Fall release calendar crowded
Every fall, I lament that I won’t be able to get to all the worthy books that start rolling out in September. Now, thanks to the coronavirus, laying hands on everything I might want to read is going to require more book gluttony than usual — and that’s saying something.
Throw in the need to cram more book releases into an even smaller window than usual because of fears that electionrelated news will dominate the media, and the situation gets even worse.
Much of the worry around delaying spring books focused on the fact that publishers had no idea on whether retail bookstores would be able to sell any books for an indeterminate period of time.
Discussing these issues in The New York Times, Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt said in March that “the very functions of the literary world have been put into a coma.” Planned book tours were canceled, and there was a question over whether orders could even be fulfilled.
A highly anticipated new book from Elena Ferrante was delayed, because — as Michael Reynolds, the editor in chief of the books publisher, Europa Editions, told The Times — putting the book out when many independent stores were closed
“would have been a betrayal of the booksellers that have done so much for her.”
Fortunately, the book business has managed to adapt remarkably well to the disruptions of the pandemic and book lovers are rallying around stores. Online buying and curbside service has kept the wheels turning, and books are selling. Suzanne Collins’ “Hunger Games” prequel, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” has reportedly sold more than a half-million copies since its release.
Of course, the origin story of a malevolent leader who would ultimately come to preside over a decadent and dissolute society seems particularly on-point at the moment.
By necessity, it seems publishers will have to adapt. There are only so many authors “Fresh Air” host Terry Gross can talk to, and Reese Witherspoon and Oprah Winfrey only pick one book per month.
Because so many books are published, a lot of book publicity begins to look a little generic. Every advance copy I receive seems to tout the same indie bookseller outreach, social media campaign, and so on. The hope is that a book will catch fire, but it seems like a lot of books aren’t put anywhere near the kindling that would allow such a thing to happen.
I said previously that I thought virtual book events were here to stay, and reaching the Zoom capacity for my own event with City Lit suggests there’s an audience who will persist even when we’re not locked down. I expect the events themselves will become more dynamic and entertaining as writers and publishers experiment with format.
Finding attention beyond coverage in the small handful of media outlets that have the juice to move books in volume should be at the top of the agenda. Speaking from my own experience, my book “Why They Can’t Write: Killing the FiveParagraph Essay and Other Necessities” sold many times beyond expectations through word-of-mouth, stoked by me appearing on as many education-focused podcasts as I could find.
Part of the challenge is that most published books are really quite good. They deserve attention. They deserve to be read, so competing on quality is tough. You have to find the specific audience a particular book speaks to.
Easier said than done, of course, but there’s probably not much choice if the industry want to survive.