May 31 2007
USA Today Bestseller List, Week Ending May 27, 2007
Khaled Hosseini’s sophomore effort, A Thousand Splendid Suns, won the No. 1 position. This book is the subject of a huge promotional push but that doesn’t always guarantee placement on a list, let alone the number one position. Hosseini’s debut book, The Kite Runner, is selling briskly and at No. 11.
Susannah’s Garden by Debbie Macomber is the highest ranked romance and this book fell from 10 last week to 20 this week. This week and next marks the release of new romance books so we should see some new blood on the list. The USA Today list is illustrative of a well known fact: genre fiction books have short sales lives.
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Susannah’s Garden, Debbie Macomber (Mira), $7.99, No. 20 (Peak No. 4 ).
Beware a Scot’s Revenge, Sabrina Jeffries (Pocket) $6.99, No. 26 (debut)
Cover of Night, Linda Howard (Ballantine), $7.99, No. 28 (Peak No. 6). Paperback release.
The Witness, Sandra Brown (Warner), $6.99, No.37 (Peak 13). Last week, the book was 45 and the week before it was 60. This book has legs.
The Wrong Hostage, Elizabeth Lowell (Avon), $7.99, No. 39 (Peak No. 11) paperback release.
Born in Death, J.D. Robb (Berkley), $7.99, No. 42 (Peak No. 5).
Captive of My Desires (Malory Family), Johanna Lindsey (Pocket), $7.99, No. 51 (Peak 11) paperback release
Hot Stuff, Janet Evanovich, Leanne Banks (St. Martin’s Paperbacks), $7.99, No. 66 (Peak 4).
Don’t Look Down, Jennifer Crusie, Bob Mayer (St. Martin’s Press). $7.99 No. 95 (Peak 40).
The Touch of Fire, Linda Howard (Pocket), $7.99, No. 93. Hey, I didn’t know this was being re-released. I hope it is in eform. No wonder we need a site like Romantic Advances!
Don’t Scream, Wendy Corsi Staub (Zebra), $6.99, No. 100 (Peak 66).
Outsider, Diana Palmer (HQN), $7.99, No. 113 (Peak 21).
Gideon: The Nightwalkers, Jacquelyn Frank (Zebra), No. 116 (debut). I’m not surprised to see her on the list given that she was 10 on the Romance Bookscan list with sales of 4424 units. This is her second book and first appearance on the USA Today list. Given the size of her print run (purported to be 200,000), she’ll need to sell lots more copies but Kensington is investing major promotional dollars in this author and this series. If you recall, she sold six books to Kensington and last year’s BEA booth featured towers of the Frank’s debut book.
Raintree: Inferno, Linda Howard (Silhouette Nocturne), $5.25, No. 120 (Peak 40). The sequel sold more copies on the Romance Bookscan list, but apparently not enough to show up here.
Wolf River, Jill Gregory, Bantam, $6.99, No. 135 (Peak No. 75).
When I Fall in Love, Lynn Kurland (Jove), $7.99, No. 146 (Peak 63).
Highland Savage, Hannah Howell (Zebra), $6.99, No. 147 (Peak 59).Still have not purchased said book
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Out of the list
The Duke’s Indiscretion, Adele Ashworth (Avon), $6.99, No. 114 (Peak No. 63).
All Together Dead, Charlaine Harris (Ace), $24.95, No. 116 (Peak No. 20).
Back On Blossom Street, Debbie Macomber (Mira), $24.95, No. 122 (Peak 26).
Dark Seduction, Brenda Joyce (HQN), $7.99, No. 133 (Peak 80).
Homecoming, Janet Dailey, Dinah McCall, Fern Michaels. Deborah Bedford, (HarperMonogram), $5.99, No. 141 (Peak 121).
Night Lost, Lynn Viehl (Signet), $6.99, No. 142 (Peak 48).
The Perils of Pursuing a Prince, Julia London, Pocket Star, $6.99, No. 144 (Peak 50).
Send to Kindle
May 31, 2007 @ 20:21:29
Another short list this week.
200K print run for a sophomore book? Good gracious. From what I understand, print runs don’t get decided until advanced orders are in. Does that mean the book outlets ordered lots too?
Thanks for feeding my habit, Jane.
Jun 02, 2007 @ 22:49:44
Just out of curiosity, how do you find out what the print runs are? I never know till I get my royalty statements months and months later.
Jun 02, 2007 @ 22:51:13
They are sometimes mentioned in trade magazines or the back of the ARC state the number.
Jun 03, 2007 @ 07:43:27
Thanks, Jane.
I did my little research…came up with talk a first sale interview and talk of this number here and where it points to a PW article here where it introduces ten new romance authors with large print runs including your friend, Meljean Brooks, who was compared to Marjorie Liu.
Of interest to me:
Coleen Gleason’s The Rest Falls Away (100,000 and compared to Laurell K. Hamilton)
Anna Campbell’s Claiming The Courtesan (150,000 and compared to Stephanie Laurens)