10 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ OCTOBER 14, 2019
News
T
here are various bruising anec-
dotes about William Kent
Krueger’s career arc as a novelist
that will ring true to many a struggling
writer: the early rejections by literary
agents (there were 36); the paucity of
crowds on those first bookstore
appearances (where, he recounted, it
wasn’t unusual for the audience to
consist of “the bookseller and the
bookseller’s cat”); the dreaded label as
a midlist author. Though not neces-
sarily a household name, Krueger is
very much a success in the eyes of his
longtime publisher, Atria. He’s just
released his 20th novel with the Simon
& Schuster imprint, This Tender Land
(which debuted at #6 on PW’s hard-
cover frontlist fiction bestseller list),
and, according to the publisher, more
than two million copies of his books are
in print. His story is an example of what
publishers claim they want to do but
find it increasingly hard to accomplish:
grow an author.
In today’s industry, there are myriad
reasons most authors don’t stay with
a single publisher. Authors often claim
they lack the support of their pub-William Kent Krueger:
A House Author Gets His Due
lishers. The publishers
frequently cite a lack
of patience from their
authors. Regardless of
where the blame lies,
it can be a vicious cycle,
especially for authors
who believe that a
contract with a major
publisher is a guaranteed pathway to
some level of literary—and financial—
success.
For Krueger, certain things have
undoubtedly stood him in good stead.
Predominantly a mystery writer (the
bulk of his work is built around an
18-book series featuring former PI Cork
O’Connor), he has reliably produced
one book per year (with very few excep-
tions) since selling his debut, Iron Lake,
in the mid-1990s. He’s also developed
a strong backlist that has helped him,
as well as Atria. (Authors without exten-
sive backlists often find their financial
well-being dependent on the perfor-
mance of their latest books, which can
prove grim if the titles don’t perform.)
Beyond developing a backlist,
Krueger, according to his team at S&S,
stands out for being both patient and
consistent. His longtime publicist at
Atria, David Brown, called him a “steady
Eddie,” while his current editor, Peter
Borland, echoed that sentiment.
“Kent has always been someone
people have had total faith in,” Borland
said. “He has been growing book on
book. And the conversation here wasalways, ‘What can we do to keep that
growth going and make this next book
even bigger than the one we had
before?’ ” Borland added that Krueger
always seemed to have a “larger plan
with his career: he’s not someone who’s
written one novel and felt it was do or
die.”
Krueger’s sales climb has also been,
well, steady. With the exception of his
first standalone literary novel, 2013’s
Ordinary Grace, he has been slowly
building book by book. (Ordinary Grace
shipped, and sold, significantly more
than his series titles, but more on that
later.)
For Krueger’s debut, 1998’s Iron
Lake, Atria said its initial print run was
5,550 copies. The imprint reported
having shipped more than 375,
copies (across all formats, including
digital) of the title to date. The in-print
numbers for the past four Cork
O’Connor books range between
approximately 45,000 and 55,
copies each (with the titles that have
been on the market longer reaching
higher digits—see “Kreuger’s Recent
In-Print Numbers,” p. 14). But, in the
beginning, it was not so apparent
Krueger would reach these heights.
Iron Lake was acquired in a bidding
war, which resulted in a two-book deal
with Atria. Though Krueger had just
witnessed editors competing for his
work, he didn’t grumble when he wound
up spending a hefty portion of his
advance on that first tour. (It’s quite
common for authors to pay for their
own book tours.) The crowds were
sparse, but Krueger said he relished
the opportunity to meet booksellers.
The experience began a tradition:Krueger addresses the
crowd during a tour stop
for This Tender Land late
last month at the Vero
Beach Book Center in Vero
Beach, Fla.continued on p. 14