THE CAREER NOVELIST
You do not hear about backlist selling much except in the mys-
tery field, where the only strategy that works is doing series.
Nevertheless, for adult trade books backlist sales can be 25 percent
of a publisher's business. That figure more than doubles if you add
in children's and reference books. So why aren't publishers paying
more attention to backlist, you wonder?
Actually, they are. Now and then publishers notice the gold mine
they are sitting on and get serious about selling it. In 1995, for
instance, Random House kicked off a year-long backlist promotion
with a cross-imprint catalogue that grouped backlist titles accord-
ing to category. They also offered bookstores extra co-op advertis-
ing, better terms, and special display stuff if they would put on a
minimum number of category promotions during the year, hopeful-
ly using Random House titles.
Publishers also like to repackage classic novels. Backlist like that
gives them prestige, not to mention easy profits.
So, back to advances: if your publisher has your backlist, which is
paid for and earning profits on a regular basis, then needless to say
the potential risk involved in a lofty new advance is lessened. It has
a cushion.
And so do you. For instance, suppose you spend all of your big
new advance, but then your "break-out" novel does not pan out?
Ouch. What will you do? If you have backlist, then at least you will
be able to look forward to your twice-yearly royalty checks. That will
be some consolation, I hope.
BEST-SELLER LISTS
The ultimate measure of success is appearance on the best-seller
lists, particularly the one appearing in the Sunday New York Times
Book Review. "The list," as everyone calls it, has tremendous power
and reach. Many stores use it to highlight current offerings, and it
clearly accelerates the pace and broadens the nationwide exposure
of any book lucky enough to get on it. The Times list is a big deal.
The list is also the best publicity a book can have. Readers asso-
ciate it with quality. For stores it means sales. For agents it means
prestige. For editors it can mean a job promotion, even their own
imprint. For publishers it means profit. All parties want their books