Behind the Bestsellers

Bestsellers
Behind the Bestsellers Daisy Maryles -- 10/23/00 Nonfiction Turnover Anything G s \| Pullman vs. Potter Nonfiction TurnoverTwo weeks ago, the story was the unusually large number of new fiction hardcover titles competing for a spot among the top 15. Last week, we noted the huge turnover in the mass market list, with eight books making a first appearance. In nonfiction, too, it's the same story: lots of new books competing for a spot on the chart. Last week, four new books made PW's list; this week, there are three new ones. Chances are pretty good that trade paper will not be the focus next week, as that is the category that generally has the least turnover; note that seven of the current top 15 titles have had double-digit tenures. In nonfiction, the hot subjects are current affairs, self-improvement and memoirs. In the latter category, two new books landed fairly high on the list. The new #5, Shadows of a Princess: An Intimate Account by Her Private Secretary, proves that there is still a large customer base for books about Princess Diana. Author Patrick D. Jephson is the only person to have served as her personal secretary, and he's dished enough inside scoop to have angered the royal family. HarperCollins has gone back to press three times since the October 9 pub date; copies in print total 100,000. Tina Sinatra takes the #6 spot with My Father's Daughter: A Memoir, which offers a candid and intimate view of Frank Sinatra with lots of not so nice revelations about wife #4, Barbara Marx. A 60 Minutes segment launched the book, and Tina returned to her family's Hoboken, N.J., roots for a Barnes & Noble book signing. Sister Nancy was one of the 200-plus people on hand. There are now 266,500 copies in print. A memoir of sorts by Stephen King enjoys its second week on the national charts. In On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, the author talks about his life and how it inspires his writings. A first serial in the New Yorker back in June whetted the appetite of King's many fans, and three segments on Good Morning America got the book off to a very fast start. Scribner has gone for a second printing (first was 614,000 copies), bringing the total to 700,000. Anything G sWhile books by members of the media often crack the charts, two on our list come from non-mainline sources. New American Library's Drudge Manifesto by Matt Drudge makes it to #11 with 130,000 copies in print after six trips to press. His bio on the jacket consists of one sentence: "Matt Drudge is the only reporter ever to be sued by the White House." "Unedited, uncensored, unspun" information on his Web site is what fans and f s have come to expect. Check out www.drudgereport.com to see what all the controversy is about. The O'Reilly Factor is one of the highest-rated shows on cable television, and author Bill O'Reilly climbed to #4 on our charts with his book of the same name, subtitled The Good, the Bad, and the Completely Ridiculous in American Life. Outspoken and opinionated, with something to say about almost any contemporary event or current affairs subject, O'Reilly has blitzed radio and TV. Broadway has almost 232,000 copies in print after seven trips to press. Pullman vs. PotterThe last volume in Philip Pullman's very popular His Dark Materials fantasy trilogy, The Amber Spyglass, went on sale just as PW was putting its monthly children's bestseller list to press. Judging from its hefty first-week sales figures, expectations are high that it will land at the top of the charts next time. It's #22 on Amazon at press time, #10 on the October 18 USA Today list and #3 on the NYT list of October 29. This British import was eagerly awaited by fans on this side of the Atlantic, and all will be watching to see if Lyra and Will can overtake Harry. Pullman is in the midst of a 10-city U.S. tour, and huge crowds have been turning out to greet him at various events (about 850 people came for University Bookstore's event in Seattle on October 15). Knopf has already supplemented the 250,000-copy first printing with a second of 50,000 prior to the October 10 on-sale date and is determining the size of the third printing. Book #1 in the trilogy, The Golden Compass, has 625,000 copies in print in combined hardcover, trade and mass market editions; book #2, TheSubtle Knife, has 325,000 combined.

Bestsellers

Behind the Bestsellers
Daisy Maryles -- 10/23/00

Nonfiction Turnover
Anything G s | Pullman vs. Potter

Nonfiction TurnoverTwo weeks ago, the story was the unusually large number of new fiction hardcover titles competing for a spot among the top 15. Last week, we noted the huge turnover in the mass market list, with eight books making a first appearance. In nonfiction, too, it's the same story: lots of new books competing for a spot on the chart. Last week, four new books made PW's list; this week, there are three new ones. Chances are pretty good that trade paper will not be the focus next week, as that is the category that generally has the least turnover; note that seven of the current top 15 titles have had double-digit tenures.

In nonfiction, the hot subjects are current affairs, self-improvement and memoirs. In the latter category, two new books landed fairly high on the list. The new #5, Shadows of a Princess: An Intimate Account by Her Private Secretary, proves that there is still a large customer base for books about Princess Diana. Author Patrick D. Jephson is the only person to have served as her personal secretary, and he's dished enough inside scoop to have angered the royal family. HarperCollins has gone back to press three times since the October 9 pub date; copies in print total 100,000. Tina Sinatra takes the #6 spot with My Father's Daughter: A Memoir, which offers a candid and intimate view of Frank Sinatra with lots of not so nice revelations about wife #4, Barbara Marx. A 60 Minutes segment launched the book, and Tina returned to her family's Hoboken, N.J., roots for a Barnes & Noble book signing. Sister Nancy was one of the 200-plus people on hand. There are now 266,500 copies in print.

A memoir of sorts by Stephen King enjoys its second week on the national charts. In On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, the author talks about his life and how it inspires his writings. A first serial in the New Yorker back in June whetted the appetite of King's many fans, and three segments on Good Morning America got the book off to a very fast start. Scribner has gone for a second printing (first was 614,000 copies), bringing the total to 700,000.

Anything G sWhile books by members of the media often crack the charts, two on our list come from non-mainline sources. New American Library's Drudge Manifesto by Matt Drudge makes it to #11 with 130,000 copies in print after six trips to press. His bio on the jacket consists of one sentence: "Matt Drudge is the only reporter ever to be sued by the White House." "Unedited, uncensored, unspun" information on his Web site is what fans and f s have come to expect. Check out www.drudgereport.com to see what all the controversy is about.

The O'Reilly Factor is one of the highest-rated shows on cable television, and author Bill O'Reilly climbed to #4 on our charts with his book of the same name, subtitled The Good, the Bad, and the Completely Ridiculous in American Life. Outspoken and opinionated, with something to say about almost any contemporary event or current affairs subject, O'Reilly has blitzed radio and TV. Broadway has almost 232,000 copies in print after seven trips to press.

Pullman vs. PotterThe last volume in Philip Pullman's very popular His Dark Materials fantasy trilogy, The Amber Spyglass, went on sale just as PW was putting its monthly children's bestseller list to press. Judging from its hefty first-week sales figures, expectations are high that it will land at the top of the charts next time. It's #22 on Amazon at press time, #10 on the October 18 USA Today list and #3 on the NYT list of October 29. This British import was eagerly awaited by fans on this side of the Atlantic, and all will be watching to see if Lyra and Will can overtake Harry. Pullman is in the midst of a 10-city U.S. tour, and huge crowds have been turning out to greet him at various events (about 850 people came for University Bookstore's event in Seattle on October 15). Knopf has already supplemented the 250,000-copy first printing with a second of 50,000 prior to the October 10 on-sale date and is determining the size of the third printing. Book #1 in the trilogy, The Golden Compass, has 625,000 copies in print in combined hardcover, trade and mass market editions; book #2, TheSubtle Knife, has 325,000 combined.