Publishing Hits & Misses of 2007

Thanks to a friend, this AP article was brought to my attention today. It begs the question, "What defines a literary success?"

I was surprised to find that Junot Diaz's book, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, is considered a flop for selling 27,000 copies. Everywhere I look, I see Oscar Wao reviewed, endorsed, praised and advertised. A friend and I tried to find a copy to buy at the Barnes & Noble in Forest Hills, Queens (NYC) two days ago, and were surprised to hear that the copies had sold out.  Plenty of copies of the hit Eat, Pray, Love were everywhere I looked in the store. What made Wao fly off the shelves four days before Christmas?

What is a literary "hit" in this day and age?  Is it the buzz factor -- hearing the author and the book title everywhere you go, within your own little world -- or is it pure sales, plain and simple?  And how much does a movie option, or the hope thereof, influence whether a book sells?

All questions worth exploring here in 2008.

Comments

[Christina]

I'm currently reading Eat, Pray, Love and thinks it's great. I read an article about it how the buzz grew... I'll see if I can find it.

[Kristen (Pub Editor)]

That'd be great to read that article - thanks!