of imprints like S&S's Downtown Books.
Called 5 Spot, the imprint's list will feature books that are "smart and fun, with attitude to spare, geared toward women who share those attributes." Novels and pop culture—oriented narrative nonfiction are the focus, and the list will debut at an unspecified time with eight books.
The move highlights how the trade paperback format is becoming what its supporters always thought it could be: a way to take a chance on new authors—and not sticker-shock new readers (5 Spot books will be priced at $12). The imprint's founder, Warner Books trade paperbacks editorial director Amy Einhorn, cited Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress, the surprisingly serious childhood memoir that's become a bestseller, as a reason for the move.
