Karen Traviss' Bloodlines

Mange · Post by **Mange** » 2006-10-05 12:20pm

Hopefully this doesn't qualify as necroing... I read over at TFN that Bloodlines has entered week five on the New York Time's bestseller list. I noticed that it's also in it's fourth week on the Publisher's Weekly bestseller list (notice that they wrote Karin Traviss. My guess is that the pesky Talifans are at it again.

). I must say that I'm rather surprised.

000 · Post by **000** » 2006-10-05 12:23pm

I'm not: being part of the new big series undoubtedly helps bolster its sales. If the casual fan is going to buy a Star Wars book, they're more likely to purchase the newest adventures of Luke Skywalker than anything else.

Jim Raynor · Post by **Jim Raynor** » 2006-10-05 10:23pm

What are the sales compared to other EU novels? Don't most SW books sell pretty well?

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2006-10-05 10:44pm

Jim Raynor wrote:What are the sales compared to other EU novels? Don't most SW books sell pretty well?

For the most part, SW EU has remained pretty profitable(especially given how strong Dark Horse holds onto it) and I believe novels they sell well.

For me, hearing Travis hold onto any spot with SW attached to it, is akin to hearing KJA hold onto that same spot and using Dune. Both are shit, but the vast majority of the fanbase need their latest hit.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2006-10-05 10:55pm

It's similar to the Star Trek syndrome, unfortunately. A lot of fans will buy just about any shit that's turned out by the company, in sufficient quantity to make it profitable. Especially with books, where it's relatively easy to turn a profit compared to movies (no hundred-million dollar production budgets here).

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2006-10-05 11:21pm

Darth Wong wrote:It's similar to the Star Trek syndrome, unfortunately. A lot of fans will buy just about any shit that's turned out by the company, in sufficient quantity to make it profitable. Especially with books, where it's relatively easy to turn a profit compared to movies (no hundred-million dollar production budgets here).

True. However, in his defense, Pocket Books Editor Marco Palmieri has tried to increase the quality of Star Trek novels since he assumed the post about six years ago. Without him, projects like the Lost Era series and the DS9 re-launch would never have occured.

Eleas · Post by **Eleas** » 2006-10-06 12:05pm

Mange wrote:Hopefully this doesn't qualify as necroing... I read over at TFN that Bloodlines has entered week five on the New York Time's bestseller list. I noticed that it's also in it's fourth week on the Publisher's Weekly bestseller list (notice that they wrote Karin Traviss. My guess is that the pesky Talifans are at it again. ). I must say that I'm rather surprised.

To be honest, being on the NYT bestseller list is no great accomplishment. Mostly, the criteria are simply for the book in question to be new and popular. Witness the success of Eragon and the new Dune prequels.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2006-10-06 09:46pm

Eleas wrote:
Mange wrote:Hopefully this doesn't qualify as necroing... I read over at TFN that Bloodlines has entered week five on the New York Time's bestseller list. I noticed that it's also in it's fourth week on the Publisher's Weekly bestseller list (notice that they wrote Karin Traviss. My guess is that the pesky Talifans are at it again. ). I must say that I'm rather surprised.
To be honest, being on the NYT bestseller list is no great accomplishment. Mostly, the criteria are simply for the book in question to be new and popular. Witness the success of Eragon and the new Dune prequels.

Admittedly this comes without a verifiable source, but I'm told that publishers already know before the first book is purchased whether it will be on the best seller lists, because it's a lot like the music industry and radio; middlemen determine how many books will be purchased by the bookstores, how many will be printed by the publishers, and how much shelf space they'll get. Smart publishers pay off the middlemen and the middlemen pay off the bookstores to ensure that the right books get exposure.

This makes sense after all; it's not as if bookstores buy every book that's published anywhere and stock it, never mind giving them all equal shelf space. They have to pick and choose, before they even know whether the book is any good. That's why franchise books (either licensed properties or books from an established name) dominate the store shelves.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2006-10-06 10:16pm

Its a little more complicated than that. One can generally predict, for example, how well a Harlequin bodice ripper or a generic sword and sorcery novel will sell and print and buy accordinlgy. Because there is a lag time between when a book is purchased and hits stores (roughly six months), there's time for word of mouth about something exceptional to spread to the right channels.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2006-10-06 10:21pm

Imperial Overlord wrote:Its a little more complicated than that. One can generally predict, for example, how well a Harlequin bodice ripper or a generic sword and sorcery novel will sell and print and buy accordinlgy. Because there is a lag time between when a book is purchased and hits stores (roughly six months), there's time for word of mouth about something exceptional to spread to the right channels.

Right, but as I said, in the case of a franchise book, these determinations are made based on the strength of the fanbase. The book itself can be utterly forgettable but it will still get shelf space because it's a franchise property, and that decreases the bookseller's perceived risk.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2006-10-06 10:24pm

Absolutely correct. Franchises and series are very predictable sellers.